LPDAL

On March 28th, 2015, US Airways frequent flyer program, Dividend Miles, was fully merged into American Airlines' famous AAdvantage system. When my combined balance came out, it amounted to a little over 35,000 miles -- just enough for a one - way redemption for a three class transcon, perhaps on LAX-MIA?

I explained in part one, High School Is Over: Delta First Class, 757-200s of DL/NW+Hampton Inn FLL✈DTW✈SLC✈PDX, of this three - part adventure how I decided on PDX as the final destination for my combined trip:

My whole trip was based around the SAAver redemption awards of 32,500 miles one way out of PDX, while the Delta reservation sort of "fed" me into the First Class suites of the AA 777 on LAX-MIA. PDX was of particular interest to me because I had long tried to capture Alaska Airlines in a trip report, I was unable to -- Alaska first class fares on FLL-SEA-FLL are regularly near or above $2,000.

Thus, I was delighted to see that I could fly PDX-RNO-LAX-MIA, which would fit both Alaska First Class and Horizon Air's Q400 alongside the 777 on LAX-MIA. However, I discovered that this redemption rate was only available on Saturday, May 30th, the day that I'd have to fly my outbound leg on the Boeing 757-200s of Delta Air Lines.


Browsing for rates on the correct date of Sunday, May 31st, 2015, I again found a single redemption rate for both AS and AA -- without the fun stop in Reno, however: Alaska Airlines first class on PDX-LAX and American Airlines Flagship First Class Suites on the 777-200 on LAX-MIA. I instantaneously booked that one, as it was the only available rate in a sea of gray "unavailable on this date" indicator boxes.


This wouldn't be my first time on Alaska Airlines (or Horizon Air, for that matter.). In the summer of 2002, when my maternal set of grandparents still lived in SFO (they now live in FLL alongside us), they paid for my older brother and I to come with them on a two week long "Journey To Alaska" trip operated by tour group company Abercrombie and Kent, which is not to be confused with young adult clothing brand Abercrombie and Fitch.


Abercrombie and Kent planned an outstanding getaway for us, with gold panning, fly fishing, seaplane rides, and of course, the biggest treat for me was the Alaskan Milk Run on the 737 combis (for my non aviation geek readers, a "Combi" is an airplane configured to carry both passengers and bulk cargo at the same time) to the smaller cities within Alaska. Thus, it would be quite fitting that I would be taking another ride with AS -- an airline I had be introduced to the summer after Kindergarten ended for me, the summer after my senior year ended.

LPDAL

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Portland - OR International Airport Hampton Inn Hotel by Hilton Properties *2*
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For those of you who read the beginning portion of this journey, High School Is Over: Delta First Class, 757-200s of DL/NW+Hampton Inn FLL✈DTW✈SLC✈PDX | Trip Reports Forum | FlyerTalk, you'll remember my baggage got stuck in Detroit and thus got sent back to my [parents'] residence at my request. If you didn't read the first part;

I did manage to scrounge up some rudimentary toiletries consisting deodorant, toothbrush / toothpaste, and a small shaving kit from the gift shop located on the ground level of the hotel so I could at least have a shot at being fit for public consumption. Luckily my button down and trousers from the day before weren't dirty at all so that I wouldn't have to brake hard for a pit stop at Brooks Brothers, if there even was one, in PDX.

After I paid my hotel bill, which is becoming more and more of a commonplace occurrence to me, I inquired to the hotel clerk about when the shuttle would be arriving. Unfortunately, she tells me, it just left, so no dice for you! Apparently it ran every thirty minutes, so I spent the time spotting at one of the nearby fences that overlooked Runway 28R.


I had a bit of a hunch that caused me to walk back to the hotel, feeling that the shuttle was there at the moment and I'd be able to board it. However, it was actually at the nearby Sheraton, three hundred feet away! I huffed and puffed and sprinted in Kenneth Cole dress shoes in the direction of the other lodging facility, barely making it aboard while profusely breathing, which driver found quite humorous! I, on the other hand, was just glad to be aboard.

LPDAL

KPDX (Portland International Airport / Portland - Columbia Super Airport / Swan Island Municipal Airport) ✈ KLAX (Los Angeles International Airport / Los Angeles Airport / Mines Field)

• Airline: Alaska Airlines
• Airline IATA Code: IATA Code # AS
• Airline IACO Code: IACO Code # ASA
• Airline Callsign: Radio Callsign ALASKA
• Airline Flight Number: # AS568 (IATA) / ASA568 (ICAO)
• Aircraft / Equipment Used for Flight : Boeing 737-890(WL)
• Aircraft / Equipment Registration: Registration # N562AS
• Airline Aircraft / Equipment Fleet Number: # 562
• Aircraft / Equipment Nationality: United States of America - FAA -
• Registered Aircraft / Equipment
• Aircraft's First Flight: October 13th, 2006
• Aircraft's Age as of Date of Flight: 8.8 Years Old as of Sunday, May 31st, 2015
• Aircraft Test Registration: N562AS (United States of America)
• Aircraft Config: C16Y141, formerly C16Y148 as N562AS with Alaska Airlines as of January 1st, 2014
• Aircraft Construction Number (MSN) : # 35091
• Aircraft Line Number: # 2084
• Aircraft Delivery Date: To Alaska Airlines as N562AS: October 25th, 2006
• Aircraft Powerplant (s) : 2x CFMI CFM56-7B26 High Bypass Turbofan Engines
• Aircraft Owned by / Leased from: LEASED from RBS, formerly LEASED from SMBC as N562AS with Alaska Airlines as of June 1st, 2012
• Meal: Snack (Light Meal)
• Cabin: Alaska Airlines First Class
• Seat Assignment: 1A
• A/C Equipped with IFE: No
• A/C Equipped with Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access: Yes, GoGo Inflight Wi-Fi Available for purchase
• Airline Flight Date: Sunday, May 31st, 2015
• Boarding Call Time: 8:50 AM PST, Sunday, May 31st, 2015
• Boarding Zone: 1, First Class
• Departure Time: 9:30 AM PST, Sunday, May 31st, 2015
• Departure Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway C23, Concourse C, PDX
• Arrival Time: 11:44 AM PST, Sunday, May 31st, 2015
• Arrival Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway 69A, Terminal 6, LAX
• Time Aloft: 2 hours 3 minutes (123 minutes)
• Filed Speed: 450 KIAS
• Filed Cruising Altitude: 37,000 feet
• Flight Distance: Direct: 835 SM | Planned: 884 SM | Flown: 910 SM
• Routing Waypoint (s) : C23 PDX CASCD2 JOGEN Q7 AVE SADDE6 LAX 69A

FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S):

1. PlaneSpotters.Net Airframe Data

2. PlaneSpotters.Net Airline Data

3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data

4. Experience First Class | Alaska Airlines

5. Alaska Beyond Delicious | Alaska Airlines

6. Aircraft Information 737-800 | Alaska Airlines

7. Board Room Airport Lounge | Alaska Airlines

8. Board Room Location Guide - Alaska Airlines

9. Delta Sky Club | Delta Air Lines


Just past World War I, in the 1920s, the entire nation was becoming enamored with the concept or airplanes and flying, Portland, Oregon, being one of them as it already had a sizable metropolitan area and population. Multiple rudimentary airstrips were used until 1925 when the cCity of Portland requested that funds be appropriated from the Port of Portland to purchase 256 acres of Swan Island, the present day neighborhood of Overlook, OR, to build an official airport for the area. Groundbreaking begun in 1926, followed by a dedication of the facility by world - famous translantic pilot Charles Lindbergh in 1927, and finally became operational in 1928.


Numerous problems, including runways too short for modern aircraft, the site of SIMA being very lowly elevated in comparison to nearby structures causing takeoffs and landings at the airport to be extremely difficult, and lack of land led the City of Portland to again petition the Port of Portland to build a more modern facility elsewhere, with SIMA closing in 1940.


In 1936, the City of Portland purchased 700 acres of land nearby both the Columbia River and Columbia Slough south of Portland's city center, finishing the brand-new "Portland - Columbia Super Airport" in 1940. This airfield consisted of five runways which formed an asterisk ("*"), a few of which were demolished for space for a new terminal that opened in 1959 and is still in use to this day, albeit heavily renovated and redesigned. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the airport was extensively enlarged and expanded to meet the large passenger demands of growing air service to the facility.


In 2000, work began to construct Concourse A, B, and C of the present day PDX, which would eventually materialize to form a H-shaped layout designed to be publicly accessible -- not just for airline customers. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership spearheaded the design and construction operation, which finished on September 10th, 2001 when the airport was linked to the city by way of the Port of Portland's light rail line. There was to be a massive celebration of the modern and welcoming terminal, but the next day, the September 11th attacks occurred and the industry changed forever. The new concourses, filled with restaurants, retail outlets, and themes of the nearby Columbia River, designed to be used by the public, was sealed off shortly thereafter permanently by TSA checkpoints permitting only flying passengers.


I didn't have my small green suitcase to check, but as this would probably be my only AS segment for another long while, I wanted to receive some cardstock boarding passes from an agent -- only to find out that agent printed tickets, much like Delta, are on receipt paper as well. In addition, they are 99% identical to the ones you can print out at home, which was a pretty weird sight to see. It probably streamlines the boarding pass scanning process, but was kind of disappointing for a ticket - collector like me.

The TSA 'officers' wannabepoliceofficers at the security checkpoint were as "polite" as TSA employees usually are, and for once I made it through their checkpoint without feeling I was being violated. After marveling at the somewhat massive area post security, I made a straight beeline to the Board Room, Alaska Airlines' lounge brand, as I hadn't been in one up until that point.


There are only four Alaska Airlines Board Rooms in existence and operation as of this writing in early fall of 2015 -- one here in Portland (Oregon), one in Anchorage, Alaska, one in Los Angeles, California, and the final one in Seattle, Washington State. Like European carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa, and KLM, Alaska Airlines gives all revenue and mileage - ticket premium cabin customers lounge access, which is highly unorthodox in the domestic air service market of the USA. Usually, when compared with Delta Air Lines' Sky Clubs, United Airlines' United Clubs, and American Airlines Admirals Clubs, which do not normally grant access to customers who purchased domestic first class tickets alone without any other method of entry to their respective clubrooms.

While I checked in with the quite friendly agent behind the desk, we had a bit of small talk starting with where I hail from -- well, the somewhat infamous South Florida, more specifically, Fort Lauderdale. [I've had some people ask me why I just don't say "Lauderdale by the Sea", and the answer to that inquiry is that it comes across to most people as "This person lives in Fort Lauderdale, right by the sea!" No, no, Lauderdale by the Sea is a separate municipality.] Luckily, the agent seems to know where that is and without request, hands me another two receipt paper boarding passes.


From the time I booked this trip until the point I was entering my first BR, I was wondering if AS's lounges held any significant differences against the offerings I'd become accustomed to, mostly on the east coast, from United, Delta, and American. In that regard, the first things that I noticed were the automatic pancake machine 9000 (otherwise known as POPCAKES ), of course the entrance policy extending access to all revenue and mileage first class ticket holders, and the general attitude of the staff being exceptional in quality -- I can't quite nail the bullseye on that one, but it just seemed that they all wanted to be working at AS and actually enjoyed their jobs rather than having the seniority-grandma aura that has characterized lounge agents into "dragons" on various frequent flyer sites.


I was given a very warm welcome aboard by the two flight attendants stationed in the forward galley, and directed to my seat, 1A. Bulkhead kneeroom in the first class cabin was sufficient, but of course being sat in this location means limited leg extension area as there is a solid wall right in front of you. Nevertheless, since I don't extend my legs that much except in flat bed seats, all that really mattered was the knee space, and there was plenty enough for my average sized legs. Another reason I assigned myself into this row was the bulkhead itself -- nearly all of the forward walls in AS airplanes are coated in 3D soft pattern carpeting, which really adds a touch of class to the otherwise drab interior of just any old Boeing 737-800.


At about the middle of the boarding process, a pair of twin sisters showed up and took seats 2A and 2B. As the last coach passengers showed up, one of them discovered that her iPhone was missing and alerted the flight attendant to this; who then reported it to the captain. The captain attempted to dial the phone while the other sister tried to use Apple's Find My iPhone, which is part of their iCloud suite, and at one point even both gate agents were trawling the jetway for the missing handset, while I clutched my DSLR to my chest with a death grip as I had experienced something similar to this months back. To put a long story [trip report] short, my DSLR was stolen in the E Concourse TSA Checkpoint of MIA only but a few days from Christmas. In mid-January-2015, the Miami - Dade Airport Police recovered it and returned it to me in pristine condition. This woman, however, was not so lucky even though the staff held the flight for a few minutes to locate the phone.

Alaska Airlines does not have in - seat audio or video entertainment, so all safety briefings are done the old fashion way: by live demonstration! On longer flights, portable video players, DigEPlayers or something like that, are available free to first class passengers and for a small charge for main cabin guests for rent. They weren't offered on this flight, however.

Just before we pushed back, the captain picked up the public address system receiver and warmly welcomed the whole aircraft on board, telling us that he had worked "for this great, all-American company for 30 years" and that he couldn't have chosen a better airline to work at, followed by the fact that he specifically requested the flight attendants working this flight from their supervisor before he came into work that morning as he felt they always gave the best service to the passengers. It's always great to know that even people of age still have the spark for the industry they work for even after all the mostly - perceived reductions in quality in service and other factors.

Our takeoff roll on this flight was relatively tame compared to the previous days' 757s, smoothly rolling down 28R picking up momentum before we bounced off the pavement and into the baby blue summer sky of Oregon. As you can see in the CASCADE TWO departure plate posted above, we made somewhat of a sharp 180-degree-turn at waypoint KELYY to proceed south along the rugged mountain chains of the local topography, providing stunning views and excellent photography opportunities. As I've said before, we don't have any mountainous geography in Fort Lauderdale (unless you count trash mountain), so seeing such an abundance of peaks as we climbed out of OR was a real treat!


Most confusingly, a snack in airline industry parlance is actually a light meal -- not the definition I've become used to when using the word in everyday dialog which generally constitutes a bag of chips or a single red apple. Instead, I'm presented first with a choice of drink and then a fruit, nut, cracker, and cheese plate by the polite flight attendants. Most humorously, as soon as I buy a pass for the inflight Wi-Fi and enter my YouTube application, the first advertisement to come up via Alaska Beyond is a Delta "commercial" -- in quotes because it was actually the five minute and thirty second Delta Internet Meme safety video! The safety video wasn't the funny part, the funny part was that Delta had infiltrated Alaska Beyond with their safety videos...Sorry Delta, you may be a nice airline, but I've flown on you way too much, especially having been raised flying the widget. Now, it is time to give Chester a turn!


Once we cleared the marine layer, the seatbelt sign was illuminated and a great flight with Alaska Airlines was coming to an end. Nooooo!! However, I was extremely glad I had assigned a seat for myself on the left side of the plane, as initially I was unable to obtain a visual fix on the downtown city proper of Los Angeles....UNTIL WE FLEW ONLY 800 FEET ABOVE IT!! Seriously, I was amazed how close we were!! Once we were past the skyline, we lined up alongside a Virgin America narrowbody Airbus and performed a dual approach, pretty much keeping up with the competitor airframe until very short final where they overtook us and touched down a thousand feet past the piano keys, followed by us on the opposite side of the gigantic airfield. Luckily, we didn't run into any hang ups that would lengthen the already long taxi times at LAX, making a quick run into Gate 69A. Of course, I visited the cockpit and had a nice chat with the flight crew before I deplaned!

LPDAL

LPDAL

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Los Angeles International Airport / Los Angeles Airport / Mines Field (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX)
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Instead of heading straight for the American Airlines Flagship First Class Suites Lounge liked I'd originally planned, I decided to visit the unofficially - named "Eagle's Nest" -- the remote beehive of American Eagle and US Airways Express regional jet operations which passes by several opportune vantages for some stunning ground handling action photography. This meant that I'd have to take one of the American Eagle - branded buses (don't worry, they're just airport shuttles -- "Dougie" or whatever hasn't degraded service to Greyhound level ) there and back, which I'd never experienced before. Indeed, I had a great time snapping away!

LPDAL

I walked up into the hustle and bustle of LAX with my favorite music blaring in my ears, grinning ear to ear, and couldn't stop laughing as a result of how euphoric I was at the time. As I walked past the sliding glass door at the entrance to the club I was immediately recognized and handed a key card to get into the International First Class Lounge, I swear, I couldn't stand myself... I LOVE MY LIFE!!!^^^^

LPDAL

All finished trip pictures can be viewed here on my Flickr: LPDAL's Photostream on Flickr - Photo Sharing

Add me on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/people/lpdal/relationship/

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Upcoming Reports
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25. Virgin America First Class to a Night in New York City FLL✈JFK✈FLL (20th birthday trip)
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24. Southwest Airlines Business Select, 737-300 FLL✈TPA✈FLL
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23. United First Class+BusinessFirst 757-200 + KLM Lounge to Ohio FLL✈MCO✈IAH✈CMH✈EWR✈FLL
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22. American Airlines Flagship First Class Suites 777-200 + AA First Class Lounge LAX✈MIA
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LPDAL

✈✈✈ Upcoming Reports ✈✈✈

✈✈✈ Previous Reports ✈✈✈

-LPDAL

baccarat_king

Great report, love your enthusiasm.

Some of your airline cabin photos are truly spectacular, especially with regard to the minor details.

Loose Cannon

Thanks for the report and pictures

MikeyInSAT

Wait... THAT's IT?????

Just kidding.... excellent job, Colby, as always. Another world-class sprint resulting in huffing and puffing and you didn't get the usual treatment from your awesome friends at the [delete]wannabepoliceofficers[/delete].

Already looking forward to the next report!

- Mikey

offerendum

I see, you were in the air again

Glensea

Another great report, each one better than the last, Colby.

I love the detail and the occasional bits of wry humor.

LPDAL

Hey Michael,

Thank you! I take about 2,000-3,000 photos on each trip (but sometimes it goes way above that -- for example, 15,000+ on my recent CMH journey). Less than 1% of these photos will make the cut.

Hi Glensea,

Thank you for another warm, nice comment! ^

Greetings Offerendum,

Of course!


Hey Mikey, and thanks for another great comment!

It's coming soon! :-:

Good afternoon Loose Cannon,

No problem, glad you enjoyed it.

Thanks again for the comments, everyone!

-LPDAL

AAtticus

Amazing Trip Report as always.

I really like how much effort you put into these trips and reports and love to read about the side stories as well.

As small remark, I'm not sure if it's the camera or a filter that you applied but some of the pictures have a very weird hue (is that the right word?) to it. Do you take analog pictures and then scan them?

Nevertheless, great pictures and info, I hope you enjoyed your trip.