First and last time flying Alaska
Oct 21, 2017, 8:32 pm
#46
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: East Ester, Alaska
Programs: Alaska Million Miler, United Million Miler, Wyndham Rewards Diamond, Choice Hotels Diamond
Posts: 12,145
And one more thing - some of these "regional flights" are becoming decidedly less "regional".
Traditionally, regional flights operated over routes between 100-600 miles long and generally involved less then two hours total flying time.
Not any more. Alaska's Seattle to Milwaukee run checks in at 1690 miles. SEA-DAL is 1670. Between AA, DL and UA there are many more regional jet operated flights in the 1400-1500 mile range.
Westbound those two Alaska routes both run up to about 4 hours - a flight length that "traditionally" saw somewhat enhanced catering - such as Alaska's Midcon version. Times have changed however when it comes to airline catering - especially here in the U.S. I remember when the shorter MSP-SEA route saw Northwest's Regal Imperial Service with roasts carved seatside on the trolley and exquisite dessert offerings...
And - as jrl767 astutely points out, we FlyerTalkers tend to notice these shortcomings a bit more than most other passengers and - in the echo chamber that this forum can be on these issues - our collective complaints tend to resonate a bit more loudly among us.
Traditionally, regional flights operated over routes between 100-600 miles long and generally involved less then two hours total flying time.
Not any more. Alaska's Seattle to Milwaukee run checks in at 1690 miles. SEA-DAL is 1670. Between AA, DL and UA there are many more regional jet operated flights in the 1400-1500 mile range.
Westbound those two Alaska routes both run up to about 4 hours - a flight length that "traditionally" saw somewhat enhanced catering - such as Alaska's Midcon version. Times have changed however when it comes to airline catering - especially here in the U.S. I remember when the shorter MSP-SEA route saw Northwest's Regal Imperial Service with roasts carved seatside on the trolley and exquisite dessert offerings...
And - as jrl767 astutely points out, we FlyerTalkers tend to notice these shortcomings a bit more than most other passengers and - in the echo chamber that this forum can be on these issues - our collective complaints tend to resonate a bit more loudly among us.
Oct 22, 2017, 10:36 am
#47
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: MSN
Programs: Delta Platinum Medallion, Accor Live Limitless Diamond
Posts: 224
Delta Connection MKE-SEA service
Thanks, everyone, for an interesting thread. Recently, I’ve started doing some travel between WI and WA. Based at MSN, sometimes I do DL’s mainline MSN-MSP-SEA, and I’ve also flown an enjoyed WN’s summer MKE-SEA service. We all have our personal tastes, but I like the upbeat friendliness on WN more than I like F upgrades and meals. For context, my favorite is WN, and I’m no DL apologist. I choose based on convenience.
I am currently on DL Connection filght 4917, MKE-SEA nonstop, flown by SkyWest on an E175, and would like to put my onboard experience up for comparison to the OP’s experience on AS/SkyWest. Friendly, attentive FAs are the best part of today’s flight, and these are 2 of SkyWest’s more senior FAs. The lead served Y, and the other served F. The one serving F has taken maybe 20min for herself but has otherwise been on her feet in the cabin the whole time, refilling drinks, fulfilling individual requests for snacks, and chatting up passengers. I won’t comment on seat, as we all know the E175 is a comfortable ride in both F and Y. Flying time 4:18, on the long side for this sector, due to 90kt headwind.
Meal service:
-They wanted to board quick and take off before some thunderstorms approached MKE, so the water at the seat was the PDB. We pushed 10min early, so worth it.
-Orders taken front-back, so not following DL’s “front-even, back-odd” policy. I wasn’t happy, being in the last row of F, but they still had both meal choices when she got to me last.
-Drinks served first, while breakfast was heating, followed by hot towels.
-Breakfast choices were a ham/egg/cheese sandwich on croissant or a bowl of granola, both served with fruit and yogurt. I had the breakfast sandwich, served hot, and it was filling enough with the fruit that I kept my container of yogurt for later. The sandwich was tasty, and the croissant was a real, flaky croissant, not one of those croissant-shaped pieces of white bread usually found on DL. (With AF as a partner, there’s really no excuse for serving bad croissants.). This breakfast surpasses the last several DL mainline breakfasts I’ve eaten, including a recent MSP-SEA flight where I sent it back after 1 bite, only time I’ve ever done that.
-Breakfast service and drink refills continued through some impressive turbulence (for aviators, definitely moderate-level), where many FAs would have paused.
-No official pass of the snack-basked, but the FA offered snacks repeatedly. My seat-mate requested Biscoffs, which she brought and refilled throughout the flight.
I realize I had a uniquely excellent FA, who honestly should be training the mainline DL FAs on customer service! And she admitted to me she was overtired, too, having landed at MKE at 11pm the night before and slept poorly overnight, so with the odds stacked against her, she did an amazing job.
I have not flown AS yet, other than a Q400 flight several years ago STS-PDX (which was excellent), so I can’t personally compare, but thought I’d add my data-points, laced with opinion, for comparison.
I am currently on DL Connection filght 4917, MKE-SEA nonstop, flown by SkyWest on an E175, and would like to put my onboard experience up for comparison to the OP’s experience on AS/SkyWest. Friendly, attentive FAs are the best part of today’s flight, and these are 2 of SkyWest’s more senior FAs. The lead served Y, and the other served F. The one serving F has taken maybe 20min for herself but has otherwise been on her feet in the cabin the whole time, refilling drinks, fulfilling individual requests for snacks, and chatting up passengers. I won’t comment on seat, as we all know the E175 is a comfortable ride in both F and Y. Flying time 4:18, on the long side for this sector, due to 90kt headwind.
Meal service:
-They wanted to board quick and take off before some thunderstorms approached MKE, so the water at the seat was the PDB. We pushed 10min early, so worth it.
-Orders taken front-back, so not following DL’s “front-even, back-odd” policy. I wasn’t happy, being in the last row of F, but they still had both meal choices when she got to me last.
-Drinks served first, while breakfast was heating, followed by hot towels.
-Breakfast choices were a ham/egg/cheese sandwich on croissant or a bowl of granola, both served with fruit and yogurt. I had the breakfast sandwich, served hot, and it was filling enough with the fruit that I kept my container of yogurt for later. The sandwich was tasty, and the croissant was a real, flaky croissant, not one of those croissant-shaped pieces of white bread usually found on DL. (With AF as a partner, there’s really no excuse for serving bad croissants.). This breakfast surpasses the last several DL mainline breakfasts I’ve eaten, including a recent MSP-SEA flight where I sent it back after 1 bite, only time I’ve ever done that.
-Breakfast service and drink refills continued through some impressive turbulence (for aviators, definitely moderate-level), where many FAs would have paused.
-No official pass of the snack-basked, but the FA offered snacks repeatedly. My seat-mate requested Biscoffs, which she brought and refilled throughout the flight.
I realize I had a uniquely excellent FA, who honestly should be training the mainline DL FAs on customer service! And she admitted to me she was overtired, too, having landed at MKE at 11pm the night before and slept poorly overnight, so with the odds stacked against her, she did an amazing job.
I have not flown AS yet, other than a Q400 flight several years ago STS-PDX (which was excellent), so I can’t personally compare, but thought I’d add my data-points, laced with opinion, for comparison.
