Eastbay1K

That's all well and good for some people some of the time. It is even occasionally good for me. But sometimes, as evidenced by my recent purchase of an OAK/HNL on HA in F, it isn't good for all of us all of the time. For instance, on my upcoming trip, I could have added or subtracted a day from a 2 night trip to fly nonstop from SFO, or added several hours, still needing to leave from SFO,at 6am to get to HNL via LAX, SAN or SEA if I wanted "desired day of travel" only to still get to HNL later than I would want to.

My return in on AS (nonstop to SFO) at my desired time, but AS has hosed me on my last two trips home - eliminating OAK, and routing me via SEA on one trip (having to leave my hotel first thing instead of a leisurely day), and then still nonstop to SFO on another trip, but on a flight about 5 hours earlier than I had planned.

And so, when one doesn't have a life of leisure, or doesn't want to fly what turns into convoluted mileage runs in order to spend less time at the desired destination, AS is getting increasingly difficult to rely upon as a SFO/OAK flyer. And no, SJC is not an option.

tom911

Not sure I agree with you about coming out ahead. There's the amount of time involved in routing through SEA. I had two Orlando flights cancelled this year and I was rerouted through SEA. It meant getting up at 3 in the morning so I could be at an SFO off-airport lot for their 4:30 shuttle to make a 6am flight to Seattle. I hate 6am flights. Most of my Alaska trips from SFO this year have been after 8 in the morning so I can sleep in a little longer. I'd gladly give up the extra miles routing through SEA for a couple more hours of sleep. Can't imagine it's much different for someone starting out at LAX and needing to transit SEA.

If I need to transit SEA everytime I want to go to the east coast, I might as well go back and split my flying between AA and UA with a better schedule. A lot depends on what the AS schedule from SFO looks like going into 2022.

StrandedinLA

On the LAX/SFO theme...so Alaska buys Virgin to:

-retire the brand /theme

-scrap the planes

-effectively scrap the CA hubs

all to prevent JetBlue? I don't get it, and consumers are worse off.

anteater

As someone who flies SFO and SJC to HNL very often, you may want to make SJC an option.

I have never had an issue flying SJC <-> HNL. If you need to get into the SF Bay Area it is available and has connections to other hubs, or a quick rideshare to SFO/OAK. From either of the three airports you can reach most of the globe.

As for parking, you can walk to most of the parking at SJC in only a few minutes (Lot 2/4) is a 30 second walk from Terminal B baggage claim and the Terminal A garage is at most 5 minutes. There's no need to wait for a shuttle unless you decide to park offsite. If you can get to SFO via a rideshare you can get to SJC too.



If you need help with logistics feel free to DM me. I would be glad to help optimize a fellow traveler's logistics 🤙🏻.

Carolina2Cali

When did this happen? Did they also cancel the return flights FLL to California? I had two going, and two coming back, and all but the October 5th coming back went poof overnight.

Thanks, I hope the hold time isn't 90 minutes plus. How quickly do I have to do that? I have a busy next couple of days.

To be honest, I booked these 4 flights for around $250 each, each way, as mostly an American Airlines mileage run and my first ever trips on Alaska (I've flown Virgin in the past). I AM considering moving to Florida this fall, and there's also Miami Pride near my dates, but I can be flexible with dates. Airlines, not so much, I was earning a ton of EQM and EQD on AA!!

This sounds fantastic. Do they have legal obligations to do this or just good for their customer service and image? I can't imagine they're overly thrilled that I paid $250 each for these flights...

This is definitely not ideal (2 of my 4 flights were a same day flight and return) but as this kindof WAS a mileage run, I might have to do it. Thankfully I am Hyatt globalist...? Given that if they rebook me some of my flights might have to be on days other than the day I booked, based on what you're suggesting, do you think I can change the dates by more than just next day to make things more convenient?

Carolina2Cali

I know this goes way off topic and also hinders or distracts from my chances to get answers, but I have to chime in - THIS. Alaska is such a meh name... it is a BEAUTIFUL state but people outside of the Northwest may never even think to consider Alaska because they probably assume, well, most of their flights surely go to Alaska. At least the idea behind Southwest is they cover an entire region... They should have taken the Virgin name, as well as the fun plane lighting colors. Not all planes need to be plastered in blue, even if it is calming!

Eastbay1K

Doop Lah Kit. Deleted....

Eastbay1K

That ship sailed long before they all ended up in COVID dry dock.

IggySD

In the same boat but as an FYI Hyatt has nothing near SEA. You can usually get a hotel downtown at a decent rate but you're looking at additional expense from a rental / taxi / Uber or about an extra 45-60 minutes travel time on either end on the Link. The Marriott and Hilton are both easily walked to from the airport.

ISTFlyer

It's my opinion, but for those who have their California-Florida flights cancelled and complaining about waking up early; if you wake up early and go to the airport sleepy, you would be sleeping much more easily onboard without taking a sleeping pill. There is no sense to stay awake on a 5h Alaska flight unless you need to work on your computer.

fly18725

AS is focused on restoring capacity where there is demand. SEA has recovered well and most of the regional destinations feeding SEA are above 2019 demand. The Bay Area remains below 50% of 2019 levels.

sfozrhfco

Just get a refund and go somewhere you actually want to go--unless you have a reason to go to SEA. Otherwise, see if they will rebook you on AA. You can also earn AA miles flying on Jetblue.

AA has a targeted promo--fly 2 jetblue segments and 2 AA segments and get 4,000 bonus miles.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/aa-jetblue-promo/

Spending the night going and returning in SEA is going to eat up any "deal" you got for the flights. AS will have no non-stops to FLL from California until 18 November at the earliest and even those could be cancelled as they haven't worked out their schedule that far ahead. Simply moving to another day--unless you are talking delaying the trip by months is just not an option on AS.

tphuang

For the week of 05/13 to 19 (the last one I have seen data for).
LAX is at 97% of 2019 booking level
SEA is at 66% of 2019 level
SF is at 60% of 2019 level.

Sure, SF demand is coming back slowly, but it's not that much lighter than SEA. AS made a conscious decision here to restore its SEA capacity ahead of everywhere else to protect its hub against DL incursion. I don't know why this is so hard to accept.

If you are in the Bay Area, fly to more than just west coast and aren't in love with AS ff program, there is really no reason for you to stick it out with AS. With AA ff, you can earn miles on AA flights as well as AS and B6. SFO mainline base is closing in 2022. Which means, there will continue to be very little non-west coast flying. Of course, if you are just looking to do mileage runs and then use your status to fly up and down west coast, AS is the best airline for you. They are more than happy to transit everyone through SEA to their destination.

Carolina2Cali

JetBlue and AA earn EQD a lot, well, less, when you apply them to AA.
For about $1000, I was going to earn $2820+ in EQD, and also, I like Florida, but had no reason to go. If I get my flights rerouted through Seattle, I might be out some extra hotel money (and ugh, apparently not earning any Hyatt points), but I'll earn $4380 EQD. I can see this as a win, even if I am now out some extra hotel costs and time, if they'll go for it, and I can get the days and times reasonable. Does Alaska have to honor a commitment to get me there even if its long and annoying, or can they just say poo poo and I am out of luck?

jrl767

if you present them with a reasonable option, they will likely try to accommodate you ... and in general, "reasonable" in the event of a cancellation probably only means +/- one day

however, since SEA-FLL is only 1x daily, you might be able to talk them into SEA-MCO/TPA to avoid the overnight layover (and there might actually be a workable AA connection to MIA from either or both of those points)