Utqiagvik vs Barrow - Will AS ever stop using the outdated name?
Just flew ANC-BRW-ANC over the past two days. On both flights, both onboard and in the airports I heard only the former city name of Barrow used by AS. I understand the name of the airport is still Barrow, and it makes sense to continue using it in that context, but the city is officially named Utqiagvik, and has been now for nearly 8 years. Phrases such as "enjoy your stay in Barrow", and "the weather in Barrow is..." caught me off guard. Interestingly, I heard the term Barrow used more often this trip by the locals, as opposed my last trip five years ago when Utqiagvik was heard most often. This is purely anecdotal though.
Another rather funny phrase I heard from the FA was, after landing, notifying passengers that information pertaining to connecting flights is available in the terminal - on the ANC-BRW leg!!! Clearly this is a canned statement that makes no sense as there are no connecting flights lol. You'd think there would be a little more effort on AS' part to customize their statements to remote Alaska locations.