I might be done with Alaska Airlines
May 2, 2018, 11:36 am
#31
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: SFO, SJC
Programs: UA MM /Gold ; AS MVP Gold; SWA A LIst and CP; HH Gold; Bonvoy Titanium; IHG Plat Elite
Posts: 588
AS Gold 2nd year (status matched last year from UA 1MM gold). I do value the 4 guest upgrades with more confirmed availability on AS website as a big plus over the upgrade certs that United offer (former UA1K multiple years until switching to AS/WN for domestic trips). My personal experience has been that AS comp upgrades (and guest upgrades) have been more generous to us over my previous 10+ years of upgrade experience on UA.
While AS has irritated me with taking away the PE snack boxes and substituting Trail mix/fig bar snacks I'm not in the "move away from AS" camp yet. 3 yrs ago I was definitely in the "move away from UA" camp!!
While AS has irritated me with taking away the PE snack boxes and substituting Trail mix/fig bar snacks I'm not in the "move away from AS" camp yet. 3 yrs ago I was definitely in the "move away from UA" camp!!
May 2, 2018, 12:41 pm
#32
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: West Coast, BC
Programs: AS MVPG, AC E, HH Diamond
Posts: 641
I'm not planning on jumping ship just yet but I do agree with the OP. The new slimline seats are awful on a long flight. I've been booking my flights on VX metal lately and have really been enjoying them. It will be sad to see them disappear.
May 2, 2018, 10:01 pm
#33
Join Date: May 2003
Location: SFO, mostly
Posts: 2,204
I agree that I greatly prefer the VX product for longer flights. The AS seats are not bad for slimline, but they are still slimline. Wish they would just leave things alone and keep the VX Y product as it is.
May 3, 2018, 8:03 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
May 3, 2018, 10:31 am
#35
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TUS/PDX
Programs: WN CP/A-List, AS MVPG75K
Posts: 5,798
Obviously the program isn't what it was in the 90s, but they still treat elites very well in my experience.
May 3, 2018, 2:20 pm
#36
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: SEA
Programs: Hilton/Marriott Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 2,036
Seconded, as an MVP since 2015 with a father who was MVPG in the late '90s. Reservation agents have repeatedly given me unannounced F or Premium Class upgrades when I've called in about schedule changes.
May 3, 2018, 3:31 pm
#37
Join Date: May 2012
Location: HNL
Programs: AS MVPG, HA Plat
Posts: 1,268
May 4, 2018, 3:32 pm
#38
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: ANC
Programs: Alaska 100k
Posts: 1,012
I have spent plenty of time on the new premium-class-configured aircraft and they all have had the usual slimline Recaro seats.
I agree... is there some evidence that Alaska is putting non-Recaro slimline Y seats in their aircraft?
May 4, 2018, 10:15 pm
#39
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: BOS
Programs: B6/Mosaic/AF/VX/AS Gold Hertz PC HH Dia. AMEX Plat SPG/Marr Gold Nat. EE FPC Plat
Posts: 833
I'm confused; what's all of this talk about new slimline seats? The only pmAS mainline aircraft without Recaro seats are the 11 remaining 737-700s that haven't been converted to freighters. I wouldn't exactly consider the Recaro seats new either... they came around in 2015 or before, iirc. Is there a new-new set of slimline seats that aren't Recaro that they are fitting to aircraft? I seem to have missed that announcement.
I have spent plenty of time on the new premium-class-configured aircraft and they all have had the usual slimline Recaro seats.
I agree... is there some evidence that Alaska is putting non-Recaro slimline Y seats in their aircraft?
I have spent plenty of time on the new premium-class-configured aircraft and they all have had the usual slimline Recaro seats.
I agree... is there some evidence that Alaska is putting non-Recaro slimline Y seats in their aircraft?
May 7, 2018, 6:04 pm
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,722
The preferred seats are killing it for no-status flyers like me. I can live with TOD premium seats but taking out the entire front of the plane with premium + preferred does not leave me with many options for reserved seats in the back when the plane starts to fill. If I can't get a reserved seats when I buy the ticket I might as well fly WN where I simply pay $15 to guarantee myself (and family) a whole row. Would have been smarter to adopt VX cabins & amenities and not vice versa.
May 7, 2018, 6:25 pm
#41
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: BLI
Programs: Alaska MVPG
Posts: 206
The preferred seats are killing it for no-status flyers like me. I can live with TOD premium seats but taking out the entire front of the plane with premium + preferred does not leave me with many options for reserved seats in the back when the plane starts to fill. If I can't get a reserved seats when I buy the ticket I might as well fly WN where I simply pay $15 to guarantee myself (and family) a whole row. Would have been smarter to adopt VX cabins & amenities and not vice versa.
May 8, 2018, 12:30 pm
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
Not really. I've bought VX MCS tickets that were cheaper than MC, and VX had the exact same problem (where the front half of the plane was either MCS or Main Cabin Preferred Seating you paid extra for, and if you were not elite there might not be many seats together).
May 16, 2018, 11:19 pm
#44
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,684
After nearly 15 years exclusively with Alaska Air, most of them as a Gold, I might be looking for a new carrier.
It started small. Little things going away. Nuts in F. Easy upgrades, etc.
Then it got bigger. Inability to upgrade to F but being told getting my traditional row 6 was an “upgrade”. Cutting the 6:45p SJC to PDX kills us business travelers.
Then the Recaro seats. God I LOATHE these glorified sheets of plywood.
Today i I sat in a normal coach seat on an old Virgin livery and was measurably more comfortable than any flight in PE I’ve taken on Alaska in the past couple of years.
So im looking for a new home.
It started small. Little things going away. Nuts in F. Easy upgrades, etc.
Then it got bigger. Inability to upgrade to F but being told getting my traditional row 6 was an “upgrade”. Cutting the 6:45p SJC to PDX kills us business travelers.
Then the Recaro seats. God I LOATHE these glorified sheets of plywood.
Today i I sat in a normal coach seat on an old Virgin livery and was measurably more comfortable than any flight in PE I’ve taken on Alaska in the past couple of years.
So im looking for a new home.
Anyone else made the switch and been happy?
It's hard to be loyal.
May 31, 2018, 10:30 am
#45
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,639
Except you can't do that if they don't have an evening SJC-PDX flight as the OP mentioned.
Out of all the routes/times ex-SJC, you'd think that'd be one of the higher demand options. They'll try to match or surpass WN on any route out of SJC but will leave the PDX-based business travel market to WN, or ask people to drive up to OAK/SFO (of course no F seat on OAK-PDX either, for a few more weeks at least). Bizarre.
Out of all the routes/times ex-SJC, you'd think that'd be one of the higher demand options. They'll try to match or surpass WN on any route out of SJC but will leave the PDX-based business travel market to WN, or ask people to drive up to OAK/SFO (of course no F seat on OAK-PDX either, for a few more weeks at least). Bizarre.
Last edited by ucdtim17; May 31, 2018 at 11:23 am