For Immediate Release:
Contact for Media and Photos:
Jessica Hayes
[email protected]
Director of Communications
Contact for Volunteer Pilots in Alaska:
Tom Kleeman
[email protected]
Alaska Wing Leader
Need Medical Travel? Free Volunteer Flights Between Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage
Angel Flight West (AFW) is proud to announce the expansion of our volunteer pilot network in the Alaska Wing. For the past 23 years, AFW has partnered with Alaska Airlines to help Alaska residents reach vital healthcare in the Lower 48 through charitable aviation.
This milestone marks an important next step as we expand our presence and deepen our commitment to serving communities across the state, both through Alaska Airlines’ continued support and the growth of our volunteer network.
We are pleased to introduce Command Pilot Tom Kleeman as the inaugural Alaska Wing Leader. A pilot and retired physician, Tom is based in Cooper Landing, Alaska. Tom has previously flown missions for Angel Flight Northeast and brings both experience and passion to this new leadership role.
“Living in Alaska has made it unmistakably clear how unique the challenges of medical access are in a state with so few roads and such vast distances — where small airplanes often serve the role that cars do elsewhere,” says Tom. “I am excited to bring this mission to a place where it is not only valuable but essential, and to work with fellow pilots, medical partners, and communities to ensure that Alaskans facing medical hardship have a reliable pathway to the care they need.”
With Tom’s assistance, we will be starting with missions to the Anchorage area from the Kenai Peninsula and will expand as our volunteer pilot base allows.
“We’re thrilled to take this next step to serve patients and healthcare partners throughout Alaska,” says AFW Executive Director Mary Hunter. “This next phase is an important part of our vision, and we can’t wait to welcome new volunteer pilots, healthcare partners, supporters, individuals, and families to our charitable aviation community.”
Request a Flight
In need of a flight? To view all passenger eligibility requirements and to begin the flight request process, please visit www.angelflightwest.org/need-a-flight.
Get Involved with Angel Flight West
Want to get involved as a volunteer pilot with Angel Flight West? Please visit www.angelflightwest.org/pilot-page to view all pilot requirements and start the application process. Angel Flight West also has a volunteer network of Earth Angel drivers who provide ground transportation services for our passengers. For more information regarding Earth Angel opportunities, please visit www.angelflightwest.org/earth-angels.
Are you a healthcare professional or social worker interested in partnering with Angel Flight West, or need flights for your patients or clients? Please visit www.angelflightwest.org/healthcare-and-social-workers to learn more about our services and how you can get connected.
About Angel Flight West
Transportation challenges create one of the most daunting barriers to healthcare — a barrier second only to the cost. As a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, Angel Flight West’s volunteer pilots fly people to their medical appointments at no cost to the passenger.
Angel Flight West has spent four decades — and provided more than 110,000 flights — creating pathways to healthcare across the Western United States, arranging donated flights to people in need and providing them safe passage to and from medical care. On the ground, Earth Angels drive passengers from the airport to the medical facility, also free of cost.
Though we’re best known for linking passengers to valuable medical resources, we also provide transportation for other humanitarian purposes, such as individuals and families escaping domestic violence, disaster relief, therapeutic programs for veterans, children’s specialty camps, and partnering with service dog and search-and-rescue dog organizations to provide transport.
