NWAlaskaFlyer

Been flying Alaska for a fair number of years. Would be closing in on million miler if Alaska had opened DTW and BWI earlier. Instead had to qualify with a lot of Delta (eww!) metal for several years. Those are my bona fides I suppose. Post COVID I am just not feeling air travel. Everything seems to have degraded a couple steps. Same is true for hotels but that is a more isolated experience. In the air a lot of people have taken to being very rude, hostile to the FA's, and just low class. The in air offerings have slid as well although the food in first on my last couple flights was fairly good. Am I just old, cranky, and entitled or are others feeling this? In any case, answer kindly or flame away if you think it is deserved.

Red L

I don't think it's fair to generalize that everything has degraded. Are there pains coming out of the pandemic due to staffing? Absolutely. But I'm back to flying A LOT, and I've been lucky to not have a single canceled flight (I'm sure my time will come). In addition, I have never seen anything (even during the height of Covid when I flew a few times) more than a very minor incident between passengers and FAs -- and only related to mask compliance, which doesn't apply anymore. I think Alaska has done a decent (not perfect) job getting service standards back up as they could. First offerings, in particular I'm pretty happy with (especially compared to other carriers), and in general the AS FAs have maintained their usual high levels of professionalism and style.

Is travel always "fun" and problem-free? No, but those things have always been true.

jrl767

yes

I've never met OP, so "yes" is technically my response to only the second part of the question, but in general I second a lot of what Red L posted ...

< curmudgeonly rant >
things were radically different the past couple years, aggravated by the near-nonstop use of social media and many people gleefully losing/discarding their filters as to what's civil/appropriate speech and conduct
< /rant >

985X

I actually feel quite the opposite, only after covid started I began to realize how much I missed flying.. I can't say I won't get tired of it one day, but at least for now I always smile whenever I reach the airport

VegasGambler

If I had flown a million miles mostly domestically (or at least within North America) I would be done too.

PDXpress

2021 was a golden age of air travel. 2020 was a little scary, 2022 is a little crazy.

2021 seemed to have an Alaska BOGO every month, upgrades were easy, AS lounges were empty and available with Priority Pass, and my kids were mostly on Zoom school so no reason not to go. I agree that it's hard to get excited about flying in 2022 now that things are back to "normal".

jhawk737

I will say as an almost 100k-er already this year, things seem to be getting quickly back to normal. One thing I have noticed is a “great divide” in overall F/A service levels. While the majority of my flights have had good/great service, there are still some F/A’s that are seemingly doing the least amount possible in regards to service levels. Luckily it’s not the majority of the time. I know that Covid is still out there, but hoping to continue to get a more consistent service experience as the year goes on (and the pandemic’s severity continues to lessen).

PDXPremier

I agree--2021 was the "golden age"....the frequent sales were AMAZING and I never in a million years would have guess that I would earn 75K status--even my kids got MVP status...the lounges started reopening with increased/improved food options--hot food returned to first class--yeah, good times. I've mostly had to put the breaks on travel this summer due to the cost but it's clear prices are dropping after Labor Day weekend so I'm not worried about getting back to mileage run mode in the Fall to ensure at least MVPG status. I will say that it's been far too long since I've seen a warm chocolate chip cookie in F.....

jrl767

well, you’re obviously not flying the right routes … we had ‘em on PAE-SAN last Wed (22 Jun), and return last night (27 Jun)

mbluecpa

I have found 2022 a really mixed bag. It feels to me that there’s a lot more annoying (but certainly not to the level of making the news) behavior: more gate lice, arguments over overhead space, trying to engineer multiple seat swaps, etc. Crews have seemed to me to be glad to be returning to some semblance of normal. We had a ~4 hour delay out of PHL last week and with the help of an awesome crew, there were no passenger meltdowns (I know, I’ve set the bar low here). Planes feel like they’re uniformly full, and I expect that a lot of former once-a-year travelers are returning to the skies. Fortunately, service offerings are returning to ~early 2020 levels.

Fall 2021 was the low point to my mind, with poor/nonexistent service and mask drama on most flights.

AKLifetimeFlyer

2022 is much better than 2021 and late 2020 were. I am just so glad masks are gone and some amenities are returning.

nomiiiii

I've flown a lot throughout 2020/2021/2022, and the main issues have been massive schedule changes which can cause issues with prearranged car rentals or taking an extra day off work. Anyone who didn't fly through 2020/2021 seriously missed out on frequent upgrades, empty airports easy-breezy travel, low prices for high-end experiences. Reached Alaska gold status without even trying due to all the bonuses they gave out.

Haven't been hit with a cancellation so far, but that is easily fixed - now for every single flight I have a backup flight booked with miles (e.g. if my main plan is on Alaska there is a delta miles flight booked a few hours later), and then i simply cancel that other flight once we know the current flight is on time. Ditto for car rentals, have an extra cancellable car rental booked a few hours after original arrival.

Having these backup options have reduced the stress of travel that many are facing.

Ford Fairlane

I've been flying with status for just a couple years. In fact, I hit MVP for the first time less than a week after the US's first mass COVID breakout at that nursing facility in Kirkland, WA, so it's been a strange elite "trip" for me. But seemingly long too, because of so many changes and mini-eras along the way.

Before having status, air travel was just a commodity to me. Flew whoever had the best deal or schedule, though that was still usually Alaska. As services have picked back up on AS during the COVID era--first the return of water bottles, now just waiting for PDBs to make a comeback--I started to enjoy flying with status more and more.

Until March or April of this year. With all the negative impacts of fewer and fuller planes, risks of cancellation and so on, I'm enjoying the actual flying experience a little less (with lowered expectations) and focusing more on what I did before I had status: planning or looking forward to whatever it is I'm going do *after* I get to my destination.

BOB W

This is the most obvious problem for me. The attitude of the FA's will make or break a flight. Before Covid this was rare. Now, many FA's, in F & Y, want to do the minimum required. I am not sure if this is coming from the new, top management of AS or just a product of the times. A good attitude and friendly smile onboard seems to be much less common these days, from both the FA's and the Pax.

toadman

I no longer look forward to flying. Just want to get to my destination and get away from the airplane and airport and all the dreck that is the current state of air travel. God speed to those that embrace and still enjoy the journey. At some point my job will require more travel. Not looking forward to it.