FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - 6 Trains on 6 Continents ~ Connected by 44 Flights on 14 Airlines ~ PART 1
Old May 9, 2010, 4:32 pm
  #4  
Seat 2A
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
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Posts: 12,140
March 15, 2010
Fairbanks – Seattle – San Francisco
Alaska Airlines First Class
Boeing 737-900 N320AS
Boeing 737-700 N609AS


I like being up at 5:30am. The day is young, innocent, quiet, peaceful... I do not, however, like getting up at 5:30am. This is especially true when I didn’t get to bed until 1:00am, just four and a half hours earlier. No – instead of sleeping, I was on the phone to South Africa trying to clear up why even though I had wired the requested amount of money to the South African passenger railroad company, why did I now owe another $85 Rand. And – since I was technically not paid in full in advance of the journey, did I still hold a reservation? This involved making a number of calls back and forth to various departments of the railroad all the while being given ambiguous and/or conflicting information. In any event, I finally managed to get things worked out satisfactorily and made the most of my limited sleep time.

The 7:15am nonstop from Fairbanks to Seattle is a popular flight with Fairbanksans, so popular in fact that it’s operated by the largest jet in Alaska’s fleet, the 172 passenger 737-900. Alaska Airlines was the launch customer for the -900 and to date, only Alaska and Continental operate the type in North America.

This morning’s light snow required that our aircraft be deiced before we could take to the air. Up in First Class, our friendly and very attractive flight attendant took the initiative to offer us hot coffee while we awaited the deicing truck. I’ve been on many an Alaska flight under similar circumstances where this didn’t happen, so her efforts were doubly appreciated.

Breakfast this morning was Alaska’s Breakfast Strudel, a lackluster combination of powdered eggs with cheese and veggies baked inside of a once flaky but now somewhat less than flaky crust. Why do I suspect the eggs are powdered? Eggs should not shine like sliced Jell-O when you slice through them. This less than inspiring dish was accompanied by two meager strips of bacon and a small portion of fruit. Next time I will request and even pay for the scrambled egg, potato and sausage breakfast offered back in economy for just $6.00. By my tastes, it’s a much better breakfast.



Alaska’s First Class Breakfast Strudel



Alaska’s Economy Class Scrambled Eggs


It was a beautiful sunny day as we made our approach into Seattle above the deep blue waters of the Puget Sound. To my right, the crystal clear Olympic Mountains sparkled in the distance. Views like this are why airplanes have windows and yet, as I looked around, only two other windows on my side of the cabin were open. What a shame that in the technologically advanced, fast paced world we live in today, the vast majority of people seem to have long since lost the thrill of flight, assuming of course that they ever had it.



Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains



Downtown Seattle flyover


I had a two hour layover in Seattle with a connecting flight out of gate C-17, so I headed over to United’s Red Carpet Club, otherwise known as “The Cave” because it’s located under the North Satellite and has no windows. Although Alaska’s Boardroom is nicer, “The Cave” is only a one minute train ride away from Alaska’s gates out at the end of the C Concourse.

Doing the honors down to San Francisco this afternoon was N609AS, a 737-700 upon which I’d flown just twice before. I’ve logged an average of over 5 flights per aircraft on the rest of Alaska’s -700 fleet, but this aircraft has effectively eluded me since way back in November of 2005. These are the kinds of thoughts and calculations that occupy my mind while shuffling at a glacial pace through a crowded jetway because once again I couldn’t be bothered to be in the gate lounge so that I could be amongst the first to board the airplane. It’s just not that important to me. But knowing how many times I’ve flown a particular aircraft is. Hmm…

Alaska competes with Virgin America on the Seattle to San Francisco route, so I was curious if that competition might result in an upgraded snack service. If the Veggies and Spinach Dip plate I was offered are any indication, I’d imagine the competition is limited to fares and frequencies.

Once again, a beautiful day along the West Coast resulted in a pretty approach into San Francisco International. After flying past the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco, we did a big U-turn down by the Dumbarton Bridge and were treated to stunning views of San Mateo and Foster City as we descended through our final approach into SFO.

After collecting my backpack, I hoofed it on over to Continental’s Presidents Club where I rendezvoused with an old friend from my high school days. He brought his two girls along and we all had dinner at a surprisingly good Vietnamese restaurant in San Mateo before heading down to his house where I slept quite comfortably in daughter #2’s bunk bed.

Last edited by Seat 2A; Oct 30, 2014 at 10:08 am
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