Airline review: Alaska Airlines

Welcome to Alaska! no, I didn’t go to Alaska this time I traveled to the US but Seattle, where the airline Alaska airlines have their headquarters. I been flying this airline only one time before when I flew from Anchorage to Chicago a couple of years ago so when I now was in the states going from West coast to East coast I had Alaskan, Delta, JetBlue and American to choose between when I flew from SEA-Tac to JFK. I actually picked JetBlue first because I like that airline but then they were delayed so I rebooked to Alaskan.

My flight began with a check in procedure. I tried to use the machine but it didn’t work so I went to the counter where I had to wait quite some time because they were understaffed but finally I got my boarding pass and could precede to the security check.

Alaskan lounge, Sea-Tac

Like all major domestic carriers in the US Alaskan does not serve complementary food on their flights so I went to the lounge to have dinner before my nightlight. The Alaskan lounge was under reconstruction but it was a good one anyway. I had one hour to spend before my flight took off so perfect of time for a pick and mix dinner of soup, hummus, cheese, veggies and trail mix together with wine. A bit odd combo of eats but it was good.

Boarding towards JFK

The aircraft of the day was a Boeing 737-900. Of course the Seattle based airline has a majority of Boeings in their fleet since Boeing has their headquarters in the same city. But for Airbuslovers I can tell that they also have a few Airbuses in their fleet consisting of over 300 aircrafts. But just narrow body aircrafts.

Seats

When I got a seat assignment the gate staff asked where I wanted to sit and I told him that I wanted a good seat and then I got offered the last row all by myself. Three seats for a night flight, can it be more perfect when you want to sleep? Also I like to sit in the back if I do not sit among the first 10 rows. When I boarded the aircraft I noted that the seat itself is a familiar one to me. Recaro 3520. The same seat as the airline I work for uses at the majority of the shorthaul flights but with a headrest. I like that seat for its comfort and slim design.

Cabin interior

The cabin felt gave a feeling of having a lot of space due to the sky interior. They also had installed a new version of overhead bins that gives a lot of space for storage in this Boeing 737-900 aircraft. That was perfect on this almost fully booked flight so everyone could fit their handluggage without any discussion.

What I also liked was the charger installed in every seat. Not just one USB charger but you could also plug in any socket of your choice so I was able to charge both my phones during the flight.

Alaskan does not have any IFE system installed on their short haul flights but they offer wifi. It is free of charge if you would like to watch movies through their app or use communication apps like messenger or what sup which I think is a great service to customers. If you don’t have your own device to watch movies at they will lend out iPad’s free of charge so you can entertain yourself. Great, isn’t it?

On board service

I love to browse through the paper magazines from different airlines. In the best cases I get some travel inspo to destinations I didn’t know existed and I also like to read the map where the airline flies and study their fleet so I was glad that Alaskan still sticks to the paper version although it adds up quite a lot of weight to fly around with.

While waiting for takeoff so I could get a view of Seattle from above I also checked out the food and beverage menu. I was surprised that the assortment were good. In america you expect cookies, sweets, sweets and even more sweets in size XL but Washington is a health conscious state and that was also reflected in the F&B menu. If I haven’t already had dinner I could definitely have found something worth eating at the menu.

How was my nightlight from SEA to JFK?

I really like Alaska as an airline but this 5 hour cross country flight was a nightmare. I tried to sleep but it was not a success although I got a full row for myself. First of all I expected to get a pillow and blanket but that was not offered. Why? it was freezing cold onboard. Then the family infront of me thought they flew a private jet. One kid was constantly screaming the whole flight and the other one was playing with his “favorite toy” a maracas. Having a maracas on a night flight must be no no. I kindly asked them to be quiet since I needed to sleep but got ignored. I don’t know how many times I woke up that night but it was many. Apart from those two hiccups I still like Alaskan and would recommend the airline if you travel domestically in the US. Have you flewn with Alaskan?

/ Pernilla always in travel mode