From harvest to market, the country’s largest producer of sweet cherries stays hyperfocused on two factors in the journey: Time and temperature.

Stemilt Growers and their freight forwarder partner, Jetstream, found a sweet spot for both in Alaska Air Cargo’s first summer offering nonstop service from Seattle (SEA) to Seoul (ICN). During the 90-day cherry season, our Alaska Airlines-operated SEA-ICN widebody service provided a new shipping lane to send cherries to Stemilt’s biggest international market, keeping harvest-to-consumer time under 48 hours while preserving cold-chain integrity throughout the journey.

“We pick the fruit on a Monday, I pack it on Tuesday morning and by Tuesday night we’re loading it on a plane,” said Dave Martin, senior sales manager for Stemilt, whose orchards and operations are based in central Washington state. “Then we’re on a flight direct to Seoul in a carrier that has the ability to keep the temperature regulated in the hold, and that’s very, very important to us.”

Throughout the 2026 season, Stemilt shipped about 860,000 pounds of its dark sweet cherries to Seoul via Alaska Air Cargo. Stemilt also sent some cherry shipments to London (LHR) through our new nonstop widebody service from Seattle.

“Being able to move fruit from Washington growers through our Seattle operation and directly into Alaska’s international network can eliminate additional trucking, transfers and handling along the way,” said Bryan Jennings, president of Jetstream. 

“There’s also something pretty special about Washington cherries being grown here, handled here in Seattle, and then flown internationally by our hometown carrier. We’re really proud to be a part of that.”

Cold-chain pioneers and partners

The Mathison family, which owns Stemilt, has been growing cherries and other produce for more than 100 years, and for generations they have been leaders in cold-chain innovations to keep fruit at peak freshness. More than 50 years ago, Thomas Kyle Mathison pioneered hydrocooling, which drenches cherries in cold water within an hour after harvest.

Stemilt ships its fruit to 34 countries and has been sending cherries to South Korea for more than 25 years. “We were the first cherry shipper into Korea, so it’s a market we enjoy and work hard to preserve,” Martin said.

Stemilt moves its fresh-harvested cherries in refrigerated trucks to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where Jetstream stores the cherries in custom coolers until tendering the pallets to Alaska Air Cargo teams to load onto the widebody aircraft.

“Our job is pretty simple — keep the product moving and minimize the amount of time it spends outside of a controlled environment,” Jennings said. “We’re communicating about the freight before it arrives, watching timing and capacity, and coordinating deliveries so everything can move through the process as efficiently as possible.” 

Alaska Air Cargo’s decades of experience shipping perishables paired with Jetstream’s deep expertise in international distribution formed a logistics dream team to meet the demands of a high-volume season, said Mike Bonnett, Alaska Air Cargo regional sales manager. “Every partner leaned into their strengths, creating a reliable solution that helped Washington cherries reach customers in overseas markets quickly and in peak condition,” Bonnett said.

 “With the cold chain that we have now, it's really common to see our cherries arriving in Seoul under 50 degrees, and they immediately go into our customers' cold storage there and can be cooled back down quickly,” Martin said. “This is really good for cherry shelf life and it's good for the consumer. Everything we do in this process ultimately produces trust from the consumer.”

Global growth opportunities

Martin is already looking forward to Stemilt’s partnership with Alaska Air Cargo in 2027 as both companies continue to expand their international reach.

“This year was a great learning experience: Alaska Air Cargo got a taste of what it’s like to be in cherry season, and we got an idea of your capability,” Martin said. “Next year, you’ll know you have a reliable partner with a reliable amount of cargo every day, and we’ll know that we have a reliable partner who delivers on time.” 

In 2027, Alaska Airlines will add new Seattle international flights to Paris (CDG) and Athens (ATH) — joining the existing routes between Seattle and Seoul, as well as Tokyo Narita (NRT) and London (LHR). Seattle-Rome (FCO) seasonal service will also resume in March. In addition, Alaska and Hawaiian Air Cargo offer international service between Honolulu (HNL) and cities across Asia and the South Pacific. 

“Seattle is such a natural gateway for many of the products we handle, especially perishables coming out of Washington and the Pacific Northwest. As Alaska continues growing its international network, it gives us opportunities to introduce customers to new markets and gives them another dependable way to reach markets they’re already serving. We’re excited about finding the right products and customers that fit Alaska’s network and figuring out how we can grow those lanes together.” — Bryan Jennings, Jetstream president

Photos courtesy Stemilt Growers, LLC

Learn more:

Stemilt Growers | Jetstream

 About Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo 

Together, Alaska Air Cargo and Hawaiian Air Cargo reach 110-plus cargo destinations around the world, including cities across Asia, the South Pacific and Europe. With more than 90 years of experience carrying vital shipments to remote communities, our air cargo teams share deep connections to the communities where we live, work and fly.