Alaska Airlines Flight Pass Subscription, Now With Elite Status

I applaud innovation in the passenger aviation sector. I imagine that while the market for FlightPass will be somewhat niche, the purpose is to build brand loyalty among that niche... and it will do that very nicely.

Back in the day US Airways used to sell student packs for the NY to BOS or NY to DC and vice versa. I think it was $500 and was for 10 segments. It was great as had no restrictions and saved this student a ton of money. Might be nice to see stuff like that return for well established routes.

Air Canada offers a range of flight passes.

Ben - Would this be an economical mileage run option to earn One World Emerald staus?

I think that if you fly once or twice a year to the same destination they should offer the same deal. My children and grandchildren live in Tennessee I'm in Washington state . I'm practically always going to fly a couple times a year. And I always fly Alaska airlines.

"first-ever flight subscription service in the United States"

Really? Seems like this is just another spin on the original AirPass from AA back in the 80s.

TWA did something similar with student packs. I used them to get between NE and SoCal many times in the late 90s/early 2000s. I don't remember costs, but I think it was a similar structure (x flights for a fixed fee). Lots of flights via STL back then.

Way back in the mid 80s, a small west coast startup airline, Pacific Express, offered a book of 10 coupons (good for any flight) for $450. A buddy and I invested in one and used several of them until they went belly-up. I suspect the coupon book was a way to raise cash???

All the above are mentioning prepaid flights. That is drastically different that what Alaska is offering. You can choose different destinations, this will stimulate demand for sure.

I was a beneficiary of these. It was 4x one ways anywhere in continental US on TWA for $500. Loved it going coast to coast through STL into a sml regional.

well its not really "innovation" - see the other past examples already in comments (AA, HP, TW, etc). Kinda shocked Ben fell for AS PR's "innovative" spin on it

This would be perfect for me, as I travel between Bend and Ontario several times a year to visit my son.

Adjust for inflation, compared to the prices listed for past programs in the comments, seems like a good deal if you can use it. If they came up with a similar scheme in SEA, might be fun to see what DL does in response.

Gretta will pout.

I don't think either Bend or Ontario are included?

Shows my age. In the (early 90s) you could buy a Delta pass giving you unlimited standby travel over a one month period. The cost was $400. Got great value out of mine.

This is super confusing. The text says Flight Pass works with all nonstops between CA, NV, and AZ. However, in their map, Phoenix only shows to SFO, but not SJC (which supposedly they also have nonstop).

I doubt it. I think the longest segment from this pass is Bay Area to Phoenix. That is about ~650 miles one way, for at cheapest $64. If you fly Bay Area to New York, that's ~2500 miles and you can routinely get tickets for $99-$149 one way. That's a much more economical option for trying to get 75K/OW Emerald.

Some fares on Alaska routes are quite expensive, especially out of smaller airports like STS. It’s not uncommon to see roundtrips as between STS and SAN cost over $800.

Good idea, stupid execution. Not very user friendly.

I would rather pay upfront and get the credits upfront rather than waiting to take one trip every month or lose it to expiration.

Eskimo got it right. Good idea, poor execution. The available routes do not seem that useful unless you happen to live in San Diego. Sure they are going to appeal to some, but I think the audience is going to be very limited given the routings.

While this might not be a very good way to reach the one world emerald status Art-Czar was thinking about, it could be useful to get to those 24 segments needed to hit MVP Gold 100K. Still I am struggling to see how this would warrant the annual commitment. If the only way you are going to hit the 24 segments is through this promotion, then MVP Gold 100K status probably isn't worth it for you.

JetBlue's pass should have been called "All you can take".

It's much cheaper to buy OWE through AA spending than doing mileage runs on AS.

Air Canada has had flight passes for years now. Both for regional travel and for all of north america. They primarily target business travelers and students.

Delta also offered this. When I was a student from the DC area going to college in NYC in the late 90s, I got 4-packs of one-way LGA-DCA Delta Shuttle tickets for $240. Cheaper, nicer, and far more reliable than taking Amtrak (which typically meant not getting a seat until Philadelphia around Thanksgiving).

Back in college I had a friend who would spend entire vacations flying from one place to the next on those passes. Catch some sleep on a coast-to-coast red-eye and fill up on any extra meals FAs would be willing to surrender... Student life :).

I live in Santa Rosa and fly out of and into STS a lot on AS. Advance purchase, non-saver fares, on AS range from $49-$99, depending on the destination. I have never seen a $800 fare out of STS.

I used to get the same. Myself and childhood friends that came to US for university, were mostly in the DC and NY universities. So we would buy these Delta packs for meet ups in DC or NYC.

America west had it for a few years. It was great.

Don't forget Eastern Airlines deal for $750 for 21 days of unlimited flying (but not to the same airport twice, except for plane changing. Great fun.

So glad to see Alaska Airlines doing something good for its namesake customers (heavy emphasis on the sarcasm)

"Innovative": "All our airplanes now equipped with wings."

I wonder how many of these pass seats are available per flight. What class of service do they have to be booked in?

Funny how their map omits Mexico and makes southern Arizona look like it borders the ocean, suggesting that George Strait really could have "Ocean front property in Arizona".

Would have been fantastic if the Pacific Northwest cities were included. I would definitely purchased.

It depends on where you live. For someone who lives in one of the markets where AS has multiple destinations on the list, it might be worthwhile, but if your home airport happens to be MRY, SBA, SBP, RNO, or PHX, you don’t get that luxury.

And as someone whose home airport is on this list, there is no way that I’d buy this - since $30 of taxes are attached to each ticket, I’d be paying effectively $130 per round trip for something that I can pay $140 for now (at the non-saver price), without being locked into a 12-month subscription.

So yes, for me and anyone who doesn’t live in a place that is LAX, SAN, or SFO, it’s effectively prepaying for flights, given the relative lack of choice of flights (or the absolute lack of choice, in some cities).

I'm guessing this is aimed at the semi-frequent WN pax who travel for biz/personal but not enough to earn status on anyone.

I used to fly that NY to BOS shuttle route when I went to school in Boston! I remember just showing up at Logan Airport, and waiting until the next "shuttle" showed up that you could board. Oh, and the other airline that did the same thing back then? Trump Airlines! I wonder what ever happened to that guy....

I thought the same thing. Not seeing the two major hubs (PDX and SEA) makes this a non-starter. It feels like they're competing against a high-speed rail network that is still 20 years in the future.

Continental Airlines had something very similar for at least several years (in the early to mid 90's I think.) Passholders could take one flight anywhere in Continental US (but including Puerto Rico) per week.

This would be a great service if seattle to Nevada or Phoenix was available for us snow birds

No Oakland?!

I guess the haters here have not tried booking an SFO-SAN or SFO-PSP ticket leaving at a REASONABLE time on a Thursday/Sunday...

SFO-PSP on a Friday is $299/one-way at a minimum on UA/AS.

This pass has a limited audience but if you're based in SFO/LAX/SAN and fly to visit family, this is interesting (EXCEPT PASS IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR UNDER 18).

If only they would add Seattle, I’d sign up for this in a heartbeat!