eponymous_coward

https://news.alaskaair.com/alaska-ai...ing-and-costs/

https://onemileatatime.com/news/alas...-subscription/

https://paxex.aero/alaska-access-sub...-wifi-voucher/

$60 a year for… a free wifi session every month and some app alerts on sales?

StevenSeagalFan

This is lame, Alaska's sales are kind of fake anyway right? Why would I PAY to be notified of a fake sale sale the night before everyone else? A 1-time use per month wifi voucher? Yawn. Also, I am hesitant to share my airline login info with a 3rd party, in this case, it appears this is administered by "recurly" https://alaskaair.recurly.com/

notquiteaff

They are trying too hard to join the “subscription economy”.

olouie

Limited WiFi voucher to the month it’s received sucks. Knowing Alaska they won’t even get it to you in time to use it the whole month haha.

be_rettSEA

It looks like it's just a single wifi session a month anyhow, so just hope your flight that month is after they send it to you.

PDXPremier

Honestly surprised that wifi isn't free as part of Alaska Listens although perhaps they are afraid of system overload. The painfully slow speed of the free Alaska website is enough to make me avoid coughing up $$ for super slow Internet.

olouie

Yeah it’s a very strange benefit. Helps a very limited set of customers. If you are a heavy AS flyer then the monthly pass is a better deal overall and if you dont fly much $8 in flight wifi is better than locking to $5/monthly for 12 months with uncertain other benefits. I wish they rolled out something like $120-200 unlimited wifi for the year.

missamo80

I read the press release this morning with one eye open while sipping coffee and thought being sleepy was the reason the whole plan sounded like nonsense.

Thankfully FlyerTalk confirmed it is, indeed, nonsense. Why would I pay to get early access to sales that are never worthwhile? $3 off wifi per month if you happen to magically fly once per month reliably?

It's weird man. WEIRD.

jiburi

I do agree, this is a subscription to a bundled benefit of limited use. Subscription benefits are not new to the industry, as UA has been offering subscription benefit for more than a decade. UA has "economy plus" subscription ($599+), two baggage subsription ($349), Unlimited wifi subscription ($49/mo, $539/yr), and historically, I was a member of Continental's Travel Club offering $5 discount for every trip I book and complete on continental.com. While similar benefits, if offered to AS, mean little to any status bearing elites, it likely provides benefits to infrequent flyers who are not often able to gain status..... and when you compare Delta's "free unlimited wifi" to all Delta skymiles members, AS's $5/month once-session monthly for 12 month seem overly greedy.

If AS wants to cater to non-elites, they need to do a better job of identify the "right price" for the benefits they can use.

Jiburi

EasternTraveler

Alaska Airlines now charging a $5 Fee to Subscribe to their Promotions and Coupons.

sfozrhfco

...and for just $25 extra per month, you get priority access to Ben Minicucci's Cameo account which includes one free birthday wish a month to a person of your choosing

AS is obviously running out of ideas to raise revenue. May try premium meal service or something that people might actually want?

TravelBrighter

I’d sooner pay $5 a month to get off their mailing list.

sfozrhfco

Noted. That is one thing that Alaska Listens will prioritize.

RAD_PDX

Very bizarre. I thought it was spam at first. Alaska has lost the plot.

avih77w

Why on earth would anyone pay $60 a year for access to a sale page powered by Alaska IT? Other than a marketing screenshot, no one has any idea what they are offering.

Google Flights and others already do a better job for free.

Adding a monthly chocolate would certainly "sweeten" the offer. Maybe they'll early pretzel access for $1 more a month - get your nibbles as the carts go out.