Alaska 737 MAX First Class: A Cut Above The Competition

Hello from Seattle, as I’ve kicked off my review trip to South Korea and Japan! I just flew Alaska’s Boeing 737 MAX 9 first class, on the 5hr50min flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Seattle (SEA).

I’ve been trying to fly Alaska’s 737 MAX 9 first class for a long time. Not because it’s necessarily anything special compared to Alaska’s other aircraft, but rather because I somehow keep ending up on Alaska’s 737-900ERs, and I’ve just wanted to compare the products found on the different generation aircraft.

As far as US airlines go, I’m a fan of Alaska. The airline has an above average first class, with friendly employees, solid food, and a cool drink selection. With that in mind, I wanted to share some initial thoughts on the experience, and then soon I’ll have a full trip report.

My scramble to fly Alaska’s 737 MAX first class

On Saturday evening, I was supposed to fly Alaska from Miami to Seattle to Vancouver, departing around 6PM. The Miami to Seattle flight was showing as being operated by the 737 MAX 9, but the morning of the flight, it switched to a 737-900ER.

In fairness to Alaska, the airline uses these planes interchangeably, and to most consumers, the difference is minimal. So in the days leading up to a flight, it’s not unusual to see a flight switch its aircraft type multiple times. However, this was my third Alaska flight in a row where the plane switched from a 737 MAX 9 to a 737-900ER within a day of departure.

Since I’ve recently reviewed Alaska’s 737-900ER first class, I quickly hopped online, and noticed that Fort Lauderdale to Seattle to Vancouver was available departing in two hours, and the plane was already in the ground in Fort Lauderdale, so it was guaranteed to be a 737 MAX 9. Amazingly enough, the first class fare was even a dollar cheaper than the one I had initially booked (and it was a good fare to begin with!), so I made the switch.

I had planned on spending Saturday with my family, but Ford kindly encouraged me to take this routing, so I did it. In all honesty, I was kind of happy to fly at 10AM instead of 6PM. I’m a morning person, and I was dreading the thought of landing in Vancouver at 12AM PT. That’s roughly when I ordinarily wake up, not when I go to sleep… nothing good happens after 7PM, as far as I’m concerned!

Alaska’s 737 MAX first class cabins are spacious

Alaska’s 737 MAX 9 first class cabin consists of 16 seats, spread across four rows, in a 2-2 configuration.

In an industry that’s always looking for opportunities to “optimize,” Alaska deserves credit for how spacious its first class seats are. Alaska offers 41″ of pitch in first class, which is the best you’ll find in the domestic US airline industry, for planes without flat beds.

Most other US airlines offer 37″ of pitch, and honestly, an extra 4″ goes a long way (that’s what… never mind)! You especially feel the extra space when the person in front of you reclines, whether on other airlines you can barely keep your laptop screen open.

I also appreciate how Alaska has a little bar you can rest your feet on, and how Alaska offers a comfortable blanket in first class on most routes. Alaska is better in so many little ways. Of course let me acknowledge that this is compared to US airline peers — those used to flying in Southeast Asia or the Middle East are probably horrified at all of this. 😉

Alaska’s 737 MAX 9 cabins are much more modern than the carrier’s classic 737-900ER cabins. However, I do have to say, the padding of those classic seats is pretty great, as outdated as they look. I found the 737 MAX 9 seats to be comfortable, but not as well padded as on the 737-900ER.

While Alaska doesn’t offer seat back entertainment or free Wi-Fi, the airline does offer free messaging, and has an $8 Wi-Fi plan, plus has streaming entertainment. The Wi-Fi worked really well, and at $8, it’s quite a good deal!

There are also AC and USB-A outlets, so you can keep your electronics charged, as well as a personal device holder on the tray table.

Alaska’s first class food & drinks are quite good

Domestic airline food and drinks in the United States are rarely much to get excited about, but I find that after JetBlue, Alaska probably does the best job with having a thoughtful and interesting selection. For example, below were the menu choices on my flight.

The service began with a sort of spicy snack mix, which I enjoyed, and it was a nice alternative to the usual mixed nuts you get on many airlines.

I ended up having linguine and shrimp with green peas. This was served with a side salad that had mozzarella, sundried tomatoes, and pesto. I had initially pre-order something different, but because I switched flights last minute, the linguini was all that was available.

Then for dessert there was ice cream from Salt & Straw. I should’ve just said no, but yum.

I thought the food quality and presentation were quite good, compared to what you’ll find on most American and United flights (and to a lesser extent, Delta flights… it depends).

While I don’t usually drink alcohol on domestic flights, I appreciate Alaska’s selection, which has some unique options, and is also pretty West Coast centric.

For example, the Crater Lake Hazelnut Espresso Vodka is excellent, and the Straightaway canned cocktails are tasty as well. I broke my usual domestic flight drinking rule, because 5hr50min is just too long to spend on a domestic flight. I had an Old Fashioned (which was good… and very strong, OMG).

How I rank Alaska first class

Perhaps this is a topic for a separate post, but I figured I’d talk briefly about where I rank Alaska first class among its US peers. Admittedly there’s huge variance in terms of product quality at each airline, since at American, Delta, and United, you’ll find flat beds on some planes, but not others.

As far as I’m concerned, Alaska offers the best non-flat bed first class of any US airline. That’s because I value the extra space, I think the carrier’s food and drinks are consistently quite good, and I find Alaska staff to be pretty consistently friendly.

JetBlue Mint is of course significantly better than Alaska first class, with amazing food and service, but that’s only available on relatively few routes. Meanwhile American first class is consistent (in terms of seating) but not great, United first class is inconsistent and sometimes not great (especially the catering), and Delta first class is highly inconsistent, but probably a bit better than American and United, on average. At least that’s my take…

Bottom line

I’m happy I finally had the chance to fly Alaska’s 737 MAX first class. There’s ultimately not much difference between this and the carrier’s non-MAX jets. You get a more modern cabin, though with a little bit less padding.

Still, I found Alaska first class to be a great way to cross the country. The airline offers spacious seats, solid food and drinks, and friendly service. Given the option, I’ll gladly choose Alaska over other non-flat bed products offered by US airlines.

What’s your take on Alaska’s 737 MAX first class?