arineumann

After seeing this review of the northern lights, I got motivated to write up this trip report highlighting the exact opposite experience my wife and I had on our trip to see the northern lights.

First, a little background on the trip. Over the years I've collected enough miles on Alaska Air to travel anywhere in the world they or their partners travel. So, once I got the news that our first baby is on the way, I made the following offer to my wife: we'll use miles to fly anywhere in the world--you pick. At first, we considered destinations we've long dreamed of, but once we realized that my wife couldn't drink on our "babymoon," Italy, Buenos Aires, and Tahiti just seemed silly. Why not save those destinations until we can wend our way through the Italian Chianti vineyards or enjoy Mai Tais on the beach.

Instead, we opted for an item that was on each of our bucket lists: the northern lights. We figured staying out all night watching for the aurora and sleeping all day in the wintry north would make a trip to remember and we wouldn't feel like we were missing out on any must-have experiences (like sipping Malbec over a delicious Argentinian steak).

So, off I went to book the tickets. It's surprisingly hard to find saver availability in March to Alaska, so I began second-guessing our decision. "Maybe Iceland would be better," I thought. "Icelandair is (was) an Alaska partner after all." As luck would have it, I was able to find two first class seats on an American award that I could book with my Alaska miles and that worked with our desired dates: DCA-ORD-ANC-FAI-ANC-ORD-DCA.

arineumann

Our trip began bright and early, with a 4:00 am shuttle from Fairfax, VA to DCA. It was an uneventful trip and it was fun to see the reactions of our fellow travelers when we told them about our destination. After the short ride to the airport, we checked in, dropped off our checked bags, and proceeded down to security. The priority lane moved pretty quickly, and we were out to our gate in a jiffy. Since the flight was about to board, we didn't bother trying to visit the Admiral's Club, which (as we found out later) was a good thing. The first leg of our trip was in Y, so we waited until the Priority Access boarding began and took our seat in the exit row.

DCA-ORD, AA Y
After a relatively quick boarding, we pushed back, taxied out, and took off over the sun rising over the Capitol building. It's always a beautiful sight, and one of the reasons I love flying out of DCA (that, and it's easily Metro-accessible). Since this was a pretty short flight in Y, the flight was mostly uneventful. While we were about over West Virginia, some hungover college kid passed out in the aisle of the plane. They called a doctor over and pumped him full of fluids. He was fine, just severely dehydrated. I remember those days. In college, it was always a tough decision whether to try to sleep for a few hours, or just stay up partying all night and sleep on the plane. Whichever choice this guy made, it was the wrong one, but I'm glad he was okay.

Upon landing in ORD, we decided to try the Admiral's Club, thinking that we'd kill an hour or so there, then make our way down for our flights on AS. There was no line, so we went right up to the receptionist at the counter and presented our AS F boarding passes. Well, it turns out that having an AS F award ticket, even if it's a "partner award" on American doesn't get you in. Oops. That was embarrassing. Oh well. We made our way down to the gate and found a couple of seats to wait for our flight.


ORD-ANC, AS139, 2D and 2F
When boarding began, we waited for a few sets of parents with little kids to pre-board. That gave me time to reflect on the fact that we would soon be those parents. I have a whole new appreciation for those parents traveling with two kids, a stroller, and a car seat while their spouse is at home or off on a work trip or deployed overseas. It's something I can't say that I'm looking forward to experiencing. However, once those families boarded, the gate agent called for first class passengers, and we headed down the jetway. As we boarded, I noticed that we were on one of Alaska's many special livery planes. This one was the "Spirit of Seattle" and was painted kind of like Boeing paints their test planes. As a former Seattle-area resident, I'm a big fan of Boeing and Alaska Air, and am always pleased to see Alaska's "Proudly all Boeing" claim on their planes. I will readily admit that I'm biased toward Seattle companies, so I'm sad to see Boeing moving away from their Washington roots. But, I think they still make the finest planes in the world, and I always prefer to fly on their products.

After a PDB of water and a quick boarding process, we pushed back and began our taxi. We were soon underway, leaving behind an overcast Chicago morning. This was my wife's first flight in F, so we were excited to experience it on one of AS's longest flights. Shortly after we reached cruising altitude, the FAs handed out Dig-E-Players, which had a couple of movies that we hadn't seen, so we settled on Life of Pi to get us on our way. During the course of the movie, our FA presented our breakfast: a choice of a mushroom quiche or some kind of hash. We each chose one, ordered our (non-alcoholic) drinks, and delved into the movie.

Fresh fruit starter:


Mushroom Quiche:


Hash:


Cheese Danish (which apparently is supposed to be served before landing, but in our case was served right after the rest of the breakfast):



After our meal and movie ended, I opened up the window to peek out, and could see nothing but clouds. After a few episodes of Big Bang Theory, I tried again, and got some fabulous views of the mountains on our way into ANC.





Upon landing in ANC, we headed to the Alaska Board Room, which we were allowed into (for a nice change of pace). My wife napped, while I enjoyed the chicken noodle soup, relatively fresh veggies, and complimentary soft drinks. The pancake machine was off, unfortunately, but the food really wasn't too bad, and the staff were very friendly. After a short while, we headed down for the short hop to FAI.

ANC-FAI, AS189, 2A and 2C
There were quite a few families with kids and servicemembers on this flight, so the pre-boarding process was a bit longer than usual, but we made our way down the jetway fairly quickly and without incident. We were offered a PDB of water, and the FA took our drink orders before the flight. We were happy to be in F since the Y cabin only gets water and OJ on this flight. There was no food service, just Alaska's snack mix (which is my favorite of all domestic carriers FWIW). I had an Alaskan Amber, which was perfect for the short flight. And although Denali was clouded over, we did get a nice shot of some mountains as we headed into FAI.



Once on the ground, we got our bags well within AS's 20 minute window. There was quite a line at one of the car rental desks, because a bunch of teenaged cross-country skiers were flying in for a competition, and their coaches must have gotten a group rate or something. We had no line at Dollar, so I got our car in just a few minutes and we were on our way! The cars in FAI have to be plugged in during the winter to keep the batteries from dying, which I'd never seen before. I've spent plenty of time driving on ice, though, which was good because there was still a fair amount on the roadways even in March.

arineumann

Fairbanks "The Golden Heart City"

We had planned a week in FAI in order to maximize our chances of seeing the aurora. We lucked out in picking the week we did, because we were also able to enjoy quite a few daytime activities in the FAI area. When traveling, we like to stay in B&Bs--no points, but usually a lot of charm and you get to meet lots of interesting people. For this trip, we chose the 7 Gables Inn and Suites, which is not far from the airport. It was a nice little spot, and the winter rates are very affordable, but if we went back, we would probably choose a different place. The management/staff were a bit disorganized trying to keep track of the B&B and their other hotels/hostels/long-term rentals. The two-person jacuzzi in our room was fantastic though, and was definitely the highlight of the place! The breakfasts were good, but got a bit old after a week. They offer cuisine from a different country every day, but most were some kind of egg dish, and by the end of the week, we were ready for a change of pace.

7 Gables Inn & Suites



During our week, we managed to catch a UAF hockey game, see the BP World Ice Art Championships, visit Chena Hot Springs, see Santa's workshop in North Pole, and see the start of the Open North American Sled Dog Race. Here are just a few pictures:

Santa's Workshop:


Ice sculpture entrance:


During the day:






At night:





Moose on Chena Hot Springs Road:





The Ice Hotel at Chena Hot Springs:



Sled dogs:

arineumann

The Aurora Borealis

The main goal of our trip, of course, was to see the aurora borealis, a.k.a. the northern lights. For the first couple of nights, we drove north on the Steese Highway and pulled over by the side of the road at one of the many pull-outs along the way. We were able to see the aurora, but they were faint and off on the horizon. Before we left for our trip, I started following @aurorawebcam on Twitter, which gave me regular updates about the strength of the aurora. For those first two nights, they were never strong, but we were happy to see them nonetheless.

One important thing to know about the aurora, though, is that you need a nice camera to get any pictures of them. We had two smartphones, two point-and-shoot digitals, and a flip cam, and weren't able to really get any good pictures on those first few nights. You need to be able to leave it on a long exposure (preferably on a tripod), and have nice, clear skies. We totally lucked out in the weather department and had clear skies every night. In the camera department, however, we were out of luck. Here's an example picture that I shot on our second night out. The aurora are there, but my camera couldn't capture them:




In addition to my Twitter research on the aurora, I had looked online extensively for tips on how best to get a glimpse of them when planning for this trip. On one of my searches, I came across the website for Skiland, a ski mountain north of FAI that offers aurora viewing from their lodge all winter. For $25/person, you can stay inside, where it's warm, and get an unobstructed view of the northern lights from their lodge at the top of the mountain, along with coffee and tea to keep you warm. Since NOAA and other forecasters were predicting really strong aurora for our last two nights, we decided to pony up and go to Skiland to view them. Boy are we glad we did. The views were absolutely awesome. Indescribably awesome. The first night, there were really strong aurora right overhead. We got quite a show. Every which way we looked there were bright, dancing lights. It was really cool. These pictures don't even begin to do it justice, but it's the best we could do with our crummy cameras:






On the second night, we learned about Skiland's other amazing benefit (for those of us who don't have DSLRs, anyway): they have a photographer on site who will take professional pictures of you in front of the lights, which you can later order prints of online. We had a few done, but don't yet have digital copies, so all I've got to post here is the picture I took the second night. The aurora on that night was just as strong as the night before, if not stronger. This time, it came in waves, one ring after another, nesting inside each other. They were incredibly bright all night, and just kept coming, wave after wave. The only picture I could manage is this crummy blur, which doesn't even come close to capturing the experience. It was amazing.



The northern lights can make you feel so small, yet are totally entrancing. I highly recommend making the trip to see them to anyone and everyone (although FAI can't handle everybody at once!). A couple of things to keep in mind though:
1. Make sure you plan a fairly long trip to maximize the chance that you'll be there on a clear night with strong aurora. You need this combination to get the full effect.
2. Since there's no guarantee of seeing them, plan your trip around daytime activities, so you'll still have fun even if you don't see them. The ice carvings are really cool, and they do them every year.
3. DRIVE SLOW ON ICE! We saw many tourists stuck in ditches because they were driving way too fast on icy roads. Slow down!!!
4. Take a good quality camera and a tripod. Point-and-shoot cameras won't quite do the trick.
5. Spend some time just watching the aurora instead of constantly photographing them. Some of our fellow viewers spent so much time trying to capture them that they forgot to experience them. Let yourself enjoy the lights. You won't regret it. I'm glad my camera didn't work well. I got to really enjoy the aurora without the pressure of trying to get the perfect picture.
6. Oh, and dress warmly. You really can feel the difference between -2 and -20 (F). Bundle up, and make sure you've got a wind-breaker of some kind or the wind will chill you to the bone.

arineumann

After a great week, it was time for our trip home. AS only flies a redeye ANC-ORD, so we ended up leaving FAI in the late afternoon. Driving back to the airport was no problem, and after circling around a bit we were able to find a parking place for our car. The rental lot was pretty full, so I'm guessing quite a few other people were leaving as well. Check-in at the F counter was a breeze, and we had our bags checked and got through security in no time. The FAI terminal has apparently recently undergone a renovation, and it's quite nice.

FAI-ANC, AS190, 2D and 2F
On this trip, we boarded quickly and enjoyed our PDB water. I ordered another Alaskan Amber for our short trip, and after an uneventful taxi and takeoff, we were quickly on our way. When I booked the tickets, I had scouted FT for advice on which side of the plane Denali would be on, and I'm glad I did. On this flight, we had a beautiful view of the mountain out the right side of the plane, and it was a gorgeous clear day. I took far too many pictures of the view, and will only post a few here, but what an incredible sight! Absolutely gorgeous!

The inflight offering:


Denali:







What a cool way to end our Alaskan adventure! Upon arrival at ANC, we had a 5 hour layover before our connection to ORD, so we made our way to the Board Room to relax. I enjoyed the beautiful sunset while my wife worked, and we both enjoyed the split pea soup. They have an interesting array of adult beverages for purchase, including salmon-flavored and rhubarb-flavored vodka. They've got some complimentary alcohol too, but we stuck to the soda machine. I can't imagine the salmon vodka is good, but who knows? I was too chicken to try it.

Sunset in ANC:



ANC-ORD, AS 138, 2D and 2F
Flying the redeye is not ideal for us, but since it's the only ANC-ORD flight offered, we decided to take it. After another quick boarding process (good job AS ground staff), we were in the air in no time. On their redeyes, AS typically offers a fruit and cheese plate after takeoff, and a pastry before landing, and this was no exception. I didn't get a pic of the cheese plate because I was hungry and I scarfed it. But I did get a picture of the pastry on our descent. I spent a lot of the flight sleeping, though I did catch most of "Wreck it Ralph" on the Dig-E-Player. We were in ORD before I knew it, and it was time to get out of my long underwear and boots, and back into "normal" lower-48 clothes.




ORD-DCA, AA, 2D and 2F
After a few hours napping in the airport, we finally got on our final flight home. This particular flight was on an American Eagle regional jet that had been outfitted with three rows of first class seats. I've never before experienced F on a regional jet, and overall, it wasn't bad. Not as nice as on a 738, however. The biggest difference I noticed, though, is in the friendliness of the staff. The AS crews were all fantastic--friendly, smiling, always ready to top off your glass (even if it was just OJ or water). This AA crew, however, was simply very businesslike--not unfriendly, but not very friendly either. My wife, who is an AA FF even commented on the difference between the crews, and now finally believes me when I say that AS has a superior in-flight experience. The lunch on this flight was a pretty decent salad with pita chips and cookies. Not bad for two weary travelers. The flight was uneventful, and we were quickly in DCA. After a short ride home, we were back in Fairfax, ready to plan our next bucket list adventure.

aviatorzz

excellent report.

I agree with you about the night-and-day differences between AS and AA when it comes to their crews. My only gripe I have with AS (and my primary booking driver) is that they have no power outlets on their relatively young fleet.

Loose Cannon

Good report