Flying Yazata

I was originally back in 2019 planning to visit the Last Frontier in the early summer of 2020, but I eventually postponed it in the late summer of 2019 for scheduling reasons. Apparently that was a good decision, meaning I avoided a viral cancellation this year. However, AK is still there and the show must go on. So I'm back to the drawing board and have finalised my preliminary itinerary, which means I'm close to start making the flight bookings that outline the trip and set a framework for when I can leave SEA for the 49th and be back in WA.

As I've previously done quite a lot of work for preparing a curated itinerary for an approx. one month long trip, I haven't redone all my work. The main difference is that I'm less strict with the length now and depart slightly later. At the time being planning for Unalaska is slightly complicated, since AS hasn't restored DUT due to the Ravn bankruptcy and the SAAB 2000 crash. Travelling via CDB is slightly complicated, since it seems I can't combine it with my ADK escapade. But right now my assumption is that by next summer a sustainable air service ANC-DUT will be restored, since the fisheries of Unalaska haven't ceased to trade. That's at the time being the biggest uncertain factor in my itinerary.

There's some points I'd like to have feedback/thoughts on, since I'm not sure what's smart timewise for spending in certain towns/cities. Now in terms of Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau, how much time is it worthwile to budget for seeing sights and taking in the local atmosphere?

Another thing: is there any weekday related travel patterns that are typical to Alaska and are good to take into account? Like days that are very busy at the airports or something like that.

I will have one preparation day for Dalton Highway in Fairbanks (I need to stock up at Walmart and Home Depot ), but other than that a few days for actually enjoying the city. My schedule overall is by no means rushed, but it's now at the stage where I see, if anything can be trimmed or should I add time somewhere. The main reason is that it determines when I will head back down to the lower 48. For Anchorage I have currently 3-4 days, but I could of course head for Seward as a side gig. Juneau is currently allocated one dedicated one day, with some further time mixing up with time allocated for e.g. Sitka. Sitka is supposed to be one way by air and either way by ferry, but the state of the AMHS is abysmal and we don't know yet how their fiscals pan out in 2021. Thus it may well be a return trip by plane.

Basically on a long trip I anyway need days for laundry and taking time off from actively moving around, so like I said, I'm not in a mad rush, but still try to optimise things. From experience I've noticed it's every two weeks when I need a break from scooting around from one place to another, so I've indeed taken it into account. Overall I have quite much leeway in terms of the total length of my trip, but I do try to cut slack from the itinerary due to fare restrictions. Luggage isn't an issue, as I can store my base kit at the airports (ANC and JNU), while doing my excursions.

Chugach

You mention that you are coming from SEA. Considering the duration of your trip, and the abundance of things you want to do, I’d just drive up there. Coming from Seattle it’ll take you about three and a half days to get to either Anchorage or Fairbanks, with overnights in Williams Lake, either Fort Nelson or Bell II, and Whitehorse.

Since the ferry system is in a state of flux, on the return you could put your vehicle on a TOTE Maritime ship from Anchorage to Tacoma, then migrate down through JNU and southeast Alaska on the way back to Seattle via AS. Pro tip...it is much cheaper to ship vehicles OUT of Alaska than it is to ship them to Alaska.

Considering the length of your trip, having your own vehicle would be very beneficial and probably pretty cost effective considering the astronomical cost of rental cars in summer anywhere in the state.

Assuming, of course, that Canada will open its border back up by next summer.

Flying Yazata

Thanks for the input, Chugach! I appreciate that someone took the time to reply.

I'm booked on AS from SEA to FAI on the outbound and returning to the Lower 48 from JNU to SEA. I did indeed look at renting a one-way RV from Seattle, especially due to Dalton, but decided against it. The drive isn't probably bad, it's just that a return ticket was cheaper. And with AS joining OW, I get BAEC Tier Points. Actually there's some pretty nifty combinations doable with AS inside AK for TPs. But yes, I may still reconsider the car option, if things don't work out as I hoped. I will however then have to skip Juneau, Sitka and Pelican. I had quite mininal renting planned and I have a stash of Hertz points, although they've since Chapter 11 pulled out a lot of availability for awards.

Overall there's a lot of uncertainty around the trip, but all my flights can be cancelled and swapped for vouchers. It's not like I'm going to cease living and flying, so I just postpone the whole thing then to 2022, would the US not be possible to enter from Europe. Currently my biggest issue is that the ANC-ADK redemption prices have gone up, when a while ago the same dates were half the price in AS MVP miles. So I haven't been able to lock in Adak yet. Also Unalaska is a big question mark since currently I can't really combine it with Adak and ANC-DUT isn't back yet. AS seems to be a little bit cautious with the SAAB 2000, since the aircraft model has an impeccable operational history.

So as things stand now, I have done most flight bookings and some accommodation ones, but all those can be cancelled, would things change. The timing and route of my trip will most likely still change, if I can't get Adak and/or Unalaska done.

Gardyloo

Far be it from me to suggest major re-workings of your plan, but at the rate things are going I'd be surprised if everything is "back to normal" by next spring/summer, especially with destinations like DUT or ADK. The busiest time for the fisheries on the chain is the autumn through the winter, and regarding Adak, I'd frankly expect a skeleton service at best. I'll just say for the record that there are - IMHO - far more pleasant places to get stuck for a week than Adak.

Just as a thought experiment, what if you had a look at Nome and Kotzebue instead or in addition to some of your other destinations? These are main-line 737 destinations for AS, and are generally flown as a triangle route out of Anchorage, i.e. ANC-OME-OTZ-ANC or v.v. and are generally fairly inexpensive compared to destinations like DUT or ADK, e.g. ANC-OME return for around US$300 most of the time.

Kotzebue is above the arctic circle and will have 24 hour sun during your travel period. It's a fascinating Inuit community on an inlet of the Arctic Ocean, with a comfortable Native-owned hotel/restaurant complex. Nome is the historic gold rush town on the Bering Sea, noted for its ongoing gold mining activities (documented in a well-known TV series, Bering Sea Gold) but with the singular advantage (for bush communities) of having a fairly extensive road system that extends from town out into the bush of the Seward Peninsula. You can hire a vehicle in Nome and explore marvelous landscapes, old gold mining relics, see lots and lots of wildlife - muskoxen, caribou, moose, lots of birds, maybe some bears... - and go at your own pace.

https://www.alaska.org/destination/nome/scenic-drives
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cf...ewardpeninsula


Bring plenty of mosquito repellent regardless of where you go in the bush - in June/July you'll need it, but given where you call home this probably isn't a big deal.

Flying Yazata

Yeah, which is why it's a work in progress and may still change, but I have flexibility in my flight reservations. Furthermore: the show must go on. I can't just stick my head in the sand and wait. Already all my travel now in Nov and Dec 2020 have been cancelled due to flight cancellations and travel restrictions, so I'm eager to hit the road.

I have in fact a return ANC-OME-ANC booked with AS MVP points. So yes, I will be doing Nome. As for Adak: I will be doing Wed-Sat, which is pretty long as well. One week would be overkill. If things change a lot, I may concider Kotzebue or Kodiak as a replacement or then shorten my trip. Not sure yet. Paying the cash fare for ADK is not something I will do. Hopefully the F award price will go down again.

Thanks for your comments as well! I appreciate your advices.

Chugach

Makes more sense. I originally thought you were originating from SEA because you lived there.

Regarding the Saab 2000, AS doesn’t own or operate those. They were operated on a wet-lease program through the now bankrupt Penair. Right now the best way to get to DUT is AS to CDB connecting to GV for the quick hop to DUT.

Also keep in mind that AS isn’t actually in OW yet. They should be by next summer, but nobody has actually given a hard date yet.

I’d go to Kodiak over Adak any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Kodiak actually has hotels and things to do; ADK is pretty much a novelty stop unless you have business in the village or want to go caribou hunting.

Flying Yazata

Indeed, but AS is AFAIK intending to return to the route. They're just not willing to operate any AS marked flights with the SAAB 2000, because they want to see the NTSB report first. Like I previously mentioned, combining DUT via CDB isn't feasible, if I intend to do ADK. The whole ADK, DUT and OME mix will probably still change, but I will keep in mind OTZ. Thankfully AS has a fair policy now. I'm not worried about any vouchers either, if things change a lot and I need to cancel, since I can always spend them later as well. My mentatlity is that life isn't ending here and now. There's ample options to redeem such airline vouchers later, taken AS is in the Lower 48 as well.

One reason for my timing is also that I hope I can get some good pricing, taken I assume demand isn't necessarily all too great next summer. AK isn't exactly a cheap destination, so a lengthy trip is cheaper now. And if any Alaskan reads this: I fully get why there's a premium due to logistics, circumstances and scarcity/seasonality of service industry income in many places, so I get the rationale.

Kodiak is probably more touristy than Adak, but I want to visit the most remote corner of the US and I'm fine just enjoying the void that rock assumably has and its peace for a few days.

That's true. However I'm counting on it, taken they already at one point predicted Q4 2020 for it. And if it doesn't happen, I get BAEC Avios or credit to AS MVP.

Chugach

The problem AS has is they don’t have an aircraft on hand that can land on the aircraft carrier that DUT’s runway resembles. Hence the CDB band-aid solution. DUT is a challenging enough flying environment that AS isn’t going to trust just any outfit from the lower 48 that has a Saab 2000 on hand for them to use. AS had enough of a black eye when the Penair pilot decided to try and land with the wind at DUT a year ago. The relationship with the old Penair went back decades, and that was an airline that cut its teeth on Aleutian flying.

I am not sure why AS isn’t selling tickets on CDB-ADK...aside from the fact that local demand on that route is probably zero. It’s entirely possible, if not likely, that some other airline will figure out how to fill the gap on ANC-DUT between now and next summer but whether or not there’s a tie-in to AS is debatable. Most of the local carriers in Alaska simply aren’t sophisticated enough to codeshare or even interline with an airline like AS.

With regards to Kodiak, I go fishing there every year. Trust me when I say it is anything but touristy. But I understand the draw of ADK for all the reasons you said!

Flying Yazata

I've read about how the weather can cause cancellations and delays, so my mind is set for possible setbacks. And travel may have to be postponed until next day. It's not exactly good for Dutch Harbor and the fisheries how things stand, since at the peak (at least the midseason in early June) seems to get at best 5 rotations per day to DUT, which is a lot. So demand must be there. Too bad the airplane hit that darn lamp post and the cut blade punctured the fuselage. Really bad luck.

I do believe it must be pretty. Like I've indicated, this is still a work in progress, despite I've done most AS bookings already (minus ADK and DUT). I will keep monitoring the situation. It's possible I do DUT via CDB and skip ADK, if those awards don't drop. The small local carrier doesn't yet sell CDB-DUT that far away, so no idea about the prices yet. I was counting on doing both ADK and DUT with AS MVP miles, which is cheap compared to the $1XXX tickets from ANC. The more I need to skip, the more reason there's for a trip titled Alaska Revisited. Well, actually I will probably return as I plan on doing Dawson City-Fairbanks another time, while also driving to Tuktoyatuk. Wierd how I'm so drawn to Alaska and Yukon. But I have a gut feeling it's where I should go and it's worth it. I mean, I have forests here as well, but it's still a different thing with the people etc.

The vessel and financial situation of the AMHS also affects my plans in terms of Sitka, since I was planning to fly one way there or back ex-JNU, but we'll see. It has been a tricky year for AK in terms of logistics, one must duly admit.