 In 1961 , competitors began introducing jets on routes Alaska Airlines flew . To counter this competition , Willis negotiated with aircraft manufacturer Convair to purchase a Convair 880 jetliner with no money down for use on routes between Alaska and the contiguous United States . The company introduced the new jet aircraft the same year . In 1966 the company received its first Boeing 727 @-@ 100 jets and also removed the Convair 880 from the fleet as a financing condition by Boeing concerning the purchase of the 727 jetliners . Several of Alaska 's first 727s were series 100C models which could be operated either as all cargo freighters , in an all passenger configuration or as mixed passenger / freight combi aircraft . In the spring of 1967 , greatly increased passenger loads required quick addition of fleet aircraft and Alaska purchased a Convair 990 jetliner formerly operated by Brazilian air carrier <unk> as PP @-@ <unk> which then became Alaska Airlines <unk> . This aircraft remained in service along with an increased fleet of Boeing 727 @-@ 100 's which were then joined by stretched Boeing 727 @-@ 200s which in turn became Alaska Airlines ' signature aircraft for the next 25 years . It also became the first carrier to fly the Lockheed L @-@ 100 Hercules ( <unk> model ) , the civil version of the military C @-@ 130 cargo turboprop , which was used to transport oil drilling rigs to Alaska 's North Slope and later to Ecuador . Alaska also owned Lockheed Constellation <unk> including two Lockheed L @-@ <unk> <unk> from 1962 to 1968 , and three L @-@ 1049 's which were used for Military Air Transport Service operations . Smaller prop and turboprop aircraft were also operated , including the Convair 240 , de Havilland Canada DHC @-@ 6 Twin Otter and Super Catalina amphibian aircraft as well as two versions of the Grumman Goose amphibian aircraft , one with piston engines and the other model being a conversion to turboprop engines which the airline called the " Turbo @-@ Goose " . 
