Review of Alaska Airlines flight from San Francisco to Kailua in Economy

Introduction:

I took this flight with my parents as part of a SEA-SFO-KOA routing. You can see my report on the SEA-SFO flight here: https://flight-report.com/en/report/34384/Alaska-Airlines-1742-Seattle-SEA-San-Francisco-SFO I had a 2 hour layover at San Francisco before this flight, and since I had gotten up at a ridiculously early hour, I was quite tired. I did some plane spotting, walked through some shops in the terminal, and got an early lunch. Before I knew it, boarding started for my flight to Kona, so I made my way to gate 53.

Flight 869: SFO-KOA

At gate 53, I saw the 10-year old 737-800, N593AS, waiting to take us to Hawaii. They were boarding all rows at that time and there was no line, so I was able to get my boarding pass scanned and go onto the jetbridge without waiting,

I took my seat in row 21, which had good legroom and was comfortable.

Great wing view (but scratched, dirty windows). We were parked next to N286VA, "legally high".

While the rest of the pax boarded and everything else was finished before pushing back, I saw a United 757-200 and China Eastern A330-200 in a special livery taxi by, among other planes.

And once we pushed back I saw a Cathay Pacific 777-300ER and a More to Love A321NEO.

After a short wait for takeoff, we launched into the sky, and had a really nice view of the California coast.

SFO after departure.

The views outside on mainland-HI flights are quite uneventful for 90% of the flight, because there's obviously nothing but the open ocean during that time, so I closed my window shade once I stopped seeing land. I then fell asleep for about 45 minutes and didn't wake up again until the beverage service. Entertainment tablets would have been available for a small fee during that time though, if my past flights with Alaska are any indication. When I woke up, the FAs were coming through the cabin with drinks and their BOB menu. I chose orange juice, was given Biscoff cookies for free, and bought a Tom Douglas-inspired coconut chicken bowl. Unfortunately, since I took this flight, Alaska has gotten rid of the Tom Douglas hot meal plates in favor of a new buy-on-board menu.

I spent the next few hours watching TV, dozing, and reading. Strangely enough, the streaming entertainment didn't work on my iPad so I had to watch Netflix on this flight, but on my flight back home it worked. A few water services were made, and I was surprised that they didn't serve free Mai Tais, because even though I'm not of age, they were always mentioned in other Alaska trip reports to Hawaii that I've read. 45 minutes before landing, the plane started its descent into Kona.

We passed over the northern tip of the Big Island, then we were over the ocean for a few minutes, until the western shore of the island came into view.
Some coral reef and very blue water down below. I imagine that this would look even better on a sunny day.

Volcanic terrain. This flow was from the 1801 Huʻehuʻe lava flow from the volcano Hualālai, and it's where the current Kona airport was built on. .

Landed!

Alaska only has one gate in Kona, gate 7, and we were 20 minutes early, so we had to wait 20 minutes, just like in SFO, for the aircraft in our gate to leave.
Planes we passed while taxiing to our gate. United 737-900ER to SFO, American 777-200ER to DFW, and an American 757-200 to PHX.

Once we parked, I had expected there to be airstairs in the front and back, but there was only one set in the front.
Cabin view while deplaning.

I then left the plane, took my first breath of that warm, humid Hawaiian air, and got one last picture of ship 593 before she headed back to SFO later that afternoon.

The terminal at KOA that I arrived at. This one houses Hawaiian, Alaska, and Delta, and another similar building has all the other airlines.

My parents and I then went to Alaska's baggage claim, and thanks to their 20-minute baggage guarantee, we only had to wait a few minutes for our checked bags before getting our rental car and starting our Hawaiian vacation.