First Class Competitive
 

I did a cost analysis for my upcoming trip leaving 6/28 returning 7/3 to LAX and I had a Alaska Discount Code. My flight in economy would be $170-S179 . Delta Comfort Plus would be $218 so I booked Alaska ffirst class for $218 and paid the $28 in taxes.

I feel thst if I had to purchase Delta Comfort Plus I woul look at the cost of AS first class with included bag,lounge access etc. Priority pass holders seem to be denied entry at AS lounges.

Cost for First is roughly $37 more so you save on the$50 bag and airline club access plus the drinks and snacks in the lounge and in the sky. Not to mention 175 percent bonus miles

In the future I would gladly pay a bit more to fly in FC consisering it covers two checked bags plus lounge access drinks and more. I addef it up and if I took the Y flight even in thecPreferred cabin it would still cost me to check my bag as I like to bring liquids wiyu me llke shampoo.

Thoughts?

This post is difficult to read - are you asking if you made a good purchase? Or trying to justify your $37?

a good value is what you make of it. given your situation (discount code available, desire to access the lounge and get free drinks en route, need to check bags) i'd agree that an F ticket at $218 is a better decision than a coach ticket at $179. for others, the calculus is different.

fact is AS F pricing is not always (or even often) competitive, especially once you start throwing in connections, and their pricing on transcon flights between CA and JFK is off the charts. fortunately with powerful search tools like Matrix ITA and google flights it is usually fairly easy to identify the best values for travel with limited effort.

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

I also do an analysis. How much do I want my back to hurt after flying AS? A little or a lot? How crotchety do I want to feel after flying AS? A little or a lot? How much will my bank balance decline after paying for the ticket? A little or a lot? How many pre-departure beverages do I want to consume before takeoff? None, or none? How many carry-on bags do I want to shove into the overhead bin? One, or one? How many miles do I want to post into my account after the trip? More, or less? How important will I feel when the plebeians pass by me while boarding and having their carry on bags pulled? Super-extra important, or just regular important? How many free drinks do I want because of my status? None, or one? How guilty will I feel if I use the F pee room because it is the closest one? Not at all, or super extra guilty as the F pax glare at me?

Pre departure beverage? Whats that?

I just fly for leisure travel so I’m always paying out of pocket and looking for the most affordable F ticket. Usually just going PSC to LAX (or LAX area airports) with a connection in SEA or PDX and rarely found Alaska to have the cheapest F fares. Often they’re $100 to $200 more then Delta. Though I will note that this year if I look for travel in October on that route AS seems competitive, I usually book about 90 days before travel though so maybe F on AS jumps up faster then Delta. Either way, I do agree that getting lounge access with AS F is nice, and I really wish Delta did that, but I now hold the Amex Platinum card so lounge access isn’t an issue in SEA any more and isn’t an issue if I’m flying Delta.

I don't factor in the missed AS mileage because I don’t fly enough to really gain a huge amount of miles. I try to keep everything in AS mileage wise since I’ll do a few short hops between PSC and SEA/PDX every year but out of pocket is my main driver.

Its the beverage you get while parked at the gate be it a Bourbon and Coke(if regulations and time alow for it) or just a Coke and Lime usually served in a plastic cup!

With Alaska I love that they include access to the Boardroom in addition to the other benefits. Also on most flights you are given a decent snack or meal depending on the length of the flight. When you factor in checked baggage+Boardroom Day Fee+Alcoholic beverages which are also included in Alaska's Preferred Cabin as well. Sometimes the price difference between Preferred/First are worth it when you factor in the $25 bag fee each way. Upgrades are not allowed to use the Boardroom its either award or paid F.

Hope this helps!

You must be flying different routes than me. 3 of my 4 flights this week offered a hummus plate, and the 4th offered breakfast and hummus as a pre-arrival snack. Not sure I'd call hummus a "decent snack". I'm tired of those now and have declined the plates on my last few flights.

Not Competitive with Economy on some flights
 

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I'd be curious what kind of written response you might receive from Alaska when you complain. I can see flying without one of these in first class, but it seems like the entire F experience has been deflated here. I hope you at least got something more than hummus.

Maybe the only real solution is to accelerate the reconfiguration with 12-16 F seats up front. They don't seem to have a problem maintaining those (and IFE and seat power won't be in play),

Wait.

As they install the new F seats in AS 737s, the new seats won't have IFE but I thought all would have in-seat power.

Or, am I misreading you?

I was referring to the electronics that operate the Airbus F seat (or at least that's what I read into cyborg's post).