FlyFreakquently

The title says it all. Current AA Plat, and I'm absolutely furious over the new loyalty program. Just call it American Credit Card Company. Anyways, I digress... Basically, what attracts me to AS is the loyalty program that rewards actual flying, the solid FC food, and the fact that it's part of OW now. Is AS a decent airline? I've never flown them, so would love any insight.

Mwenenzi

Several other threads by AA to AS refugees,
Including

• Considering Switch from AA to Alaska
• AS MVPGold or AA Platinum (Pro) HNL to Texas
• Should I stay with AS ex-NYC?

What are your objectives from a ffp and what is your flying pattern?
Could you fly AS routes? Or mainly AA routes/flights and crediting to AS freg flyer program instead of the AA freq spender program. Partner flights not on AA still credit to AAdvanatge on a distance/class basis

flytoeat

"Is AS a decent airline?"

You think you'll get objective answers here? If you're looking for an echo chamber, welcome!

FlyFreakquently

Pff, the AA forum is nothing but an echo chamber for negativity about the airline, and rightly so. I can handle it

FlyFreakquently

Thank you for the threads, will have a look. Main objectives would be 1. upgrades 2. checked bags 3. milage accrual.
I'm from the greater philly area, but go to school in the LA area, so most of my routing would have to be either LAX-SEA-PHL or LAX-EWR. That would be the main pattern, getting from one coast to the next, which is a little hiccup because AS has much more of a west coast presence. For smaller airports that only have service from the big 3, I would probably just fly AA and credit it to AS as you said. I understand there are some partner benefits, which is appealing.

VegasGambler

You do whatever you want but I think it's crazy to go from an airline that can get you where you want nonstop to one where you have to take connections all the time. Your convenience should be the most important thing.

When I lived in SF I flew AS and UA, preferring AS but taking whichever could get me where I was going cheapest and without connecting. Then I moved to PHX and, bye bye AS and UA, hello AA. Nothing against either airline but I'm not connecting every time I want to fly somewhere.

IMO the main benefit of AS over AA is the mileage earning. You earn more miles and they are worth a lot more if used for premium cabin partner flights (which is what I use mine for). There really is a lot of value there.

The main benefits of AA over AS are:

1. the network (do not underestimate the value of having true nationwide, and in fact, international network. There's a reason I had to supplement AS with UA when I lived in SF)

2. The fact that you can use your elite benefits while flying basic economy. This adds up to a lot of money over the course of the year. For your connecting flights, you will often have to pay 2 buyups since AS is not always great about through fares (though I don't know about your particular route)

I would suggest pricing out the main cabin price on AS for your route. Compare to the basic economy price on AA. Maybe add 10% to the AA price to compensate for the fact that you might occasionally have to eat the cost of a ticket due to basic economy restrictions (no changes allowed). The difference is what you are paying to switch, plus a ton of your time due to the extra time connecting, not to mention that when things go wrong AA has the network to be able to give you reasonable options much more often.

I seriously doubt that it's worth it for you. Any additional value you get out of the FF program will most likely be lost by paying higher fares, not to mention the value of your time.

ashill

Though it's not necessarily crazy to credit flights to AS Mileage Plan when mostly flying AA. I did that when I lived in PHL (starting right around the time of the AA/US merger and leaving before AS and AA had their short-lived partial breakup). (In my case, my single most common route was PHL-SEA-EAT, so AS made sense for that itinerary, but I obviously flew AA or BA for all flights out of PHL that weren't to the west coast.) The OP will need to look at that, recognizing that it's generally better, all else being equal, to fly with native elite status rather than partner elite status, even close partners like AA and AS. But all else may not be equal. Given that the OP doesn't like they loyalty points AA program and is a student, there's a very real chance they'll get more value out of Mileage Plan than AAdvantage. And of course whether to fly nonstop LAX-PHL or take the connection via SEA can be a trip-by-trip decision, depending on the OP's time, fares, etc.

OP, especially since AA's new system makes it far easier to retain status than to gain it, I would at the least fly AS on a trip or two (crediting to AAdvantage) before switching frequent flyer programs. Switching the airline you fly and the airline you credit to need not happen at the same moment for partners, and it need not be a complete switch either.

kbooks66

As an airline I personally like Alaska and Delta as my two favorite US based major airlines (if you consider Alaska Major). Personally I find Alaska's program the easiest to earn with and the easiest to find good redemptions on. That being said there have been some signs with new partners they have added that we could be headed for a devaluation in the award chart, but that can happen anywhere. My Pro/Con List for Alaska:

Pros

• Best Mileage Earn and Use program in the US (Really good partner earning too)
• Great Service
• Decent Food (probably better than AA in my experience)
• One World, so massive partner list
• Lounge Access for Domestic Flights if you are in First(and their newer lounges are really nice)
• Reciprocal upgrades with AA for 75k and 100k MVPs
• Great West Coast Availability,

Cons

• More Expensive (in my experience) than AA/UA, seems to be on par with DL (I fly out of Sea so that could be why it is more expensive)
• Only Narrow Body Planes (So no real opportunity for lie flat on a TransCon flight, unless you are 75k or 100k and flying on AA, but again you only get one class of Service upgraded, so if there is premium economy you will not be bumped to business)
• No seat back IFE (This may not bother some people, but especially on TransCons I like IFE)
• Reciprocal Upgrades with AA. This is a pro and a con because it will likely result in longer waitlists and making it tougher to clear (on both sides)
• Limited East Coast Availability (This can also become an issue when flying in the winter when we are talking about rescheduling/cancellations)

Generally I split my loyalty between Delta/Alaska. They are by far my two favorite *Edit* DOMESTIC airlines. I do Delta more often for longhaul and Alaska for my West Coast Travelling. This results in me having low tier status on both.

GW McLintock

I was actually planning on switching to AA this year. But several dirt-cheap mileage runs later, I'm stuck with AS for another year

-J.

ashill

The last bit here is false. AA upgrades are from economy or premium economy to domestic first or business (whichever is offered), not merely to premium economy. It’s also irrelevant to someone deciding between AA nonstops PHL-LAX and AS connections through SEA, since those flights don’t have premium economy anyway.

Repooc17

Where else would you get it here on FT? AA? Lol...

I am a free agent (status with AS, DL, and UA), so I am by no means a AS fanboy. I have often gone out of my way to fly AS despite its limited frequencies from the east coast where I am based. I think that speaks to my opinions of the airline.

djp98374

I’m not a low level status holder. I don’t travel enough for work to get to higher levels.

the issue I have now with airlines is the devaluation. With other airlines I see the only way I could get status by flights is by leg/ segment count without a fare purchase requirement.

i really liked status when it was partner with delta and American.

living in the east right now I can fly on American and get leg count toward ststus even though milesfpve won’t. My flights on American are generally under 2 hr flights/ 100 real miles.

i coukd book 3 RTs a year on AS to west coast st 5 legs per for 15 and around 16000 miles, thrn fly AA for the other 15 legs ( 4 legs a RT) and get ststus but maybe only have a combined 21000 miles.

on AS if I do one of the trips to hawayy from east cost,that’s double XC in miles.

worldwidedreamer

I'm based at SFO/RNO and a United Platinum + AS MVP 75k. Alaska is the better airline, but they just don't go where I want to fly and even when they have the flight frequencies are limited.

Eastbay1K

Here's my insight after 36 years of flying AS. It is a decent airline, and it doesn't work for everyone. The biggest downside over the years have been reliability of route sustainability on newer markets. Oh you bought that timeshare in (pick your city) Mexico because you could reliably fly there on AS? You moved all your Hawaii flying to AS because well, you live near OAK?

AS + its partners over the years have been a decent bank for many of my miles, but it has never been able to fill all the holes - between the love / hate / love with AA, the love / hate with DL, and other airlines coming and going over the years, I've got accounts with UA (MMer), DL (Gold - but never joined until AS/DL divorce), WN (Intra-State short hops), and B6. As time goes by, I've become more and more of a 304 over the years, but still glad to patronize Chester. This is not to say that AS never drops the ball. I had one of the worst crews EVAR a week ago.

As far as filling in the holes, I've always expected that if I'm flying a partner and have any reasonable expectation of a cushy seat, my original ticket will be issued in that cabin. And that may make or break the analysis of sticking with AS for some.

VegasGambler

Good catch, AA does not count premium economy as a class of service for the purposes of upgrades. It's treated the same as regular economy.