As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a somewhat last minute flight to Vancouver, BC on Alaska Airlines. Vancouver is gorgeous and I had a great time, but I’ll share more later.
While I could have flown from LAX non-stop to Vancouver (YVR), it is actually more convenient to fly from my smaller local airport and have a layover in Seattle. This allows me to experience two different aircraft types but also earn me a little bit more miles. The leg from Orange County to Seattle was on a 737-800 jet with Alaska’s ‘Starliner 75’ livery – a 1940s paint schemed plane celebrating Alaska’s 75 years in business.
The flight attendants were nice and treated the passengers like human beings. Too many times have I heard about FAs being short and snappy with passengers and I don’t see any reason for it. The only way I could see an improvement is that they give passengers the can of soda/juice instead of filling the ridiculously small plastic cups.
That wraps up my 737 experience, but what about the second aircraft type I mentioned above? For Alaska’s short haul service, they use the Bombardier Q400 (aka Dash 8) – a twin engine prop-jet. Alaska operates this plane as a single class (economy only) plane in a 2×2 configuration. The seats don’t recline and the beverage service is bottled water, but the cabin is quiet and still seemingly spacious. While some rows are louder than others, the view is what I like most about this plane. Some seats have a better view than others due to the engine blocks. Cruising at about 20-25,000 ft above the San Juan Islands is beautiful. Everything seems so peaceful down there. They usually board from both ends of the plane so even if you’re sitting in the back of the plane, you’ll be able to get on and off quickly.
Alaska Airlines is my airline of choice to get to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Your flight will typically be a non-stop flight from most cities in the lower-48 states to Seattle. Service is friendly. Also, since they are not part of an airline alliance they have multiple partners so you can earn miles in many different airlines’ frequent flier program.
Good job, Alaska Airlines. Safe skies!
I have been an Alaska Airlines passenger for decades. Without my knowledge (they say they sent me an email to warn me but it never arrived), they canceled my account with more than 20,000 FF miles in it because I hadn’t flown with them in 2 years. Ridiculous.
To get them back, I would either have to pay them $75 or sign up for one of their credit cards (I do not like credit cards and pay with cash whenever possible).
This company used to have character and stood out from the crowd with its customer service. Today, it’s a shadow of its former self. Disappointing customer service, antiquated policies (expiring miles? charging for checked baggage?) and an unwillingness to help a long-standing customer.
I recommend you use another airline. Or at least, use another FF program. Delta, in which I’ve had points for years, has not canceled my account. Others clearly appreciate their passengers more than Alaska Airlines. And that is unfortunate.
Brian, first of all my apologies for the late response. It is unfortunate that your Alaska Airlines account got cancelled. It seems strange that would cancel an account because of mileage inactivity. Most of the big airlines have policies which the miles you earned expire. Delta does not, but it is not a secret that their miles are not worth as much as FF miles with other programs, especially Alaska Airlines. Delta does have it’s strengths, but they do not conveniently fly to the places I usually go and I’d rather accrue miles in a program that is the most valuable to me.
Assuming Alaska Airlines cancelled your account because of inactivity, it is very easy to have some sort of activity on your account. This may be through the airlines’ dining or shopping program. Read more here: https://thesterlingtraveler.com/2012/05/fly-for-free-without-stepping-on-a-plane/
Feel free to email me if you have further questions/discussions.