February 28, 2019
Alaska Airlines First Class ~ 737-900 ~ Newark, NJ to San Francisco, CA ~ 720a – 1115a ~ Breakfast

I spent last night at the Ramada Plaza Newark, located just a ten minute shuttle ride from the airport. As an added bonus, the shuttle van was there and waiting when I arrived at the P4 hotel pick up point. My room was spacious and well appointed – every bit as nice per my standards as the EWR Hilton I stayed at a few years ago. Maybe the Hilton had slightly nicer furniture, but the room was no less comfortable and came at a considerably lower price tag – just $66.60 all in with my Wyndham Rewards discount. A large restaurant and sports bar was located just off the lobby and offered affordable food and beer. The next time I need to overnight at Newark, I will definitely stay at this hotel again.

I don’t like to leave early in the morning, but my 7:20am departure was the only flight available between Newark and San Francisco using award points. Residual jet lag made getting up a bit easier as it was five hours later in London. I was thankful that Alaska’s EWR flights operate out of the same concourse as American. That meant I could wait for my flight from the comfortable confines of American’s Admirals Club.

A quick review of my flight log revealed that the last time I flew nonstop in First Class between Newark and San Francisco was way back in 1985 aboard a United DC-8-71. Its First Class seats were deep, wide and well-padded compared to today’s lighter weight models. Out the huge window of my DC-8, those two huge CFM fanjets on each wing looked big enough to take me to the moon.



A typical view out my DC-8-71 window


Onboard my 737-900ER bottled waters and menus had been placed on the armrests between each pair of First Class seats. I exchanged greetings with my seatmate and together we took a moment to consider this morning’s breakfast options…


BREAKFAST

TO START

Cranberry Ginger Tumeric Smoothie
Blended Smoothie with cranberries, pureed ginger, honey, orange juice, Greek yogurt and a touch of turmeric

Roasted Apple & Pomegranate Seeds
Washington apples roasted with cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar. Garnished with pomegranate seeds and served with a cinnamon Greek yogurt

MAIN DISH

Smoked Fontina Omelet
Omelet made with cage-free eggs and filled with sautéed mushrooms, Smoked Fontina cheese, and spinach. Served with crisp Applewood bacon and oregano roasted red potatoes

Pulled Pork Breakfast Bowl
Tender slow-cooked pork shoulder, shredded and served with scrambled cage-free eggs and seasoned black beans. Garnished with fresh pico de gallo, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and cilantro lime crema.


PRIOR TO ARRIVAL

Snack Basket
A variety of savory and sweet snacks with fresh whole fruit


We followed a line of United 737s out to the runway, including a new 737-9MAX. I’d yet to fly aboard the MAX but had booked myself on a Southwest bird between Denver and Las Vegas later this spring. In the interim – as I type this some three months later – the entire 737MAX fleet has been grounded worldwide so I guess it’ll be next autumn or later before I get to log that first flight. At least it should be safer.

Shortly after leveling off, drinks were delivered and breakfast orders taken. I started with coffee and a screwdriver and for breakfast ordered the Pulled Pork Breakfast Bowl. I usually order the omelet and today’s offer sounded quite tempting indeed. However, Alaska’s omelets have gotten so small of late – they look like they’re made with no more than one and a half eggs these days – that their flavorful ingredients notwithstanding, they are ultimately unsatisfying. Seatmate did order the omelet and sure enough he was served one that looked more like a breakfast appetizer than a proper breakfast entrée.

As for my pork bowl, it was quite good – and filling. It was accompanied by three small dishes filled with pico de gallo, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and cilantro lime cream. I added all of them to the main dish and stirred it all up like a breakfast version of a Korean bibimbap. Mmm Mmm! Delicious!



Pulled Pork Breakfast Bowl


Despite a flight time of six hours and twenty minutes, this flight passed surprisingly quickly. Seatmate was a retired engineer heading out to California to visit his son down in Monterey. He was also a fan of rail travel and pro football, both of which led to some enjoyable conversation between us. I took my usual laps around the airplane, updated my flight logs, and put in some time on this report though as I recall, back then I had written no farther than my Business Class flight on American between Philadelphia and Amsterdam. That was some 20000 words ago…

We were about an hour and a half out of San Francisco when a snack basket made the rounds. It was the usual collection of chips, cookies, nuts, jerky and trail mix. By 2019 standards, it was pretty good. My favorite second meal service though was back in the 1990s on United’s morning transcons. The flight would start out with a normal breakfast service and then later a beautiful deli trolley would be rolled out with an impressive spread of meats, breads, cheeses and fruits. I especially liked the lox and bagels offered, complete with red onions, tomatoes and capers. We were so fortunate to have been able to fly First Class back then…

We landed at SFO on a beautiful winter day, making the usual approach banking just south of the Dumbarton bridge and then heading north up the bay on the final. When it comes to landing at SFO, is there any other way? Temperature wise, the weather was more like you’d expect in April, so it was with alacrity and excitement that I hustled through the terminal and on to the airport train over to the rental car facility. There I picked up a shiny burgundy Nissan Rogue and accelerated down 101 towards my destination for the night – Fresno.


* * * _  _ * * *


Fresno is not exactly a hotspot for California tourism. Situated in the San Joaquin Valley near the geographical center of California, it is California’s fifth largest city with a population exceeding 500,000. It’s basically a big farm town that’s morphed into a city over the past 50 years. Nobody goes there for a vacation.

That said, back in 1992 I spent the summer hiking most all of the trails in and around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Every couple of weeks or so I had to come down from the pristine Sierra granite and head into the hot dry environs of Fresno to restock on supplies. Over time I came to enjoy both places that much more – especially Fresno. I used to stay at a cheap motel called the Golden Penny where $18.95/night would get me an air-conditioned room and the lobby sold tasty frozen burritos for $1.50 each. More substantial meals could be had just by walking up the street to the Denny’s on the corner of Olive and I-99. I’d always spend a couple days in Fresno, catching the FAX bus out to the big grocery and sporting goods stores out on Blackstone Blvd. I’d spend my afternoons and early evenings in Fresno’s attractive Tower District – so named for the beautifully refurbished Tower Theater at its heart. Just one block up Olive Avenue from the tower was the Butterfield Brewing Company which operated an attractive brewpub offering fine food and my favorite (at that time) Bridal Veil Ale.

In the ensuing years, Butterfield’s has been sold and reborn as Sequoia Brewing Company. The food is just as good and the beer even more varied and still excellent. As for the Golden Penny – it’s been renamed the Welcome Inn. When I drove down there four years ago, it looked more disheveled than welcoming with small groups of singlet clad men smoking cigarettes and drinking beer while slouching around cars playing ghetto rap.

Thankfully I’ve since discovered the benefits of AARP pricing and Platinum tier membership in Wyndham Hotels WyndhamRewards® program which enabled me to enjoy a spacious King bed room for just $58.95 per night. Although the lobby does not offer tasty $1.50 frozen burritos, the property is located right next door to the Denny’s and also includes an attractive swimming pool and an on-site laundry.



Day’s Inn Fresno Pool - At Night


I wish I’d had time to drive up into the Sierras while I was in the area but given the amount of snow they’ve received this winter I wouldn’t have gotten very far. Instead I headed over to the Tower District where I enjoyed a delicious pulled pork brisket sandwich and a couple of perfectly chilled ales at Sequoia Brewing Co. The next day I was back on the road again, headed back to SFO where a room awaited at the Best Western Grosvenor Hotel which was hosting this weekend’s SFO Airline Memorabilia Show.

I did not bother to get a table for this show since I was booked on the mid-afternoon Alaska flight up to Seattle and beyond to Fairbanks. Instead, I wandered the aisles in the ballroom hosting the show and managed to find a handful of older First Class menus, of which I’ve a substantial collection.

That said, should any of you ever wish to send me a First Class menu off your flight, I’d be happy to pay the cost of packaging and postage via a Paypal remittance to your email address. Just let me know.


March 02, 2019
Alaska Airlines First Class ~ 737-800 ~ San Francisco, CA to Seattle, WA ~ 235p – 435p ~ Snack
Alaska Airlines First Class ~ 737-900 ~ Seattle, WA to Fairbanks, AK ~ 815p-1135p ~ Snack

I remember when a mid-afternoon departure on the 680 mile run between San Francisco and Seattle used to rate at least a sandwich and a side salad plus a desert. Alas, not so on today’s flight which rated a pass with the snack basket. Even so, there was some debate between seatmate and our lovely flight attendant as to whether this flight had been properly catered. He seemed pretty sure it once included a hot sandwich and/or the dreaded protein plate. Perhaps on Virgin America it did. With Alaska it’s quite possible that the bean counters have won over the altruism of enhanced First Class catering (which was introduced last spring of 2018) and we are now seeing a more financially equitable service which will reward Alaska Airlines with greater profits while the bean counters earn a pat on the back and perhaps even a beer and a baloney sandwich.

With a four hour layover in Seattle, I started by making my way upstairs to the C Concourse Alaska Lounge where my friend and lounge attendant Debbie C. was tending bar and all too happy to pour me a nicely chilled glass of Bodhizafa IPA. Normally I’m not a big fan of IPA’s due to the enhanced alcohol content evidenced in many of them. That and the fact that many of them taste like a bag of really good bud. I’m happy to report however that per my tastes at least, Georgetown Brewing Co.’s Bodhizafa IPA is a cut above all those other skunky IPA’s. It’s really good, as is the Manny’s Pale Ale which is served over at the North Satellite lounge. The only beer missing is Johnny Utah Pale Ale which I’ve only managed to find available at Perry’s Restaurant on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. It too is uniformly excellent!

Alas, it was back to the reality of First Class service 2019 style when all we were offered on my 8:15p departure up to Fairbanks was a hot turkey sandwich with a bag of potato chips. Again, a decent meal by 2019 standards but then what do we know about service these days compared to the “Good Old Days” when this flight would have rated menus, appetizers, a salad and roast served from the trolley in addition to a couple of other tasty entrees followed by a choice of tasty desserts, not just a chocolate candy or a cookie. Ah… the memories…

Many of the generation X and Y’ers that populate Flyertalk these days have little patience with the ramblings of an old goat like myself who occasionally reference the “Good Old Days” of inflight service aboard most all American carriers as offered back in the 1970s and 80s. But the fact remains that those days did indeed exist and the service standards were heads and tails above what passes for “First Class” these days. Should someone ever manage to invent a time machine in our lifetimes, I sincerely hope that any one of you who has even a scintilla of appreciation for much less understanding of the finer aspects of a proper U.S. domestic First Class service might be able to journey back in time to experience the magnificence of those flights. They were indeed special.

Meanwhile, in lieu of my memories of meals served thirty plus years past, we were tonight offered a hot turkey sandwich accompanied by a bag of potato chips. There was no other option – even a vegetarian one. So – “you want it or not?” was the unspoken presentation. Of course our gracious flight attendant didn’t phrase it in such stark terms but essentially – that was it. You want it or not? And how about a drink?

Ya, sure – you betcha! I’ll take it and a double Woodford’s on the rocks.



Hot Turkey Sandwich and Chips for Dinner


There’s really not much more to add about this flight. The projected flight time of three hours and twenty-four minutes passed quickly and before long I was dealing with yet another exciting winter excursion come to an and. This one was shorter than some that I’ve reported on in years past but it was no less enjoyable. Heck – they’re all enjoyable. Like many of you, the simple thrill of International Premium Class travel is in and of itself thrill enough.

That said, I hope that after almost 27000 words, you’ve found this report worthy of the time you’ve invested in reading it. I recognize that my written reports generally take a greater measure of commitment to get through than the average photo report and so to those of you who’ve actually read this report word for word and didn't yawn off, you have my undying gratitude. Here’s hoping that after the 76 trip reports I’ve published so far I still have one or two more still left to write. Thanks for your readership so far.

Happy Contrails!