PDXPremier

Like many other AS elites, in December, I jumped on the VX mileage run bandwagon and last Friday night I flew my first VX flight as an AS MVP to begin what would be a 47 hour VX-metal mileage run from PDX-SFO-FLL-LAX-JFK-SFO-PDX. My wife, also an AS MVP, graciously joined me as she does most of the time, but she was less than excited about this one since it would be one of our most grueling (for us) mileage runs we've ever done and...unlike our mileage runs on AS-metal, there would be no hope for first class upgrades

Rather than a trip report (which this is not), I figured I would just share the good, the bad, and the ugly of my VX experience from the perspective of everyone's favorite polenta-hating, but very loyal AS MVP

First, the good...

1. Safety video: I know a lot has been said about the annoying safety video, especially after 6 flights in a row, but I actually enjoyed it and thought the song was quite catchy....I was actually a bit disappointed on my last segment from SFO-PDX yesterday when they turned the Red system off and did a live (much less fun) safety demonstration (not sure why they did that, especially since Red was working fine).

2. The "Red" In-flight Entertainment system: I was worried that the selection would be limited and I would get bored with it after hours of flying, but it was honestly my #1 favorite feature of VX and made the mileage run hours bearable. While the list of movies is somewhat limited compared to AA or DL, there were enough live tv channels to supplement with constantly changing content despite sometimes losing a signal or having to watch commercials. I enjoy watching the news at home so it was nice watching CNN or local NYC news when I didn't feel like starting an entire movie. It was also nice not having to get out my ipad and try to find a spot for it on my tray table....I know the seat back video screens are on their way out the door for virtually every airline that has them, but I for one will miss them. The in-flight entertainment system (along with on-demand food/beverage ordering) has got to be my absolute favorite part of flying VX. Unlike streaming services, Red allows you to watch videos from gate-to-gate rather than wait until the plane reaches 10,000 feet.

3. On-demand food/beverage ordering: It was great not having to wait for the beverage cart to show up or push the call button whenever I needed another beverage or snack...awesome feature that will be missed when it goes away (as planned).

4. Free meals/snacks in MCS: My wife and I loved being able to order unlimited snacks and meals on-demand when sitting in MCS....hopefully AS will consider increasing the food options for it's Premium economy section. I'm still not sure why the M&M's (at $4) were the only snacks NOT included for free as part of MCS....weird.

5. On-time(ish): Despite flying through SFO (multiple times) during the weather-related travel waiver and JFK, all my flights were on-time(ish) or early and we had absolutely zero mechanical delays...I know my sample size is small (6 flights), but I was still impressed. At LAX, we landed so early that instead of making us sit on the plane and wait for a gate, they dumped us at the remote terminal and we took a bus back to the terminal...first time I've done that at LAX on a domestic flight.

6. The chat feature on the VX website: In what is otherwise a *horrible* website for an airline, I found the chat feature extremely helpful and the agents far more knowledgeable and willing to fix things than those at the call center and especially the airport. I really hope AS considers adding this feature to their website in the future. The VX Twitter team is also helpful, but more likely to refer you to the phone reservation center.

Second, the bad...

1. No first class upgrades: I know that's the VX model, everyone pays for F, but hey, I'm cheap and would rather have a slightly less *posh* F experience (polenta and all) that is complimentary for elites. I use to think Alaska's first class meal service was overly complicated and lacking in simple, flavorful, "comfort food", but the reports and photos I've seen of the VX first class meals made me realize that VX takes "complicated" to the next level....a good thing perhaps for some, not for me.

2. Airport staff: I want to be careful what I say here....to be sure, the airport staff were friendly and tried, when asked, to be helpful, but most seemed like they were in their early 20's and working at Buffalo Wild Wing's (the loud music at the ticket counter and gates didn't help). They also seemed unfamiliar with policies (like the JFK agent that told me MVPs weren't eligible for MCS upgrades even though I told him I'd been upgraded 3 times on this trip already). Multiple agents at the airports were unable to perform even simple tasks like change a seat assignment if it was on a connecting flight at a different airport. The standard line seems to be "you'll need to check when you get to *insert airport name*". Hey folks, here's a news flash, waiting until you arrive at your departing airport to "fix" anything seat-related is a great way to end up in a middle seat in the back (25E to be exact...lol). I know many of them wanted to help, but I think the limitations of their IT and reservations system prevented that from happening.

Third, the ugly...

Seat assignments and MCS elite upgrades: I've mentioned this in a few other threads, but the issues with MCS auto-upgrades for elites and seat assignments in-general is abysmal. Despite verifying mine and my wife's seat assignments a few days before the trip, after check-in, the system randomly changed them for both of us which led to a lot of effort being put forth just trying to sit together. For example, on JFK-SFO we actually ended up in the back of the bus in row 25 when our original seat assignments were 5A/C...go figure. One airport agent even told me that seat assignments on VX are actually "requests", not assignments so I guess that means they can be changed at any time for any reason....ugh, yeah, not cool. The other annoying thing about this trip was finding out that once you check-in for a flight, the system will not auto-upgrade you even if MCS seats are available for upgrade. The super narrow T-12 upgrade window for Silvers and MVPs also didn't help...made me really appreciate Alaska's generous 48 hour upgrade window for MVPs. In fact, I couldn't even change from a regular seat to another regular seat on the app or online if I was check-in...the only way we could change seats is using the kiosks (outside security) at whatever airport we were in or getting an agent to "uncheck" us in. Thankfully, we got upgraded on 4 out of 6 flights but that was only due to hours of time talking to agents on chat, Twitter, phone, ticket counter, etc. After talking to my wife, the amount of time I spent on seating issues was also her single biggest frustration with this mileage run. It is for this reason alone that I'll stick to AS metal flights and reservations (and AA for award travel) until the VX part of the company gets folded into one airline...I enjoy flying and traveling in general, but I have no desire to spend hours of my travel time working on seating issues that should take 5 or 10 minutes to fix, not 3-4 hours.

Waitlisted

That's a hell of a mileage run, and a great report! I have had similar experiences albeit on a small handfull of VX flights but enough to cause me to book AS metal when I can for the near future. I am curious how it will work when I fly an AS route on VX metal, they are already doing that on PSP/SFO and expect it soon on some flights out of PDX, my home base. Thanks for the report PDXPremier.

rustykettel

I'm surprised you didn't find the snacks too extreme. Many of them make simple kale and quinoa look normal.

The one thing I'm going to miss is being able to order the nap pack on most VX flights. The pillow is junk but that duvet totally blows away the usual domestic F kleenex blankets. I was so glad to have it on my next freezing AS F flight (with no blankets).

I also noticed that several VX flights had excessively warm cabins.

PDXPremier

Honestly, I did think the snacks were a bit too "Whole Foods" and not enough "Winco"....lol....but hey, you would have been proud of me--my wife ordered a bag of veggie chips and I ate the majority of the bag Baby steps, right?

I never noticed the ability to order duvets--was that in the inflight shopping part of the Red system? I never did check that out....how much were they?

My LAX-JFK flight was really warm and made for a tough time sleeping, especially since my row 9 exit row seat didn't recline (originally was suppose to be 4C but I guess that was just a "request" and not an actual assignment ).

dayone

Thanks for the detailed report.

The MCS virtual buffet is a great amenity. Enjoy it while it lasts. I don't have much hope that it will lead to much of an improvement in AS PC.

As for the chargeable M&Ms...a couple of years ago, I was told the fee was to discourage them from "growing legs" and walking off the plane for later consumption.

ptownca

In 5 years of flying VX never heard of "ordering" duvets. Puzzled here.

Rows 8,9 and 10 are inherently warm. It is related to the design of the A320,which I did have an explanation from a dead heading pilot next to me, but you cannot blame the cabin crew for this.

As a past VX fan, (I'm now in Boston, after enjoying the glory days of VX) my biggest complaint was some VX food options in all classes. I specifically remember getting off a few flights in F and feeling hungry. Someone in VX catering has a fetish for quinoa, barley and other grains.

Then I can recall one of two best breakfasts on a plane ever on a SFO SEA flight and the sublime tenderloin served on SFO > DAL. The sauce was so good I asked catering via customer care for the recipe.

What I appreciate about VX is while it had a few misses, you never complained about them not trying to do something better and different compared to resting on their laurels.

flyupfrnt

Pretty similar experience and feelings from my seat after 2 of these 48 hour runs ex-PDX

The duvets were $20 and ordered via RED.

Did you try the sandwich (turkey iirc) ex-JFK. It was delicious!

rustykettel

Yes, that's where I was seated 10F. FLL-LAX and SFO-LAX on the second time were very warm & little air flow from the vents on that FLL one. Same seat LAX-IAD on another A320 was cold.

Nap pack was under Inflight Shopping along with the amenity kits distributed in F for $5. I'd love to see AS keep the nap pack at least.

Some more observations:
Almost uniformly I found the inflight service to be more focused on the customer than even AS. Part of it is the RED system and the ability to order on demand but the FAs also monitored the orders and brought them out rather quickly, often by the F FA if they weren't otherwise occupied. The F FA used the galley curtain, even on daytime flights and on the flight I was in F, waited until descent to eat their own meal.

One of the VX captains used the gate PA to thank us for our business and flying 'Virgin America, now part of the Alaska Air Group'. This same captain, after plane was delayed due to mechanical, stayed in gate area, chatted with passengers and answered any questions that he could along with his first officer. Later after boarding, he came out and spoke to the F cabin for a couple minutes. I think Alaska will really benefit from these new employees. The only somewhat negative comments I heard about the merger were from VX customers and an Alaska employee ('we bailed them out').

I did experience the hit or miss meal during my F flight. A really good cheeseburger (aside from a burger on a transcon F) but no accompaniments other than the wheatberry dinner roll. I had to ask for a bag of chips from the snack basket (which I also found underwhelming).

Eujeanie

So are you 75K now after all that??

I'm looking forward to my (possibly) one and done on VX next year, interesting to hear your experiences.

Single_Flyer

I've got a mileage run on VX for this entire upcoming weekend. Might have to buy one of those Nap Packs. I'm guessing there is no way to use your Virgin Bank funds (or whatever they call them) to purchase this? I have almost $400 from a past mileage run that I need to spend before VX is no more. Rumor is the VX Bank won't transfer over to AS.

Crzn33k

That is correct

Robt760

Is this (pictured) a duvet from the in-flight shopping, or one “borrowed” from F ?

rustykettel

From the in flight shopping.

Crayon16

Thanks for the informative report! I'm about to book my mileage run to close out 2017 and will take it into account. I'll try to be brave, really....

PDXPremier

Thanks! The hours of dealing with random seat assignment changes and MCS upgrades really is going to keep my MRs on AS metal & reservations until the VX reservation system goes away next year and they become ONE airline.