jrl767

please don’t forget that — with a residence in OGG — you’re probably not in the same travel paradigm as most others here … getting in at 9 or 1pm and having to deal with a rental car and a schlep to a hotel/resort in the dark is a lot different than going home

crhpdx

Y’all connecting in Seattle are insane. I think SEA is the worst airport.

100K here and I have to connect through Seattle a bit to get to Bellingham, Bozeman, and Billings and I hate it so much. I never leave on time. Constant delays. And the lounge isn’t that great.

I do think there’s some reduced service but my main work territory happens to be SFO, SLC, and DEN and I’ve noticed some decline there but I rarely have to connect in Seattle unless it’s a timing issue.

mtofell

Yeah, gaining the 2/3 hours going west certainly helps. I do get burned going the other way though. Most flights out of here are in the afternoon and I usually land at PDX around midnight or later. Trying to get an Uber can be ridiculous and I hate to bother friends/family that late. I also have some setup for my living situation while in Portland - an RV on my in-laws property that needs some de-winterizing, etc. I really wish AS had more earlier flights out of here but for whatever reason they tend to fly over in the morning and back in the afternoon. I suspect it's a plane storage issue as the airport here is pretty small.

chrisl137

How much do you travel through LAX? SEA is usually pretty easy if you're staying on AS - get off at the D or N gates, maybe get on the train, go to the appropriate lounge at the D or N gates, head to the gate at boarding time. And I like to watch the planes from the N lounge. The biggest issue I've had at SEA, and not for a while, was getting stuck in a far away gate (minor) and having the rampers be out of practice getting the ramp lined up on an E175 and having to do it a few times so I misconnected after my plane was already half an hour late due to an MX.

Eastbay1K

Probably different for those who are flying on mainline and through less weather affected areas, and on planes with less segments during a day than those on short regional hops.

beamerbenzbentli

@OP As a 75k based in ORD, trust me... you don't have it that bad, lol. Even though you have to connect thru SEA, your "shuttle" is 30 mins, runs like every hr, and you don't miss too much flight time schedule.
My "shuttles" to SEA/PDX/SFO is... well, not a shuttle. It's 4 hrs just to get to hub. Flight schedules are wack: arrivals/departures are always super fkn early or late, or I'll miss same day connection and end up overnight/red-eye. :rope:
If you're not in their market share-dominated hubs like ANC & SEA or west coast, it's defo the major airline that tests your loyalty the most.

WebTraveler

My goal isn't to increase EQMs most of the time, its spending the shortest time as possible traveling. I think I get enough

The point is I hope Alaska restores service and we get back to the way it was - more non stops from Portland

djp98374

i think SEA ,while crowded, is not hard to navigate and you can make connections easily in an hour, unlike Chicago. I generally avoid under 1 hr connections

notquiteaff

It’s hard enough that I am not routing my MiL through SEA when she is visiting us from SoCal.

And I am reminded of one experience in 2020 when I came across an elderly foreign gentleman in the N satellite train station who was looking a bit confused while trying to work out his way to the next gate. I offered my assistance and he said his next flight was on Qatar. So S terminal, I figured. I tried to explain to him, with the help of the terminal/train map, how to get there, and it was clear he didn’t quite get it. I think I was on my way to the Amex lounge, but my ultimate destination was a BA flight departing from S, so I just told him to tag along.

Three trains later he was happy to arrive at the QR gate, but I suspect he thought something like “there’s gotta be an easier way” as we were changing trains twice.

He clearly didn’t have a choice, but I would have preferred to fly out of PDX (to bring this back on topic). Sadly the DE and BA flights from PDX aren’t very useful to me anymore since AS killed the feeder flights to PDX.

Calculon

Agree with this. I mean, they could spend a ton of money to unify the train system. It would slightly simplify the navigation, but it wouldn't speed up transfers very much. It's already difficult to be more than about 20 minutes away from any other point in the terminals. PDX is smaller, but I perceive transfers there to be slower because there's more walking involved.

As for those anecdotes people have about helping confused passengers... some people are just really bad at finding their way. Strong possibility that they would need help even if the layout were simpler. Seriously, all you have to do is follow the signs, but for those who have trouble (and there will always be a few who do), it's not hard to get assistance. There's a lot of things we might complain about when having to connect at SEA, but getting around isn't a major issue. That said, non-stops are still better for the vast majority of flyers, since they're not FT EQM/RDM/lounge-time maximizers. If I were PDX-based, I'd want them. But instead I'd rather they leave PDX as-is so that I can have more non-stops from MY city.

mtofell

PDX is no picnic these days for those unfamiliar with there being no airside connector. At least at SEA you stay airside. I'd gladly ride a couple 3-4 minute trains to avoid 20-30 minutes (or worse) at security. I was at LAX recently trying to make connection (barely did) and was reminded just what a terrible airport that is for getting around quickly.

I totally get OP's point and as a regular PDX flyer somewhat agree. I'm just not always in a huge hurry when traveling. I've basically devoted the day to it and don't mind a couple extra miles and a few beverages at the beautiful N lounge. Of course, it's worth mentioning that for most of my life I've never flown much until a recent move so there is still some newness. I imagine in a few more years I'll be looking to get where I'm going ASAP.

notquiteaff

I haven’t flown through PDX in about two years. Missing Capers lunch/dinner courtesy of PP. And the musical entertainment.

And I hate LAX, especially for international connections that involve a trip to/from Bradley. Coincidentally I just booked just that this morning. Sigh.

leroix

Good luck getting PP to buy much at Capers these days! - In the last week a basic omelet was up to nearly $23 - surprisingly burgers were still only $16 ... that egg inflation!

The staff there are lovely, but I don't feel like PP is getting me much value and anyone paying menu prices, ouch.

PDXPremier

Wait--you mean you want to spend the shortest time possible traveling? This is FLYERtalk, right?

elCheapoDeluxe

This does make a significant impact for me. I am at 1.6MM United and had switched and started over on AS once I moved to Oregon. ex-PDX nonstops were why. Especially since I'm closer to Eugene than PDX, if I'm going to connect anyway I might as well take UA, leave out of EUG and connect in SFO or DEN. Maybe hit my 2MM and spend less time driving to PDX.

But... I'd much rather they brought back the PDX nonstops. ORD needs another flight per day and I could really use that PDX-MSP back.