Love the 737. My first engineering job was at Boeing, working on these and a couple other models. I'll always have a fondness in my heart for the Boeing birds. This particular model were a real rarity.

It is actually good news, as it represents the expansion of commerce.
"The new cargo planes are a dedicated fleet of three 737-700s, and they are the first ever to be converted from passenger jet to cargo planes. Passengers will now fly separately in 737-700s."

It is true that aviation is the primary mode of transportation in Alaska. People grow up with it, like driving cars here in the Lower 48. Back in 2000, I attended a local pilot's night, (EAA or something) and the FAA gave a presentation on the state of the art. They said that their goal was to have over 50% of the pilots in Alaska licensed. It took a few seconds... then the laughter came.