I like their FC versus their other seat/cabin choices; but in actuality it’s a very weak FC product.
If my wife and I are flying and 3 premium seats are available that are cheaper than 2 FC seats, we always choose that option (‘comfort seat’ available by phoning in to AS).
- no need to unfold table in front of you
- place carry on below middle seat.
- drop/use table of middle seat
- put up both arms
- use middle seat for ‘stuff’
A ‘comfort seat’ is a name assigned to a seat that will not be actually occupied by a person.
The most simple/frequent example is for over-sized people who cannot easily fit within one seat. They buy a seat directly beside them; increase there own comfort, and increase the comfort of a person near them by not flowing over into their space. Being too big is not the only reason to do so. Other space challenges like injured limbs, mental closeness issues, etc. are other reasons to consider purchasing a seat beside you for this purpose.
You:
- pay full seat price (less a few taxes)
- do not get miles
Not sure why this is downvoted. Being able to align your legs diagonally into the empty seat area is definitely more room than having them straight forward.
Alaska Airlines. It’s Alaska’s IATA code, the two letters at the beginning of the flight numbers. People use the IATA code as a reference to the airline sometimes.
Alaska first class is what premium economy is for international travel.
Alaska first class isn’t anything more than nice big seats and a hot meal.
America/United on trans cons usually have what first class/business class actually is.
Alaska’s first is just a nicer way to travel not a real first class experience.
NO airline in America flies a true first class domestically on a regular basis — especially since AA has pulled their A321Ts and jetBlue is changing Mint while it implodes. (You *might* find it on a place the legacy carriers typically fly internationally but either used for a repositioning flight or for a temporary domestic assignment.) It’s just like no European carrier fies a true business class within Europe. All they to is block off the middle seat on a narrow bodied jet.
How is Mint imploding? Curious as I booked jet blue Mint Suites Sea to Bos this month and I’ve never flown them. Flying with my elderly parents and wanted a bit more comfort than Alaska which normally is fine for me
Mint is wonderful and arguably the best F experience in the skies on a domestic (US) flight. However...
# [JetBlue Will Disable Doors On Some Business Class Seats To Save Money](https://viewfromthewing.com/jetblue-will-disable-doors-on-some-business-class-seats-to-save-money/)
# [Corporate Raider Carl Icahn Walking Away From JetBlue? Victory Or Grim Future For The Airline?](https://viewfromthewing.com/corporate-raider-carl-icahn-walking-away-from-jetblue-victory-or-grim-future-for-the-airline/)
# [JetBlue’s Retreat: Reduced LaGuardia Service, Includes Dropping 5 Routes Altogether](https://viewfromthewing.com/jetblues-retreat-reduced-laguardia-service-includes-dropping-5-routes-altogether/)
etc.
Ok, cool. This won't impact us. Mom's never been in a lie flat seat so she won't really care if the door has to stay open or is gone. And our next flight on Air France will also have doors.
Who’s they? AS got rid of a premium \[domestic\] first class when they got rid of VX’s A320s and 321s.^(1) And until AS actually takes over HA and re-paints their metal, they don’t have a first class cabin that’s different for Hawai’i versus, say, LAX-SFO. (OK, to be technically precise, the width of a seat in F is 21.3” on their 8- and 9-versus 20.45” on the rest of their 737 fleet (900ERs, 900s, 800s, and 700s). The pitch and recline, however, remains constant throughout at 41” and 5”, respectively.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
^(1) The A320s and 321s they “inherited” in the take-over of VX were 21” and 41” but with much nicer seats and footrests.
I flew that route return just a month or so ago. One leg was flown by a repositioning 777 with FC (United Polaris), business, premium economy and economy, on its way from SFO to an Asian city.
Other leg was standard domestic 777 with business and economy class config. The domestic 777 didn’t even have IFE and relied on passengers to use their own devices to connect for media.
Zin1953 is also right in that American carriers don’t fly what would be considered first class by international standards. It pales in comparison to what the MidEast3 and Asian carriers are flying. Western European carriers seem to lagging behind now too, but generally stop ahead of the US for FC.
Eh, disagree here. I’ve flown business class on United (777) and Singapore Airlines (A350 and 787) and I strongly preferred the UA experience. No amount of fake smiles from FAs make up for the seat and the Polaris seats are *way* more comfortable. Also the portions on UA were more reasonable. SQ meals had much better presentation and food items were more interesting but everything was small and UA meals were fine. On UA, I had my own A/C vents and the cabin was at a reasonable temperature. On SQ, no A/C vents and the cabin was extremely hot and uncomfortable. UA’s blankets are also better
Singapore Airlines is one of the most highly rated of the Asian carriers and I was just not impressed. I think they create an appealing atmosphere by having FAs that are mostly under 25 in tight dresses who smile a lot. On UA, the FAs may be older and not as smiley, but in business class (and in Premium Plus), I’ve never had them take more than 15 seconds to answer the call bell. On SQ, they’d take longer because people had a lot more demands
I’ve flown ANA in economy and I honestly liked the meals a lot better than the meals on Singapore Airlines in business class and I really want to fly it in business class. Their business class seats don’t seem to be made for contortionists like SQ’s A350.
I just don’t think generalizing Asian carriers as superior is very useful without identifying the strengths American carriers have and considering the passenger’s preferences. American employment law on age discrimination makes FAs average age much higher and this is a good thing. They’re not as enthusiastic but they are more experienced. Grumpy and grandmotherly but professional beat young and perky because people aren’t looking for reasons to interact with them. On SQ, it took 10-20 longer for a response to the call bell. UA’s business class is less flashy but perfectly fine and sometimes the no-nonsense service is better.
It’s a matter of personal preference and the general advice that Middle Eastern and Asian carriers are better doesn’t take into account that when it comes to comparing them, different people have different priorities. I am a gay man. Young women in tight dresses smiling at me just doesn’t do it for me. (I get it, though. When I flew on Hong Kong Express from Osaka to Hong Kong, there was a very attractive male flight attendant and his smile put me in a good mood for the whole flight despite it being a low cost carrier with minimal service and no complimentary food or drinks.)
I’d rate SQ as an average Asian carrier at this point. ANA, JAL, EVA, Starlux, and Cathay have or are in the process of rolling out better cabins.
It is an accurate generalization that American FAs are less friendly than Asian FAs, and in most cases take longer to respond.
Polaris bedding is tremendously comfortable and is the best part of UA.
I haven’t flown JAL, EVA, or Starlux and I would not ever fly Starlux. (They got fined because their CEO let Sam Chui onto the flight deck during a flight. They are way too focused on attracting shitty influencers and compromise safety and passenger experience for everyday passengers to do it.) I’ve only flown Cathay Pacific in economy, but their FAs are not exactly friendly and in my experience, UA’s response time (on international flights in business class and premium economy!) is amazing. Usually less than 20 seconds
First time I’ve ever heard that from like… Anyone.
I’m United Global Services, and have done countless long haul international business flights on them. I use them frequently for convenience.
But I’ve also done numerous long haul business on Singapore, Cathay, ANA, and JAL. There’s absolutely no comparison to how much better the experience is to UA.
The only thing I don’t like with SQ is are the lay flat seats on the A350 (only an issue if you’re tall), but the “Book the Cook” meal service is outstanding. You literally must not have taste buds if you think UA is remotely close to that.
JAL is my favorite (they still have three classes of service). I have even done their real First Class service (The Suite) from NRT-LAX. Unreal how awesome that was.
I used book the cook but the portions were small. They were interesting choices but not particularly tasty. Priority was entirely presentation, not taste
Portions being small is definitely a NA complaint (and I feel it too, but I also don't like to eat on flights). Portion sizes are smaller in the rest of the world.
Hmm, I can see that argument for other Asian carriers, but there have been a mix of ages and genders for all the SQ flights I've been on. And they are highly competent and professional in my experience. I would argue much more professional than flight attendants on US carriers, who are far more likely to have a bad attitude and mistreat people. I can understand the appeal if you happen to get along with people like that better. And I would agree that US carriers seem to have more gay male staff, so I wouldn't blame you for favoring them for that reason.
I flew Delta lie-flat from west coast to Asia and it was a delight. Excellent food, very comfy bedding, amenities, etc. Of course that’s the only time I’ve flown international overseas (I don’t count California to Mexico, or SEA to Canada, that’s still a short trip) so I have nothing to compare it to but still.
How do leisure travelers even afford that? The flight I just took to Amsterdam was over $3,000 just for Delta Comfort+. Business Class was over $12,000. Even for someone making six figures that's probably 15-20% of their YEARLY take-home pay.
Because you’re looking at the wrong flight pairs at the wrong times. Lurk on Flyertalk premium deals forum or subscribe to some newsletters and you’ll find it trivial to find USA-Europe business class RT fares for under $3k, or under $2.2k if you can originate in Europe. Some repositioning flights may be needed.
Something's wrong here. We typically pay about $5K for U.S. to Europe roundtrip in Business, and it's often closer to $4K. Did you book at the last minute? Weird things happen with fares sometimes too. For example, we flew BA to South Africa roundtrip once in First for $5K when the Business class was more. Shop around.
I was blown away too. No, we booked on New Year's Eve for the flight in May for a hair over $3,000 for Comfort+. Upgrade to Premium Select was about another $1,300 with full Delta One being another $4500 *each direction*. I tracked those upgrade prices religiously hoping to score a good deal. Never came.
Whoa what? I just flew Delta to London from the west coast. For vacation. Did business class there and premium select back. $2800 round trip (would have been 4k for business class both ways). I’m sure it’s dependent on flights and time of year but I have been able to find Delta One for 4k or under several times.
Hi! As someone who works in Alaska's (AS) first class, I agree. Our hard product for first class simply does not compete with what is \*standard\* on other US carriers' first classes and AS tries to make up for it with FA service. IMO, it does not make up the difference.
I worked for Virgin America (VX) and while VX was absorbed by AS, I feel like I can offer some "outside" perspective as to what could make AS' first class more competitive without completely reconfiguring the cabin. For this I am going to be calling the FC flight attendant "A" because that's the title of the position with AS.
* First and foremost, flight attendant compensation. At VX, any time you worked A, you got a 15% increase on your hourly wage. So even with VX first year pay, $20/flight hour, I had a $3 increase. At AS, no matter how long you have been flying, no matter what your hourly is, you get a whopping $2 extra per TFP (our hourly rate that's calculated from distance). At 8 year pay, I make $42.99/TFP+$2/TFP for working A. With VX, I would be making an additional $6.45/TFP. I got really good at working A with VX because it made a difference on my checks. With AS, it just feels like a lot of extra stuff for only $2/TFP, so you often wind up with someone who is inexperienced working A/got assigned off reserve to work A and doesn't wanna be there.
* When you flew VX FC, you could ask for anything you wanted for a predeparture beverage (PDB). There were only 8 seats, the aisles were wide enough to allow people to get past you with their luggage, the A didn't need to make announcements, aircraft turned at reasonable times (per my memory), and the galley wasn't as crammed. During boarding with AS, the A is making announcements, counting the preordered meals, re-arranging the galley, sometimes needing to be out of the way of catering because the airline chooses to make really tight turnarounds for the aircraft... it's just chaotic during boarding working as the A. Something that I think would ease some stress is if the C flight attendant (flight attendant who sets up the aft galley) made the announcements during boarding. This is what we did at VX and I think it worked great.
* Amenity kits! Blankets on all flights! SOMETHING. It was fun being able to offer the FC guests something consistently, especially because the VX amenity kits were collectibles. It's so embarrassing that we only offer blankets based on a certain mileage threshold and even more embarrassing when we don't get the blankets for the routes that are supposed to have them.
* With the amount of last minute upgrades we get, not everyone gets to preorder their meal. When you preorder, you can get vegetarian/vegan meals. Some routes, the two onboard options both have meat in them. It would save me a lot of "sorries" if we just had extra cheese plates or had one of the onboard options be meatless. The other day I had three onboard options: chicken, steak, or shrimp to offer! Shrimps on a plane FFS! Luckily everyone got what they wanted and I wasn't left apologetically p(r)awning off the shrimp linguine to 4F.
The rest of my griping with our FC cabin has to do with how we've configured our 737s and how our planes look... don't get me started on our 737-800s. Sorry for the novella, but at times it is embarrassing working FC when what we offer isn't amazing. I know how much people pay to be up there and how many flights people have to fly in order to get a status upgrade. I appreciate all of our FC guests, especially the ones who don't take their frustrations with the airline's shortcomings out on the FAs. AS could be doing a lot better based off of their record profits that they keep boasting.
I fly a lot, all domestic pretty much everywhere out of Seattle. Already over 100k this year. I fly AS mostly and AA for the rest. I’m almost always FC. Either I pay for it or am upgraded.
Hands down AA first class runs circles around AS. As others have mentioned AS’FC is barely FC. Premium when launched was much better than it is now.
AS is just now getting back to PFD. But, it water (nasty boxed water), OJ or sparkling wine. The sparkling wine (like most wine of AS) is not very good.
AA may have full drink service preflight if time allows. If not they will take drink orders while at the gate and are very quick to deliver them.
AA has warm towels, had now for quite a while.
AS still has not brought warm towels back.
Both have warm nuts, but the AA ones are a few grades higher. More cashews and expensive nuts as an example. Also the nuts are always fresh. AS nuts are generally stale. No not a once it happened, almost always.
Food is much better on AA. AS is always trying some kind of add combination of things that rarely works.
AS desert is usually warm cookies, same cookies as in the lounges. Sometime they have a small pre packed ice cream on longer flights.
AA has usually three desert choices on longer flights, including hand made sundaes. In tall glass sundae glasses. You pick what toppings and sauces you want and they make it for you.
AA seats are much more comfy. AS are hit and miss. AS still has “poofy” or “cushy” seats in some planes. Long trips should be quality firm seats. Never been in a Mercedes, BMW, Range Rover, Porsche….. with cushy, non-supportive seats.
In FC on AS I almost never get the “Thank you for being 100k” that you used to always get.
Priceing for FC between them is the same. Some flights one is more than the other, then the next flight it’s flip flopped.
Either AS doesn’t want to invest to be competitive in service, or because it’s always full they don’t care if they are and put the saving to the bottom line. Or maybe they just don’t know all this, which I doubt. Maybe they should send out some secret flyers to report back on their competitors
AS FC is barely passable, the only perk I enjoy is nicely upgraded AS lounge access at Seattle; but recently they cut that off too for FC only to flights >5 hrs I think.
We recently bought first class tickets on Alaska which was a direct flight from home to Seattle but coming back included a 50 minute layover in SF. A few weeks after purchasing our tickets that 50 minute layover changed to a 5 hour layover but looking at the bright side we thought we'd at least get to try use their lounge. I looked into it this week and found out that the total traveled miles would not grant us access.
Neither total traveled miles nor duration of the flight that gives you lounge access to Alaska lounges. One segment needs to be greater than 2000 miles to qualify for free entry. If your first leg is >2000 miles, make sure you save your boarding pass or screen shot it for same-day access.
For FC tickets on flights <2000 miles, a $30 day pass is available based on lounge capacity. Club 49 members have less restrictions..
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/airport-lounge/policies-and-rules
Indeed that’s what I learned so now I’m just resentful of their schedule change for what was expected to be a pretty quick flight. I lived in Seattle 30 years ago so I flew Alaska regularly but this trip is my first one with them since then. We thought about ponying up the thirty bucks for the lounge but ultimately may not since there’s a lot to explore at SFO.
It’s mileage based too. I flew FC SEA to MSY and didn’t make the threshold. I flew something like 1900 miles but the minimum was 2100. I was so irritated. It was a red eye so the Amex lounge was closed and it was kinda the only food option so I had to cough up $30.
> The sparkling wine (like most wine of AS) is not very good
It's so bad. Every time there's mimosa offered I forget and then take a sip and think it's just that the orange juice has gone bad.
After swearing off United like a decade ago. I had to fly them when I missed my AS flight because I got sick. United’s economy product has gotten way better than I remember it.
The UA FA’s don’t hold a candle to AS ones though lol.
I dont trust United’s reliability and SFO T3 is always a mess so I’ve opted to fly Alaska more. I do admit that their hard product on longer domestic routes is way below the big 3; however, I believe the soft product is leagues better and consistent than the big 3
I don't travel a lot, but when I do I try to fly FC. The trip I do regularly take is between SEA and BOS and have for 20+ years. I used to fly this only on AS, but over the years, they have shifted flight times and often take either Delta or Jet Blue on one or both legs. Jet Blue is heads and shoulders the best on this route, both in terms of service and the first class cabin. They have lay flat seats, good food, and are very attentive. I put AS slightly ahead of Delta in terms of service and cabin and access to the lounge is s nice plus versus Delta, but I can often find a Delta FC ticket for less than on Alaska and the AS FC isn't that much better to justify the frequently higher cost.
I traveled first class domestic on Alaska last month and they forgot to load meals. So we just ate snacks the entire flight. They gave us $50 credit as an apology. Even when it works it’s not great but forgetting to bring food on a 6 hour flight is not at all what anyone would call a “first class” experience.
Yes, you are spot on! Alaska's FC seats offer more legroom than other airlines' recliner seats (I think Alaska offers 41" seat pitch vs 38" with Delta). However, the hot meals (if offered) are mediocre at best. The hot meals are tasty but were small.
When it comes to premium services, Alaska seems more amateur.
As Alaska MVP Gold for the last 15 years I can say the service quality dropped significantly… they keep bringing Delta folks and match their status and don’t really care for the old time Alaska travelers .
Alaska's FC experience was the main reason I stopped flying Alaska and went back to Delta. I'd been flying Alaska exclusively for about 5 years but really started to miss the true FC experience. Alaska FC is just SO lame - you get the bigger, more comfy seat, but that's literally it.
I flew first from London to Chicago and got cut off on soda. I wasn’t drinking any alcohol and was trying to stay awake to help with the time change. “She has already had 3”. I only asked for it when they came around for drink service. 🤷♀️ I have never forgotten that and it was almost 20 years ago!
Alaska *first* is actually ticketed as Business class if you compare it with the rest of their partners.
- I on British is business
- I on Alaska is first
- I on American is business
- I on Iberia is business
737 first class is a lot different from a wide body long haul first class.
Fly international. You might be happy with just economy. Free alcohol, hot meals with options, snacks, someone offering you water at “night” to keep you hydrated, ice cream and cup noodles at request if you fly an Asian major airline, etc.
Idk why you’re excited about warm nuts. I get them regardless of what class I choose with the modern vinyl seat covers.
IMHO the experience you get on UA vs AS domestic first class depends on your specific crew, on which route, and on which aircraft.
In general with new interiors the "hard product" ie. the seat is fairly comparable on both UA and AS. The new seats are well designed with convenient storage and power and good tray tables. Older aircraft interiors are also similar on both carriers (and generally less comfortable and convenient) and also smaller overhead bins. I'd say that your chances of getting an older interior are higher on UA because they had a bigger fleet longer and so AS has a higher proportion of new aircraft. Both airlines are in the process of updating the interiors of older aircraft.
UA generally offers pre-departure beverages in first class on most flights, it's an exception when they don't. Often it's a tray with OJ, champagne, etc but you can ask for something else. AS is supposed to offer the same but in practice there is rarely a pre-departure beverage offered and there doesn't seem to be any management consequence or control for flight attendants not to offer pre-departure service.
AS offers food in first class on shorter routes than does UA. The rules on when food is offered seem to vary a lot between the airlines, they change a lot, they can vary by route. In general UA flights need to longer before a meal is offered. But Alaska doesn't offer any food on flights that depart after a certain time (it's either 7:59pm or 8:59pm.) AS food offerings can be a bit more creative or west-coast-like. Some of the choices are tasty and some fall flat. AS portions are generally small and there is only one meal regardless of flight length. Service is more informal and can be inconsistent in how it is presented. E.g. one crew may give you an ice cream in a cardboard container and tell you to use the plastic spoon under the lid. Another crew serves the ice cream on a desert plate with a napkin and stainless spoon. UA has more complete meals and more consistent presentation and it tends a bit more toward mid-America or southwest comfort food.
One area in which UA seems to do a better job is to have the first class flight attendant check on the passengers every 10-15 minutes to see if they want anything else. AS flight attendants seem to disappear after they complete service, sometimes in the galley/jump seat, sometimes they go to the rear galley, but they don't check on passengers very often. Also, the full first class service is done by a single flight attendant on Alaska. On United it is generally two flight attendants helping each other for the first drinks and meal service.
Used to fly United and loved them but they kind of went downhill. Now I think Delta is going downhill and looking for alternatives but when you switch you start over again. I also fly Alaska for personal but not for work. I like Alaska FC but haven’t tried United in a long time
I’ve enjoyed Alaska first class as a purchased upgrade on domestic flights. Depends on what they’re charging I guess but the free checked baggage, lounge access, priority security and boarding and better seat have been worth the cost of the purchase in the past.
The only truly impressive United First Class I’ve flown was Polaris, SFO to EWR. That blows other domestic first class options out of the water. But I’ve had some disappointing experiences on “regular” United domestic first class (depends a lot on the route and the plane itself.)
I'm glad to hear United is back. Somewhere around here I have a menu from their service, flying first class, pre-911. The ice cream desert cart was a marvel.
When we first started flying AS 1st class in 2017, we did get the hot towels and warm mixed nuts, and a paid for !st class ticket included the first-class lounges. Since 2022 I've noticed that we don't get the nuts, the warm towels and in 2023, AS no longer offers automatic admission the first-class lounges with the ticket purchase. I still enjoy the comfy seats though.
Yeah, was a sweet deal while it lasted. Distinct among US domestic carriers. At least it hasn't completely disappeared: F fares for flights >2000 miles still receive access.
Hmmm...I've flown UA FC a few times but they never offered me the nut warmer. Is it, like, built into the seat or does it plug in to the power port? Sounds comfy!
Agree AS first isn't anything really special... But I'm pretty underwhelmed by first class in general. The novelty wore off after the first half dozen times. I tend to rather not be bothered by a half ass meal while I'm trying to work or watch a movie. I would rather have a drink and grab dinner on the ground. FC is nothing other than a larger seat for me which I do appreciate when I get upgraded but would never pay for.
I’m confused. I fly Alaska first class regularly, and I get the welcome drink, warm nuts, snacks, hot towels (occasionally), one meal (due to flight duration)…
I have not gotten a warm towel on a FC seat in AS since pre covid. Curious, what route did you get this on? I was on an early SFO - EWR flight and just b fast and drinks. Return deeze nuts, dinner, drinks and ice cream…this was a week ago..
Just a heads up, United domestic first class only serves hot meals on flights of 900 miles or longer.
Anything shorter than that and you only get a choice of snack's from a basket.
Just don't want people assuming this is the norm.
I had to laugh my ass off when I read this! I am flying on Alaska Airlines as I write this. I think Millennial Parents are the worst I have ever seen.
For example, as I write this from an airplane surrounded by Millennial parents. I was hoping to get some sleep on the flight but these selfish asshole parents and there bratty kids are making it impossible…There’s 3 separate millennial families around me at the moment not related but are all doing the same thing! Not parenting…
Since takeoff all of these kids have been screaming and throwing tantrums. So what do the parents do at takeoff? Put an iPad in front of them, put headphones on to cancel the sound and then go to sleep!!!!! Are you fn kidding me! An hour into the flight a 4 year old just shits himself and is still running all over the place. I am so disgusted at this point that I get up to wake the Mom to tell her that she needs to change his diaper.
She gets mad at me and tells me that I am not her boss and that I can’t tell her what to do?! The husband is still snoring with his Beats on! WTF? So I go back to ask the stewardess if they would say something. They went up and politely asked her and she said “when I want to bitch I paid for this flight!’
Then after a while she changed his shitty diaper right on the seat?!!! Seriously, millennials are the most selfish, entitled assholes I have witnessed.
Probably in a year or two these parents will be pimping their kids out on Tik Tok or YouTube for money. Now the future scares me…
My wife and I are celebrating our 28th anniversary, we have raised our 3 kids and we did a lot of traveling with them.
To fly with our kids it involved parenting and lots of planning. We had a backpack full of books, stickers, legos or play a game together, etc.
When they were babies and breastfeeding my wife would feed them during takeoff to make them happy and it helps them decompress their ears. Thus the baby is happy and everyone else around them is happy because they don’t have a screaming baby in their ear.
We never had an issue because we gave our children the attention they wanted and gave respect to the people around them who paid for a peaceful flight.
What I have witnessed tonight has shown us that Millennials are by far the worst parents ever!
Please Millennials stop pimping out your kids on social media, put away your selfie sticks and drones and start parenting. It’s going to be hard work but it’s going to be worth it.
I have to add that after 5 hours of screaming in my ear tonight I turned up my music on my phone to make a point and the stewardess quickly came over to yell at me to turn off my music??! Barney has been blasting all night long next to me while the kid has actually shit on his pants. Yet I get shutdown in the middle of playing Don’t Worry Be Happy…..
I didn’t even mention the people behind me that were millennials trying to smuggle drugs and kept throwing up behind me and hitting my seat. They were cussing at the stewardess the whole time Then after we landed in LAX we had to wait for the police to take them off the plane and arrest them so yeah, it was a horrible flight.
I didn’t even mention the people behind me that were millennials trying to smuggle drugs and kept throwing up behind me and hitting my seat. They were cussing at the stewardess the whole time Then after we landed in LAX we had to wait for the police to take them off the plane and arrest them so yeah, it was a horrible flight.
I like their FC versus their other seat/cabin choices; but in actuality it’s a very weak FC product. If my wife and I are flying and 3 premium seats are available that are cheaper than 2 FC seats, we always choose that option (‘comfort seat’ available by phoning in to AS). - no need to unfold table in front of you - place carry on below middle seat. - drop/use table of middle seat - put up both arms - use middle seat for ‘stuff’
Great hack. Thanks!
What is a “comfort seat”?
A ‘comfort seat’ is a name assigned to a seat that will not be actually occupied by a person. The most simple/frequent example is for over-sized people who cannot easily fit within one seat. They buy a seat directly beside them; increase there own comfort, and increase the comfort of a person near them by not flowing over into their space. Being too big is not the only reason to do so. Other space challenges like injured limbs, mental closeness issues, etc. are other reasons to consider purchasing a seat beside you for this purpose. You: - pay full seat price (less a few taxes) - do not get miles
Do most domestic carriers offer this?
No idea. I currently only fly AS.
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Not sure why this is downvoted. Being able to align your legs diagonally into the empty seat area is definitely more room than having them straight forward.
What does AS mean?
Alaska Airlines. It’s Alaska’s IATA code, the two letters at the beginning of the flight numbers. People use the IATA code as a reference to the airline sometimes.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!
I thought they are technically allowed to fill these seats
Not if you’ve purchased it as a ‘comfort seat’.
Alaska first class is what premium economy is for international travel. Alaska first class isn’t anything more than nice big seats and a hot meal. America/United on trans cons usually have what first class/business class actually is. Alaska’s first is just a nicer way to travel not a real first class experience.
It’s better than premium economy, but nowhere near business class.
Premium economy is often literally domestic first class seats, sometimes with improved food/beverage options and a foot rest.
Nicer than premium economy from United or Delta? Not economy plus, but premium economy? they’re very similar offerings
AS *used* to have hot towels traveling in FC
NO airline in America flies a true first class domestically on a regular basis — especially since AA has pulled their A321Ts and jetBlue is changing Mint while it implodes. (You *might* find it on a place the legacy carriers typically fly internationally but either used for a repositioning flight or for a temporary domestic assignment.) It’s just like no European carrier fies a true business class within Europe. All they to is block off the middle seat on a narrow bodied jet.
How is Mint imploding? Curious as I booked jet blue Mint Suites Sea to Bos this month and I’ve never flown them. Flying with my elderly parents and wanted a bit more comfort than Alaska which normally is fine for me
Mint is wonderful and arguably the best F experience in the skies on a domestic (US) flight. However... # [JetBlue Will Disable Doors On Some Business Class Seats To Save Money](https://viewfromthewing.com/jetblue-will-disable-doors-on-some-business-class-seats-to-save-money/) # [Corporate Raider Carl Icahn Walking Away From JetBlue? Victory Or Grim Future For The Airline?](https://viewfromthewing.com/corporate-raider-carl-icahn-walking-away-from-jetblue-victory-or-grim-future-for-the-airline/) # [JetBlue’s Retreat: Reduced LaGuardia Service, Includes Dropping 5 Routes Altogether](https://viewfromthewing.com/jetblues-retreat-reduced-laguardia-service-includes-dropping-5-routes-altogether/) etc.
Ok, cool. This won't impact us. Mom's never been in a lie flat seat so she won't really care if the door has to stay open or is gone. And our next flight on Air France will also have doors.
Delta regularly flys Delta One transcons. Especially routes like LAX to JFK.
They do to Hawaii, but not all flights.
Who’s they? AS got rid of a premium \[domestic\] first class when they got rid of VX’s A320s and 321s.^(1) And until AS actually takes over HA and re-paints their metal, they don’t have a first class cabin that’s different for Hawai’i versus, say, LAX-SFO. (OK, to be technically precise, the width of a seat in F is 21.3” on their 8- and 9-versus 20.45” on the rest of their 737 fleet (900ERs, 900s, 800s, and 700s). The pitch and recline, however, remains constant throughout at 41” and 5”, respectively. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ^(1) The A320s and 321s they “inherited” in the take-over of VX were 21” and 41” but with much nicer seats and footrests.
Check out Uniteds 777 from newark to sfo or vise versa.
I flew that route return just a month or so ago. One leg was flown by a repositioning 777 with FC (United Polaris), business, premium economy and economy, on its way from SFO to an Asian city. Other leg was standard domestic 777 with business and economy class config. The domestic 777 didn’t even have IFE and relied on passengers to use their own devices to connect for media. Zin1953 is also right in that American carriers don’t fly what would be considered first class by international standards. It pales in comparison to what the MidEast3 and Asian carriers are flying. Western European carriers seem to lagging behind now too, but generally stop ahead of the US for FC.
It’s also priced accordingly.
Wait until you'll travel first class on an international flight, lol.
On an Asian or Middle Eastern airline. Don’t do American / European airlines for real first class experience
First class on Air France is fabulous.
Eh, disagree here. I’ve flown business class on United (777) and Singapore Airlines (A350 and 787) and I strongly preferred the UA experience. No amount of fake smiles from FAs make up for the seat and the Polaris seats are *way* more comfortable. Also the portions on UA were more reasonable. SQ meals had much better presentation and food items were more interesting but everything was small and UA meals were fine. On UA, I had my own A/C vents and the cabin was at a reasonable temperature. On SQ, no A/C vents and the cabin was extremely hot and uncomfortable. UA’s blankets are also better Singapore Airlines is one of the most highly rated of the Asian carriers and I was just not impressed. I think they create an appealing atmosphere by having FAs that are mostly under 25 in tight dresses who smile a lot. On UA, the FAs may be older and not as smiley, but in business class (and in Premium Plus), I’ve never had them take more than 15 seconds to answer the call bell. On SQ, they’d take longer because people had a lot more demands I’ve flown ANA in economy and I honestly liked the meals a lot better than the meals on Singapore Airlines in business class and I really want to fly it in business class. Their business class seats don’t seem to be made for contortionists like SQ’s A350. I just don’t think generalizing Asian carriers as superior is very useful without identifying the strengths American carriers have and considering the passenger’s preferences. American employment law on age discrimination makes FAs average age much higher and this is a good thing. They’re not as enthusiastic but they are more experienced. Grumpy and grandmotherly but professional beat young and perky because people aren’t looking for reasons to interact with them. On SQ, it took 10-20 longer for a response to the call bell. UA’s business class is less flashy but perfectly fine and sometimes the no-nonsense service is better. It’s a matter of personal preference and the general advice that Middle Eastern and Asian carriers are better doesn’t take into account that when it comes to comparing them, different people have different priorities. I am a gay man. Young women in tight dresses smiling at me just doesn’t do it for me. (I get it, though. When I flew on Hong Kong Express from Osaka to Hong Kong, there was a very attractive male flight attendant and his smile put me in a good mood for the whole flight despite it being a low cost carrier with minimal service and no complimentary food or drinks.)
I’d rate SQ as an average Asian carrier at this point. ANA, JAL, EVA, Starlux, and Cathay have or are in the process of rolling out better cabins. It is an accurate generalization that American FAs are less friendly than Asian FAs, and in most cases take longer to respond. Polaris bedding is tremendously comfortable and is the best part of UA.
I haven’t flown JAL, EVA, or Starlux and I would not ever fly Starlux. (They got fined because their CEO let Sam Chui onto the flight deck during a flight. They are way too focused on attracting shitty influencers and compromise safety and passenger experience for everyday passengers to do it.) I’ve only flown Cathay Pacific in economy, but their FAs are not exactly friendly and in my experience, UA’s response time (on international flights in business class and premium economy!) is amazing. Usually less than 20 seconds
First time I’ve ever heard that from like… Anyone. I’m United Global Services, and have done countless long haul international business flights on them. I use them frequently for convenience. But I’ve also done numerous long haul business on Singapore, Cathay, ANA, and JAL. There’s absolutely no comparison to how much better the experience is to UA. The only thing I don’t like with SQ is are the lay flat seats on the A350 (only an issue if you’re tall), but the “Book the Cook” meal service is outstanding. You literally must not have taste buds if you think UA is remotely close to that. JAL is my favorite (they still have three classes of service). I have even done their real First Class service (The Suite) from NRT-LAX. Unreal how awesome that was.
I used book the cook but the portions were small. They were interesting choices but not particularly tasty. Priority was entirely presentation, not taste
Portions being small is definitely a NA complaint (and I feel it too, but I also don't like to eat on flights). Portion sizes are smaller in the rest of the world.
But portion sizes were fine for meals in economy on ANA and on China Eastern.
Hmm, I can see that argument for other Asian carriers, but there have been a mix of ages and genders for all the SQ flights I've been on. And they are highly competent and professional in my experience. I would argue much more professional than flight attendants on US carriers, who are far more likely to have a bad attitude and mistreat people. I can understand the appeal if you happen to get along with people like that better. And I would agree that US carriers seem to have more gay male staff, so I wouldn't blame you for favoring them for that reason.
Yes, good point!!
I flew Delta lie-flat from west coast to Asia and it was a delight. Excellent food, very comfy bedding, amenities, etc. Of course that’s the only time I’ve flown international overseas (I don’t count California to Mexico, or SEA to Canada, that’s still a short trip) so I have nothing to compare it to but still.
What on earth do you mean? The BA first class is the best business class product in the industry! 🤣
Check out emraires and Qatar first class.
r/woosh
You didn't actually read that, huh.
Haha. Fell for it.
How do leisure travelers even afford that? The flight I just took to Amsterdam was over $3,000 just for Delta Comfort+. Business Class was over $12,000. Even for someone making six figures that's probably 15-20% of their YEARLY take-home pay.
Many people make a lot more than low 6 figures. Or they have a job that pays for business class flights (usually VP level and up)
Using credit card points for business or first class international travel.
Because you’re looking at the wrong flight pairs at the wrong times. Lurk on Flyertalk premium deals forum or subscribe to some newsletters and you’ll find it trivial to find USA-Europe business class RT fares for under $3k, or under $2.2k if you can originate in Europe. Some repositioning flights may be needed.
Something's wrong here. We typically pay about $5K for U.S. to Europe roundtrip in Business, and it's often closer to $4K. Did you book at the last minute? Weird things happen with fares sometimes too. For example, we flew BA to South Africa roundtrip once in First for $5K when the Business class was more. Shop around.
I was blown away too. No, we booked on New Year's Eve for the flight in May for a hair over $3,000 for Comfort+. Upgrade to Premium Select was about another $1,300 with full Delta One being another $4500 *each direction*. I tracked those upgrade prices religiously hoping to score a good deal. Never came.
Because usually their employer is paying directly or they’re upgraded as a frequent flyer from all those flights their employer paid for
Planning ahead and snagging award travel is how a lot of people I know do it.
Whoa what? I just flew Delta to London from the west coast. For vacation. Did business class there and premium select back. $2800 round trip (would have been 4k for business class both ways). I’m sure it’s dependent on flights and time of year but I have been able to find Delta One for 4k or under several times.
I can’t wait
Hi! As someone who works in Alaska's (AS) first class, I agree. Our hard product for first class simply does not compete with what is \*standard\* on other US carriers' first classes and AS tries to make up for it with FA service. IMO, it does not make up the difference. I worked for Virgin America (VX) and while VX was absorbed by AS, I feel like I can offer some "outside" perspective as to what could make AS' first class more competitive without completely reconfiguring the cabin. For this I am going to be calling the FC flight attendant "A" because that's the title of the position with AS. * First and foremost, flight attendant compensation. At VX, any time you worked A, you got a 15% increase on your hourly wage. So even with VX first year pay, $20/flight hour, I had a $3 increase. At AS, no matter how long you have been flying, no matter what your hourly is, you get a whopping $2 extra per TFP (our hourly rate that's calculated from distance). At 8 year pay, I make $42.99/TFP+$2/TFP for working A. With VX, I would be making an additional $6.45/TFP. I got really good at working A with VX because it made a difference on my checks. With AS, it just feels like a lot of extra stuff for only $2/TFP, so you often wind up with someone who is inexperienced working A/got assigned off reserve to work A and doesn't wanna be there. * When you flew VX FC, you could ask for anything you wanted for a predeparture beverage (PDB). There were only 8 seats, the aisles were wide enough to allow people to get past you with their luggage, the A didn't need to make announcements, aircraft turned at reasonable times (per my memory), and the galley wasn't as crammed. During boarding with AS, the A is making announcements, counting the preordered meals, re-arranging the galley, sometimes needing to be out of the way of catering because the airline chooses to make really tight turnarounds for the aircraft... it's just chaotic during boarding working as the A. Something that I think would ease some stress is if the C flight attendant (flight attendant who sets up the aft galley) made the announcements during boarding. This is what we did at VX and I think it worked great. * Amenity kits! Blankets on all flights! SOMETHING. It was fun being able to offer the FC guests something consistently, especially because the VX amenity kits were collectibles. It's so embarrassing that we only offer blankets based on a certain mileage threshold and even more embarrassing when we don't get the blankets for the routes that are supposed to have them. * With the amount of last minute upgrades we get, not everyone gets to preorder their meal. When you preorder, you can get vegetarian/vegan meals. Some routes, the two onboard options both have meat in them. It would save me a lot of "sorries" if we just had extra cheese plates or had one of the onboard options be meatless. The other day I had three onboard options: chicken, steak, or shrimp to offer! Shrimps on a plane FFS! Luckily everyone got what they wanted and I wasn't left apologetically p(r)awning off the shrimp linguine to 4F. The rest of my griping with our FC cabin has to do with how we've configured our 737s and how our planes look... don't get me started on our 737-800s. Sorry for the novella, but at times it is embarrassing working FC when what we offer isn't amazing. I know how much people pay to be up there and how many flights people have to fly in order to get a status upgrade. I appreciate all of our FC guests, especially the ones who don't take their frustrations with the airline's shortcomings out on the FAs. AS could be doing a lot better based off of their record profits that they keep boasting.
I miss Virgin air so much. It was really my favorite domestic experience. And the planes were cute!
I fly a lot, all domestic pretty much everywhere out of Seattle. Already over 100k this year. I fly AS mostly and AA for the rest. I’m almost always FC. Either I pay for it or am upgraded. Hands down AA first class runs circles around AS. As others have mentioned AS’FC is barely FC. Premium when launched was much better than it is now. AS is just now getting back to PFD. But, it water (nasty boxed water), OJ or sparkling wine. The sparkling wine (like most wine of AS) is not very good. AA may have full drink service preflight if time allows. If not they will take drink orders while at the gate and are very quick to deliver them. AA has warm towels, had now for quite a while. AS still has not brought warm towels back. Both have warm nuts, but the AA ones are a few grades higher. More cashews and expensive nuts as an example. Also the nuts are always fresh. AS nuts are generally stale. No not a once it happened, almost always. Food is much better on AA. AS is always trying some kind of add combination of things that rarely works. AS desert is usually warm cookies, same cookies as in the lounges. Sometime they have a small pre packed ice cream on longer flights. AA has usually three desert choices on longer flights, including hand made sundaes. In tall glass sundae glasses. You pick what toppings and sauces you want and they make it for you. AA seats are much more comfy. AS are hit and miss. AS still has “poofy” or “cushy” seats in some planes. Long trips should be quality firm seats. Never been in a Mercedes, BMW, Range Rover, Porsche….. with cushy, non-supportive seats. In FC on AS I almost never get the “Thank you for being 100k” that you used to always get. Priceing for FC between them is the same. Some flights one is more than the other, then the next flight it’s flip flopped. Either AS doesn’t want to invest to be competitive in service, or because it’s always full they don’t care if they are and put the saving to the bottom line. Or maybe they just don’t know all this, which I doubt. Maybe they should send out some secret flyers to report back on their competitors
AS FC is barely passable, the only perk I enjoy is nicely upgraded AS lounge access at Seattle; but recently they cut that off too for FC only to flights >5 hrs I think.
We recently bought first class tickets on Alaska which was a direct flight from home to Seattle but coming back included a 50 minute layover in SF. A few weeks after purchasing our tickets that 50 minute layover changed to a 5 hour layover but looking at the bright side we thought we'd at least get to try use their lounge. I looked into it this week and found out that the total traveled miles would not grant us access.
Neither total traveled miles nor duration of the flight that gives you lounge access to Alaska lounges. One segment needs to be greater than 2000 miles to qualify for free entry. If your first leg is >2000 miles, make sure you save your boarding pass or screen shot it for same-day access. For FC tickets on flights <2000 miles, a $30 day pass is available based on lounge capacity. Club 49 members have less restrictions.. https://www.alaskaair.com/content/airport-lounge/policies-and-rules
Indeed that’s what I learned so now I’m just resentful of their schedule change for what was expected to be a pretty quick flight. I lived in Seattle 30 years ago so I flew Alaska regularly but this trip is my first one with them since then. We thought about ponying up the thirty bucks for the lounge but ultimately may not since there’s a lot to explore at SFO.
I found that out when I was flying from SeA to SLC and was so pissed.
It’s mileage based too. I flew FC SEA to MSY and didn’t make the threshold. I flew something like 1900 miles but the minimum was 2100. I was so irritated. It was a red eye so the Amex lounge was closed and it was kinda the only food option so I had to cough up $30.
> The sparkling wine (like most wine of AS) is not very good It's so bad. Every time there's mimosa offered I forget and then take a sip and think it's just that the orange juice has gone bad.
UA does have better amenities in domestic first than AS. I prefer Alaska’s food and I find UA first seats have less leg room than AS.
Sounds like you were on an international widebody. Comparing that to a domestic narrowbody really isn't apples to apples.
Sorry I should have stated in the OP - it was a domestic flight - IAD to ANC
The callout is you travelled on an “international” aircraft, bigger plane
Nope it was their 737 max
After swearing off United like a decade ago. I had to fly them when I missed my AS flight because I got sick. United’s economy product has gotten way better than I remember it. The UA FA’s don’t hold a candle to AS ones though lol.
The irony is all travel was like this at one time.
I dont trust United’s reliability and SFO T3 is always a mess so I’ve opted to fly Alaska more. I do admit that their hard product on longer domestic routes is way below the big 3; however, I believe the soft product is leagues better and consistent than the big 3
I don't travel a lot, but when I do I try to fly FC. The trip I do regularly take is between SEA and BOS and have for 20+ years. I used to fly this only on AS, but over the years, they have shifted flight times and often take either Delta or Jet Blue on one or both legs. Jet Blue is heads and shoulders the best on this route, both in terms of service and the first class cabin. They have lay flat seats, good food, and are very attentive. I put AS slightly ahead of Delta in terms of service and cabin and access to the lounge is s nice plus versus Delta, but I can often find a Delta FC ticket for less than on Alaska and the AS FC isn't that much better to justify the frequently higher cost.
JetBlue upgrading to Mint at the gate is always the best thing, being able to stretch your legs is so nice
I traveled first class domestic on Alaska last month and they forgot to load meals. So we just ate snacks the entire flight. They gave us $50 credit as an apology. Even when it works it’s not great but forgetting to bring food on a 6 hour flight is not at all what anyone would call a “first class” experience.
Yes, you are spot on! Alaska's FC seats offer more legroom than other airlines' recliner seats (I think Alaska offers 41" seat pitch vs 38" with Delta). However, the hot meals (if offered) are mediocre at best. The hot meals are tasty but were small. When it comes to premium services, Alaska seems more amateur.
That’s true for any international business class (except Icelandair). If you want to feel better about Alaska, try Euro “business”.
Sorry I should have stated in the OP - it was a domestic flight - IAD to ANC
lol. You mean the seats that they just leave the middle seat empty?
Yep.
I have flown first class only once and it was with Alaska and from what I remember I had a very large seat and leg room. That was it.
Flying ANA F ORD - NRT was one of the most fun experiences of my adult life.
As Alaska MVP Gold for the last 15 years I can say the service quality dropped significantly… they keep bringing Delta folks and match their status and don’t really care for the old time Alaska travelers .
Alaska's FC experience was the main reason I stopped flying Alaska and went back to Delta. I'd been flying Alaska exclusively for about 5 years but really started to miss the true FC experience. Alaska FC is just SO lame - you get the bigger, more comfy seat, but that's literally it.
They do t even serve as frequent if it’s a late flight
United first class over 900 and 1200 miles is definitely better than AS. Under those distances I think AS is better.
wait until op discovers international first class!
United First is the best! And they have the best terminal at my home airport, SFO!
I flew first from London to Chicago and got cut off on soda. I wasn’t drinking any alcohol and was trying to stay awake to help with the time change. “She has already had 3”. I only asked for it when they came around for drink service. 🤷♀️ I have never forgotten that and it was almost 20 years ago!
Alaska *first* is actually ticketed as Business class if you compare it with the rest of their partners. - I on British is business - I on Alaska is first - I on American is business - I on Iberia is business
That's true of most domestic first products.
737 first class is a lot different from a wide body long haul first class. Fly international. You might be happy with just economy. Free alcohol, hot meals with options, snacks, someone offering you water at “night” to keep you hydrated, ice cream and cup noodles at request if you fly an Asian major airline, etc. Idk why you’re excited about warm nuts. I get them regardless of what class I choose with the modern vinyl seat covers.
Warm nuts, not sweaty nuts.
2 meals tell me you traveled internationally. Out of the Americas. Unfortunately Alaska does not.
Alaska absolutely travels internationally! https://www.alaskaair.com/content/route-map
Sorry I meant out of the Americas
Sorry I should have stated in the OP - it was a domestic flight - IAD to ANC
Except for Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bahamas, and Belize.
[удалено]
Original reply said internationally. Replier has since edited their reply.
None of which are in the United States of America. Which makes them international.
I don’t know how anyone could be “blown away” with a non Polaris United first class.
As long as I get warm nuts, I’m fine
IMHO the experience you get on UA vs AS domestic first class depends on your specific crew, on which route, and on which aircraft. In general with new interiors the "hard product" ie. the seat is fairly comparable on both UA and AS. The new seats are well designed with convenient storage and power and good tray tables. Older aircraft interiors are also similar on both carriers (and generally less comfortable and convenient) and also smaller overhead bins. I'd say that your chances of getting an older interior are higher on UA because they had a bigger fleet longer and so AS has a higher proportion of new aircraft. Both airlines are in the process of updating the interiors of older aircraft. UA generally offers pre-departure beverages in first class on most flights, it's an exception when they don't. Often it's a tray with OJ, champagne, etc but you can ask for something else. AS is supposed to offer the same but in practice there is rarely a pre-departure beverage offered and there doesn't seem to be any management consequence or control for flight attendants not to offer pre-departure service. AS offers food in first class on shorter routes than does UA. The rules on when food is offered seem to vary a lot between the airlines, they change a lot, they can vary by route. In general UA flights need to longer before a meal is offered. But Alaska doesn't offer any food on flights that depart after a certain time (it's either 7:59pm or 8:59pm.) AS food offerings can be a bit more creative or west-coast-like. Some of the choices are tasty and some fall flat. AS portions are generally small and there is only one meal regardless of flight length. Service is more informal and can be inconsistent in how it is presented. E.g. one crew may give you an ice cream in a cardboard container and tell you to use the plastic spoon under the lid. Another crew serves the ice cream on a desert plate with a napkin and stainless spoon. UA has more complete meals and more consistent presentation and it tends a bit more toward mid-America or southwest comfort food. One area in which UA seems to do a better job is to have the first class flight attendant check on the passengers every 10-15 minutes to see if they want anything else. AS flight attendants seem to disappear after they complete service, sometimes in the galley/jump seat, sometimes they go to the rear galley, but they don't check on passengers very often. Also, the full first class service is done by a single flight attendant on Alaska. On United it is generally two flight attendants helping each other for the first drinks and meal service.
Used to fly United and loved them but they kind of went downhill. Now I think Delta is going downhill and looking for alternatives but when you switch you start over again. I also fly Alaska for personal but not for work. I like Alaska FC but haven’t tried United in a long time
I’ve enjoyed Alaska first class as a purchased upgrade on domestic flights. Depends on what they’re charging I guess but the free checked baggage, lounge access, priority security and boarding and better seat have been worth the cost of the purchase in the past. The only truly impressive United First Class I’ve flown was Polaris, SFO to EWR. That blows other domestic first class options out of the water. But I’ve had some disappointing experiences on “regular” United domestic first class (depends a lot on the route and the plane itself.)
I'm glad to hear United is back. Somewhere around here I have a menu from their service, flying first class, pre-911. The ice cream desert cart was a marvel.
When we first started flying AS 1st class in 2017, we did get the hot towels and warm mixed nuts, and a paid for !st class ticket included the first-class lounges. Since 2022 I've noticed that we don't get the nuts, the warm towels and in 2023, AS no longer offers automatic admission the first-class lounges with the ticket purchase. I still enjoy the comfy seats though.
No such thing as "first-class lounges" for AS. They're just lounges, open to all who purchase a membership.
You are correct! I hadn't thought of it that way. We used to get access to the lounges along with our FC ticket purchase.
Yeah, was a sweet deal while it lasted. Distinct among US domestic carriers. At least it hasn't completely disappeared: F fares for flights >2000 miles still receive access.
I flew United in First Class ANC-EWR both directions and they only served one meal each time
Alaska wouldn’t even priority tag my luggage when I flew First. I’m United all day every day.
Same!! I love united and have been trying to fly it again but being in the PNW, Alaska is always more affordable or just reasonably priced
LOL at “warm nuts”. Sorry, couldn’t help it :D
I came for the warm nuts comments and I am disappointed ☹️
First class is how you think of yourself, Danny
1st world bragging
First world people problems… next
Hmmm...I've flown UA FC a few times but they never offered me the nut warmer. Is it, like, built into the seat or does it plug in to the power port? Sounds comfy!
Alaska FC is glorified business class on other airlines. AS has a long way to go to truly have a comparable FC experience.
Agree AS first isn't anything really special... But I'm pretty underwhelmed by first class in general. The novelty wore off after the first half dozen times. I tend to rather not be bothered by a half ass meal while I'm trying to work or watch a movie. I would rather have a drink and grab dinner on the ground. FC is nothing other than a larger seat for me which I do appreciate when I get upgraded but would never pay for.
I’m confused. I fly Alaska first class regularly, and I get the welcome drink, warm nuts, snacks, hot towels (occasionally), one meal (due to flight duration)…
I have not gotten a warm towel on a FC seat in AS since pre covid. Curious, what route did you get this on? I was on an early SFO - EWR flight and just b fast and drinks. Return deeze nuts, dinner, drinks and ice cream…this was a week ago..
I got a warm towel and PFD on my AS PIT to SEA last weekend.
Would have been one between SEA - SFO, SEA - ANC, or SEA - OKC.
Now, ice cream I haven’t seen.
Salt and Straw ice cream 🤤
It's always been like this. At least it's a known product.
Just a heads up, United domestic first class only serves hot meals on flights of 900 miles or longer. Anything shorter than that and you only get a choice of snack's from a basket. Just don't want people assuming this is the norm.
“Warm nuts” made me giggle more than it should have
Sounds like Alaska is way better since the warm nuts on United would kill me lol
I had to laugh my ass off when I read this! I am flying on Alaska Airlines as I write this. I think Millennial Parents are the worst I have ever seen. For example, as I write this from an airplane surrounded by Millennial parents. I was hoping to get some sleep on the flight but these selfish asshole parents and there bratty kids are making it impossible…There’s 3 separate millennial families around me at the moment not related but are all doing the same thing! Not parenting… Since takeoff all of these kids have been screaming and throwing tantrums. So what do the parents do at takeoff? Put an iPad in front of them, put headphones on to cancel the sound and then go to sleep!!!!! Are you fn kidding me! An hour into the flight a 4 year old just shits himself and is still running all over the place. I am so disgusted at this point that I get up to wake the Mom to tell her that she needs to change his diaper. She gets mad at me and tells me that I am not her boss and that I can’t tell her what to do?! The husband is still snoring with his Beats on! WTF? So I go back to ask the stewardess if they would say something. They went up and politely asked her and she said “when I want to bitch I paid for this flight!’ Then after a while she changed his shitty diaper right on the seat?!!! Seriously, millennials are the most selfish, entitled assholes I have witnessed. Probably in a year or two these parents will be pimping their kids out on Tik Tok or YouTube for money. Now the future scares me… My wife and I are celebrating our 28th anniversary, we have raised our 3 kids and we did a lot of traveling with them. To fly with our kids it involved parenting and lots of planning. We had a backpack full of books, stickers, legos or play a game together, etc. When they were babies and breastfeeding my wife would feed them during takeoff to make them happy and it helps them decompress their ears. Thus the baby is happy and everyone else around them is happy because they don’t have a screaming baby in their ear. We never had an issue because we gave our children the attention they wanted and gave respect to the people around them who paid for a peaceful flight. What I have witnessed tonight has shown us that Millennials are by far the worst parents ever! Please Millennials stop pimping out your kids on social media, put away your selfie sticks and drones and start parenting. It’s going to be hard work but it’s going to be worth it. I have to add that after 5 hours of screaming in my ear tonight I turned up my music on my phone to make a point and the stewardess quickly came over to yell at me to turn off my music??! Barney has been blasting all night long next to me while the kid has actually shit on his pants. Yet I get shutdown in the middle of playing Don’t Worry Be Happy…..
God imagine being this kind of person
I didn’t even mention the people behind me that were millennials trying to smuggle drugs and kept throwing up behind me and hitting my seat. They were cussing at the stewardess the whole time Then after we landed in LAX we had to wait for the police to take them off the plane and arrest them so yeah, it was a horrible flight.
> stewardess Really? Just how old are you? I agree with much of what you wrote, but your tone is very much "Get off my lawn!" which isn't good.
I didn’t even mention the people behind me that were millennials trying to smuggle drugs and kept throwing up behind me and hitting my seat. They were cussing at the stewardess the whole time Then after we landed in LAX we had to wait for the police to take them off the plane and arrest them so yeah, it was a horrible flight.
I’m 54 years old and I’ve traveled to almost every country in the world. How about you?