Carfield

Hi Everyone,

I am about to fly my first Alaska Airlines flight from LA to Vancouver in about two weeks. I will be on first class and want to inquire about its meal service. I will be on a dinner flight and what can I expect? I hope I will be on those Boeing 737-400 with the new F class cabin...

Did they have pre-takeoff drink? any hot towel service? Quality of food?

Any info will be great...

Thanks,
Carfield

QuietLion

You will find bottled water waiting for you at your seat when you board (OJ in the morning). No other preflight drink service. I think AS usually gives you two meal choices. Quality is excellent. Not sure about the hot towel. No menus.

Eastbay1K

That review is more "raving" than I would have given. You could expect anything from a cold snack plate (sandwich, "creative" salad) with a chocolate mint for "dessert", to actually a hot meal. I have had lunchtime flights lasting over 3 hrs where we have had that "snack" service in F. On that particular routing, I have no idea though. In any event, I would not recommend going too hungry. If you have a paid F tix, you are welcome to use the lounge, though at LAX they share with TW, so I'm not sure if F tix get you in. You will find the AS flight attendants very pleasant, but they do have a habit of ignoring the F cabin after the initial service. And I have yet to see a 12 seat F cabin on a 737. Even the seatmaps on a January trip of mine still only have 8.

West Coast Flyer

Carfield is not traveling at lunch, so on his flight there will be a three course dinner. Lunch service on AS is lighter than dinner. It is sometimes two courses, with a choice of salad (or sometimes a pizza and salad) or sandwhich and then usually a dessert. On shorter flights they skip the dessert.

The 737-400s are being expanded to 12 seats, as mentioned. I was just on one with 12 seats. However on their reservation system it only showed up as 8 seats, so you don't know until you get there. Leg room was fine...probably about 38 inchs. But since AS offers a bit more legroom in coach than most airlines, it Y and F don't seem that different in leg room. Because they are installing new seats, some planes won't have phones at this time. 737-400 N791 will be the first to be installed with satellite televsion in March of next year for a trial run. Providing a successful trial run, this should eventually make its way to most AS a/c.

Dinner is typically very good. Hot towel service usually occurs, but not always. On some flights they offer newspapers. The F/As are usually very accomidating. My experience with the F/A service is not that of Eastbay1K. I find the F/As up front to be very attentive, and drink service is frequent. AS has a "wine list" in their in-flight magazine. They don't usually say much about this, so be sure to ask. Four wines plus (I think) champagne are available.

The last time I had dinner on an AS flight (LAX-SEA), it consisted of:

Mixed greens salad w/caeser dressing
sourdough roll

Choice of "Pacific Rim Pasta" or Pork Tenderloins, in Marsala wine sauce. I had the pasta, and it had shrimp, asparagus and linguine in a light cream sauce. It was very good.

Dessert was a hazelnut flan...quite refreshing. A more common dessert is an ice cream sundae.

Do you have a dinner flight both ways?

[This message has been edited by West Coast Flyer (edited 12-06-1999).]

Eastbay1K

You have been most fortunate, West Coast Flyer. The past 2 years at the MVP Gold lunch, one of the biggest gripes (among generally positive or constructive comments) is the abandonment of the F cabin by the flight attendants at a time they are chatting in the back galley. None of us had a problem with the F going to help the other 2 to get a quick meal out on a quick flight, but I'd say on about 1/2 my flights, she won't even come and do a "pass through" every 1/2 hour. AS knows this has been a problem and it HAS been getting better. On one trip last year (3.5 hr flight) after 45 mins, I finally went up to the back galley and "disturbed" our flight attendant for some coffee. 4 of the 8 passengers in F wanted some. Yet somehow I feel like an idiot by ringing the bell. A few months ago, I actually RANG the bell after over 1/2 hr of abandonment, only to have my call IGNORED. After talking with a small group of other MVP Golds, I find my incidents not isolated at all.

I say all this as a loyal AS flyer, since 1986. Overall, I think our new AS flyer here will find the experience very positive.

QuietLion

I wonder if it's the route, Eastbay. Flying in and out of SEA I've never had anything like that happen on AS.

West Coast Flyer

The lack of F/A attention up front was never a problem until they reduced the F/As on-board from 4 to 3, sometime around 1993. Come to think of it, I did once have some rather inattentive F/A service up front. I was on a flight from ANC-SFO in 1997, and the service was minimal, considering that the flight is almost trans-continental in distance. The flight was 4 hours 30 minutes, and all we received was a choice of a salad or sandwhich and then a ice cream sundae...good quality, but a touch on the minimal side. OK. However, what mainly upset me was that the F/A didn't serve any drinks during the last 2.5 hours of the flight. She "helped" the F/As in coach, and then sat down at her seat and did a crossword, and read a book (in plain view of all of us). I understand F/As need rest, but this was excessive. Fortunately, I haven't had that problem since then. I flew that route again this summer, and the lunch was now a dinner service (as it should be for a 3:00 PM flight), and the service was much more attentive.

Carfield

Thanks everyone for the info! It is only an one-way trip... because I am catching AC/BR for the night flight to Taipei. I chose Alaska because I heard so many good things about it. I had a choice of AS or CP... I chose AS because I want to try a new airline...

My flight is AS 681 on 12/19... it is a dinner flight...

Thanks again,
Carfield

QuietLion

Hunnybear and I will be flying LAX-SEA on the 19th, but on UA. We'll be sun-soaked and happy from our CRUISE OF THE MILLENNIUM!

YVR Cockroach

Carfield,

I have never flown AS in the premium cabin but I think I would pick CP even on a 737-200 (have flown them in C class down the west coast YVR-SAN-YVR 2x, YVR-LAX-YVR, LAX-YVR and YVR-SFO-YVR since 1997)

They offer pre-takeoff drinks (water or juice), pre-meal drinks and mixed nuts (in a dish, not package), hot towel service, linen meal service with hot meal or cold plate (cold plates are better and more adventurous) and salad/dessert and a box of chocolates with choice of two red and two white wines, and post-dinner liquors.

Seats may not be leather but they do have recline and extendible leg rests as well as foot rest on the seat in front (old BA Club World seats), as well as EmPower ports on reconfigured planes (new paint, upholestery and video monitors)

Look for my trip report in rec.travel.air posted today (15 Dec)

[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 12-15-1999).]

Carfield

Thanks terenz!

However, I don't know how to access to your trip repart at rec.travel.air.

Can you give me a hint?

Thanks


------------------
Carfield
Menu Scavengers
Inflight food critics
Crazy 8th grade teacher