Hello and welcome to this new series of reports. This trip is my last, for a while, with Delta and its partners as I've decided to switch to American Airlines and AAdvantage miles with the advent of the new Revenue-based Skymiles 2015 program on the horizon. I've been a loyal Delta flyer for many years, but the new program no longer makes sense for someone like me who travels on his own dime mostly for leisure.
So here I am at my home airport of Washington-Reagan for this first flight of three today. I was excited about getting to take Alaska on this DL codeshare, as it had been years since I'd flown AS and had fond memories of those flights. Let see if Alaska is still as good as I remember!
We get through security pretty quickly with the Sky Priority/Fast Track lane. Normally, we wouldn't have access. As many of you may be aware, relations between AS and DL have been getting a little icy since the start of the DL hub build-up at SEA. DL Elites used to have access to Priority security lanes, but that was taken away recently (less than a year ago?). DL Elites also lost the ability to check bags for free on AS. However, and this is probably the best reciprocal Elite benefit, AS has kept the complimentary upgrades for DL Elites. This AS leg was booked in coach, so I was hoping that the upgrades might clear, but knowing how tough those upgrades are on transcons, I made sure to get some good seats in the back. In the exit row to be precise.
Nice surprise for the big #AvGeek in me when we get to the gate. We are on AS' 75th Anniversary Retrojet. Ain't she a beauty!
When I checked with the gate agents, they told me that we were number 1 and 2 on the upgrade list, but that F checked in full. I wasn't expecting the seats to free up since DCA is a spoke and not a connecting hub for AS and there was no hope of passengers missing connections. But you never know…the very nice gate agent told me to go ahead and board when it starts and that she would come on board and get us if by any chance the seats opened up. How nice!
On DL if you board, you fall off the upgrade list.
Boarding time. What a great livery!
Great first impression of the cabin which seems fresh and modern.
Excellent legroom in the Exit Row of course.
The seats are modern and comfortable.
There are power outlets at every seat, which is awesome. Very convenient for this long 5 hour transcon.
Winglet
Southwest's new livery on a 73G…eh, I don't know how I feel about it.
AA's new livery, however…I love!
A cool thing about this retrojet is that there is information and pictures of Alaska's history on the overhead bin doors.
Despite a very full flight, the seat in the middle stays empty. Woo hoo! So we may have just barely missed the upgrade, but in the end we have even more room than in F.
This aircraft is equiped with WiFi, which is great. Unfortunately, there's no other kind of IFE. You could rent tables to watch movies, however, if you did not bring your own. It's a good option to have, but not as good as in-seat IFE.
We push back from the gate a few minutes early.
Takeoff facing north with views of DC and the Capitol, currently getting some work done.
Washington Monument and the National Mall
BYOIFE
Because we didn't have time to eat breakfast before leaving, let's test the Buy-on-board. The prices seem pretty reasonable.
A half-hour into the flight. The first service begins.
Fun coffee cup.
French Toast, bacon and eggs
Pretty decent for $6.
While we were eating, one of the flight attendants came by and asked if we has maple syrup with our meals. I said no, but I'm not worried about it. After our meal trays were picked up, she came back a few minutes later with a fruit and cheese plate to apologize for the lack of maple syrup. Wow, seriously? Honestly, I didn't even notice that we were supposed to have maple syrup, lol. That was very sweet and proactive of the FA.
Fruit and Cheese Plate
Over the Rockies.
The cabin in flight
Towards the middle of the flight, there is another beverage and snack service. I just got a coke as I was still full from earlier.
When you have this beautiful scenery out your window, do you really need IFE? :-)
Then came the best part of the flight. The flight deck announced that we were flying over the Grand Canyon and actually banked right so all the folks on the right side could see it, then banked left! As much as I fly, I can't remember anytime a crew has done something like that. It was like going back to the golden age of flying in the AS retrojet :-)
Just pure awesomeness
Las Vegas in the distance
Solar farm
As we get closer to L.A., the desert turns greener.
The smog/haze seems to be thick over the L.A. basin this morning.
Air-to-air with a Southwest 73G also landing at LAX
We land early
TBIT
And we pull up to the gate 10 minutes early.
Last view of our B738 retrojet
Thanks for reading and see you soon for the next flight in a newly retrofitted B757-300.
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Verdict
Alaska Airlines
8.0/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering8.0
Washington - DCA
8.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access9.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness9.0
Los Angeles - LAX
7.1/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.0
Services7.0
Cleanliness7.0
Conclusion
A great flight in Y with Alaska Airlines!
Comfort: We were lucky to have one of the few empty seats on the plane next to us. The slimline seats are pretty comfortable but a bit hard.
Crew: Great crew on this flight. They had great positive attitudes and I was so surprised by the free cheese platter. What a nice gesture!
Catering: The breakfast was really good for only $6. I also really liked AS' cinnamon chip/pretzel mix.
IFE: The only bad thing about this flight was the lack of IFE. Most other carriers are making sure they have PTVs on these longer domestic flights. AS, would be the perfect airline if they had IFE. But the fact that they have in-seat power and WiFi helps a lot.
Early departure and early arrival. Doesn't get better than that!
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Une demi-heure après le décollage, le service commence. - Sans aucun doute, vous pensez en français. ;)
What a nice way to start a series. AS is a decent carrier and I have always felt that their B.O.B. meals were the cheapest in the business. Unfortunately their F catering sometimes fall a bit short of expectations, but that is another story.
Thanks for the comment! Hahaha, oops. I always miss a line or two when translating reports. Thanks for catching that for me! And don't use vous with me, too formal :-) I remember AS being pretty decent in F, but this was years ago, like 2008. I don't remember what the catering was like...so I guess it wasn't anything impressive or memorable LOL
Hi Kévin! Thanks for the great flight report. You are lucky for flying with a retrojet! I'm new here and I'd like to know if I could post my flight reports with pictures with my watermark. Thanks, João
Yes, I think that's fine. I wish they weren't right in the middle like that (personal preference), but it's fine. If you have any pics of crews, make sure to blur out their faces unless you have their express permission to publish their photo.
Kevin, looks like you had a great cross-country journey and thanks for sharing those spectacular aerial shots of the Grand Canyon. Looking forward to reading the subsequent legs. I was in Kona three weeks ago (not enough pics to do a report unfortunately), hope the weather is still perfect there during your visit!
Thanks for the comment. I stayed mostly on the Hilo side and it was typical Hilo side weather--rainy one minute than sunny again. Too bad you don't have enough pics to do a report on your KOA flights, would be good to compare product among different airlines. I'm guessing you took United? I got the impression you were a *A Elite from your reports.
My brother's wedding was on the dry Kona side so it was 70s and sunny everyday.
You guessed wrong! I am actually ex-CO growing up in Houston so have historically been SkyTeam and unwillingly inherited UA/*A... I normally fly *A, but I still poke around some other alliances to see what they have to offer. Once I get a real job, then I'll settle on a preferred carrier/alliance. I flew KE to HNL via ICN to try their Prestige Sleeper seats since they are the only Asian carrier to send flatbeds to Hawaii (maybe not a fair fight for domestic F used on ex-mainland US flights).
Ah CO...they were a good airline before UA ruined them :-P Yeah, KE flat-beds and soft product would definitely not be a good comparison with US domestic F. For SkyTeam options, I believer DL flies HNL to NGO, or at least they used to anyway. They definitely do NRT-HNL with flat beds. DL is a great airline, but Skymiles program sucks.
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17 Comments
- Sans aucun doute, vous pensez en français. ;)
What a nice way to start a series. AS is a decent carrier and I have always felt that their B.O.B. meals were the cheapest in the business. Unfortunately their F catering sometimes fall a bit short of expectations, but that is another story.
Thanks for sharing this enjoyable experience.
And don't use vous with me, too formal :-)
I remember AS being pretty decent in F, but this was years ago, like 2008. I don't remember what the catering was like...so I guess it wasn't anything impressive or memorable LOL
- What can I say? I was taught properly at the private all boys Catholic school ;)
I went to Catholic school too...but I didn't turn out so proper, LOL
I'm new here and I'd like to know if I could post my flight reports with pictures with my watermark.
Thanks,
João
You guessed wrong! I am actually ex-CO growing up in Houston so have historically been SkyTeam and unwillingly inherited UA/*A... I normally fly *A, but I still poke around some other alliances to see what they have to offer. Once I get a real job, then I'll settle on a preferred carrier/alliance. I flew KE to HNL via ICN to try their Prestige Sleeper seats since they are the only Asian carrier to send flatbeds to Hawaii (maybe not a fair fight for domestic F used on ex-mainland US flights).
Yeah, KE flat-beds and soft product would definitely not be a good comparison with US domestic F. For SkyTeam options, I believer DL flies HNL to NGO, or at least they used to anyway. They definitely do NRT-HNL with flat beds. DL is a great airline, but Skymiles program sucks.
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