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How Do You Book Intra-Alaska "Milk Run" Flights?

How Do You Book Intra-Alaska "Milk Run" Flights?

Old Jun 20, 2016, 1:43 pm
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by zrs70
About to do milk run SEA-KTN-WRG-PSG-JNU.

Have seat 8a. Should be a great day!

Full trip:

LAX-SEA on DL.
Overnight

SEA-KNT-WRG-PSG-JNU
connection
JNU-SEA
connection
SEA-LAX

It will be a long day!
how much was this if you don't mind me asking?
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Old Jun 20, 2016, 1:51 pm
  #47  
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Originally Posted by haddon90
how much was this if you don't mind me asking?
SEA-KTN-WRG-PSG-JNU was $220.

JNU-SEA-LAX about the same.

LAX-SEA was much less.
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Old Jun 20, 2016, 5:13 pm
  #48  
 
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Originally Posted by zrs70
About to do milk run SEA-KTN-WRG-PSG-JNU.

Have seat 8a. Should be a great day!

Full trip:

LAX-SEA on DL.
Overnight

SEA-KNT-WRG-PSG-JNU
connection
JNU-SEA
connection
SEA-LAX

It will be a long day!
I (and others) generally suggest the F side of the plane for northbound flights to/within Southeast Alaska. Better views IMO. You'll enjoy the flight either way though, I'm sure!
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Old Jun 22, 2016, 1:28 pm
  #49  
 
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Originally Posted by Kaphias
I (and others) generally suggest the F side of the plane for northbound flights to/within Southeast Alaska. Better views IMO. You'll enjoy the flight either way though, I'm sure!
I second that. I have been on those flights and they fly very low (10K ft?) so the views are spectacular on sunny days.
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Old Jun 22, 2016, 6:12 pm
  #50  
 
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Originally Posted by BOB W
I second that. I have been on those flights and they fly very low (10K ft?) so the views are spectacular on sunny days.
Yes, especially the WRG-PSG leg which is very short, in fact one of the shortest commercial jet flights in the world. The only time I flew it was in the rain, annoyingly... hope to catch it in the sun one day.
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Old Jun 23, 2016, 11:19 am
  #51  
 
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Originally Posted by BOB W
Originally Posted by Kaphias
I (and others) generally suggest the F side of the plane for northbound flights to/within Southeast Alaska. Better views IMO. You'll enjoy the flight either way though, I'm sure!
I second that. I have been on those flights and they fly very low (10K ft?) so the views are spectacular on sunny days.
We have a quorum.

If one cares about views, the rule of thumb seems to be this - book an F seat on any northbound flight to ANC from Outside, to ANC from Southeast, or within Southeast Alaska. Correspondingly, book an A seat on any southbound flight in those categories.

But from ANC to FAI, an A seat is preferable in the event Denali is out ...
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Old Jun 29, 2017, 2:50 pm
  #52  
 
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i want to book this...but on the way up i want to go LAX-ANC-BRW and then do BRW-ANC-milk run-SEA

what would be the best way to book this using miles?
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Old Jun 29, 2017, 3:54 pm
  #53  
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Originally Posted by haddon90
i want to book this...but on the way up i want to go LAX-ANC-BRW and then do BRW-ANC-milk run-SEA

what would be the best way to book this using miles?
I just posted some info that might be helpful at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...l#post28501769.

Note that AS awards allow one stopover (anywhere en-route), so it wouldn't be possible to do the full combination of BRW-ANC-CDV-YAK-JNU-PSG-WRG-KTN-SEA on one award, since that would require two stops of more than 4 hours (in ANC and in JNU). You'd either need to redeem a couple of awards or choose one of the two milk run options.
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Old Jun 30, 2017, 9:44 am
  #54  
 
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Originally Posted by jackal
I just posted some info that might be helpful at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...l#post28501769.

Note that AS awards allow one stopover (anywhere en-route), so it wouldn't be possible to do the full combination of BRW-ANC-CDV-YAK-JNU-PSG-WRG-KTN-SEA on one award, since that would require two stops of more than 4 hours (in ANC and in JNU). You'd either need to redeem a couple of awards or choose one of the two milk run options.
i'm assuming i could not book two one-way awards?
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Old Jun 30, 2017, 10:25 am
  #55  
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Originally Posted by haddon90
i'm assuming i could not book two one-way awards?
Well, I did say "You'd either need to redeem a couple of awards." So, yes, booking two separate one-way awards would work. You wouldn't be protected in case of IRROPS, though, and IRROPS are not an unknown thing in rural Alaska. Clouds are common, and many rural airports lack ILS approaches.

You're Gold, though, so you should be able to recover from a misconnect or whatever just by changing your award (assuming saver spapce is available, of course) without a change fee.
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Old Jul 1, 2017, 2:29 pm
  #56  
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Originally Posted by jackal
IRROPS are not an unknown thing in rural Alaska. Clouds are common, and many rural airports lack ILS approaches.
For example those of us that had to charter a boat to get back to Juneau from Glacier Bay a few years ago.
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Old Jul 1, 2017, 4:04 pm
  #57  
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Originally Posted by CDKing
For example those of us that had to charter a boat to get back to Juneau from Glacier Bay a few years ago.
As I recall, you folks only had to charter a boat because you didn't leave enough of a cushion before your onward-connecting flights on separate ticekts.
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Old Jul 2, 2017, 6:50 am
  #58  
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Originally Posted by jackal
As I recall, you folks only had to charter a boat because you didn't leave enough of a cushion before your onward-connecting flights on separate ticekts.

Even 15 hours wasn't enough buffer.
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 3:12 am
  #59  
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Originally Posted by CDKing
Even 15 hours wasn't enough buffer.
On a once a day flight?

Nope!

*Yes @jackal and I have been stranded before intra-AK, but this was on a Ravn award (booked via AS miles) in GAM. And IIRC there was 2 flights a day to OME, both canceled due to low ceilings.
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Old Jul 4, 2017, 5:13 pm
  #60  
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Originally Posted by beckoa
On a once a day flight?

Nope!

*Yes @jackal and I have been stranded before intra-AK, but this was on a Ravn award (booked via AS miles) in GAM. And IIRC there was 2 flights a day to OME, both canceled due to low ceilings.
AS was once daily. Wings of Alaska was a few a day and some charter airline. All canceled that day due to low clouds.

Though not SE, I was on Ravn award once to OME. Connection canceled in St Marys, almost got stuck but they were somehow they were able to rebook on the same plane turn using my return award since it was full fare, otherwise, I would have been stuck (since they couldn't get through to AS to reissue my trip in vain)
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