PDXPremier

Noticed one of the award flight options from SEA-JNU showed the morning "island hopper" that stops 3 times and wondered what it was like....I know it's not the fastest way to get there but it seems like the scenery along the way may be worth it barring low clouds and/or fog. Does anyone ever purposely take this flight to JNU (from SEA)? Do they let you get off and stretch your legs at any of the stops or is it always a quick turn?

davew-krdm

AKA "The Milk Run". I take this when I go to PSG. And yes, the scenery can be spectacular - if it's clear (like, not often).

If you're northbound, you'll be on a 739. If you're southbound, it's the combi. Unless this has changed in the past couple months.

You can certainly get off the plane at PSG and WRG, especially on the combi, but it's not like you can go into the terminal. There typically isn't time, and you likely don't want to have to clear security again.

Dave

PDXPremier

That's good to hear that they let you get off the plane at least in PSG and WRG....when we flew to BRW and stopped in Prudhoe Bay, they wouldn't let us off the plane at all...and it of course was a a combi.

dave1013

I've taken this flight in the off-season SEA-JNU and at that time it is usually the combi plane. Now with the tourism season in full swing - different story.

PDXPremier

Interesting...I wondered how the combi got back north if it flew the southbound flight but the northbound was a 737-900.

Jlove

I'd also suggest doing this if you can.
And, if you have the time, maybe you could stay for a bit at some of the stops and catch the next later flight out?

ANC RED-EYE

I believe it's AS 121...the 11:45 p.m. SEA - ANC flight.

CDKing

Dont forget its a lot of extra miles due to 500 minimums

PDXPremier

Assuming you're not on award ticket Actually, I don't think I've ever flown to Alaska on a paid ticket...it's just too expensive and a one-way from PDX-SEA takes the same miles as PDX-BRW....lol

og

Did (or tried to do) the SEA-JUN milk run in winter a couple of yrs ago. Did the first hop then overflew everything else due weather. Was dumped in ANC and AS then kindly flew me back to SEA as nothing was going anywhere near JUN.

jwright

737-400.

You don't get credit for interim stops on a direct flight. So you would earn the same miles flying SEA-JNU on the milk run via KTN, WRG, and PSG as you would flying non-stop.

beckoa

I did this in May after a bump- wondered if the flight was avail- and ended up with a nice F seat. Bit overcast but still nice views- and I did leave, take a picture, and reclear security at each stop

PDXPremier

Sweet!

jackal

Not an uncommon occurrence, unfortunately. On my first Milk Run (NB ex-SEA), we were delayed out of KTN waiting for WRG's runway to be plowed. Then we were delayed in WRG waiting for PSG's weather to clear the minimums. We took off, only to overfly PSG and get halfway to JNU before turning back to PSG once the weather cleared up. Then we waited in PSG for JNU's weather (which had taken a turn for the worse) to clear up enough to land, which never happened, so I was on a rare PSG-ANC nonstop flight.

My second trip was the other Milk Run--SEA-JNU-YAK-CDV-ANC--which was also delayed. We made all of the stops, but the sleet/rain/snow/ice delayed us at each stop and got me into ANC over an hour late.

So don't take the Milk Runs if you need to be somewhere!

alphaeagle

Has anyone called in and have them force an award, or paid, ticket on the SEA-ANC milk-run flight? Best I've been able to do online is the SEA-JNU portion, but you can't continue onto ANC on the same award, unless perhaps you are leaving from SEA, due to the stopover rules. I had called once years ago trying to redeem a BTT on that flight, as it was the only one with V class availability, and they couldn't do it.