Alaska 737 MAX First Class: A Cut Above The Competition

Alaska 737 MAX First Class: A Cut Above The Competition

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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!

I finally flew the Alaska 737 MAX 9!

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.

Alaska first class cabin Boeing 737 MAX 9
Alaska first class cabin Boeing 737 MAX 9

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.

Alaska first class seats Boeing 737 MAX 9

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 first class foot rest Boeing 737 MAX 9
Alaska first class blanket

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 first class personal device holder Boeing 737 MAX 9
Alaska first class charging ports Boeing 737 MAX 9

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.

Alaska first class menu

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.

Alaska first class drink & snack

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.

Alaska first class meal service

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

Alaska first class dessert

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.

Alaska first class drink selection

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).

Alaska first class Old Fashioned

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?

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  1. TWAviator Guest

    Booked Alaska twice, both in F. First time the food was inedible and the service was standard apathetic US airline service, definitely nothing like the Virgin America days at all.

    Second trip they couldn’t even get us out of LA and booked us onto United…

    I don’t understand at all why people gush about this airline? It’s like the Shein version of JetBlue. Gonna stick to Delta over AS every time.

  2. vbscript2 Guest

    As a long-time DL frequent flyer, I recently tried AS for a trip to Alaska, in First thanks to that status match offer last fall. My thoughts:

    Lack of IFE is unfortunate. I'd normally watch a movie or two on such long flights (BNA to ANC via SEA and return.)

    The foot rest is probably nice for shorter people, though it was useless for me as a 6' tall guy. It was much too close...

    As a long-time DL frequent flyer, I recently tried AS for a trip to Alaska, in First thanks to that status match offer last fall. My thoughts:

    Lack of IFE is unfortunate. I'd normally watch a movie or two on such long flights (BNA to ANC via SEA and return.)

    The foot rest is probably nice for shorter people, though it was useless for me as a 6' tall guy. It was much too close to use comfortably for average or above-average height guys.

    The burger and the breakfasts were good. Unfortunately, however, all of the other meal options on our flights were full of peppers, onions, and/or curry. Which seemed really weird for 4 out of 5 meal options on an airplane of all places. And it was that way on both of our lunch/supper flights. Different 4 other options each time, but all 8 of them filled with peppers, onions, and/or curry. I couldn't eat those at all due to some GI issues (I would get extremely sick if I tried,) but even without those issues, who wants to eat a bunch of spicy food while on an airplane for 5 hours? Or wants their neighbor for those 5 hours to do so... Seemed like a really bizarre menu for a flight. Thankfully, the burger was there and was good, as it was literally the only thing on the menu I could eat.

    The padding on the seats was comfortable. Seat comfort definitely doesn't compare to a widebody with flat-bed seats, but it was good for domestic F.

    Lounge at ANC was ok, but not as nice as an average Sky Club and food options were slightly more than non-existent. Even the DL pop-up Sky Club at ANC had better food the previous time I was there. I didn't get a chance to try the lounges at SEA, due to relatively short connections and having to take a bunch of trains between concourses, so can't compare those. Of course, AS doesn't have a lounge at BNA and the AS 75k lounge day passes don't grant access to AA lounges.

    Overall, the flights were ok for domestic F, but I definitely wouldn't rate them as "a cut above" DL. I'd still pick DL of the two for such trips if all else were equal. The only things that I would say were notably better on AS are the seat padding and pitch.

    AS also had one of our bags disconnected at SEA on the return. Not a huge deal, but not something I've ever had happen when the inbound flight wasn't delayed out of hundreds of trips on DL. This was made a bit more annoying by AS not having a baggage office at BNA, instead having to go to the check-in counters, where a single person was trying to work every line and was not prioritizing the First Class line. This ended up taking about an extra hour, which is not super fun after getting off of a red eye after 9+ hours of flying. They did give us a code for $75 off of a future flight as compensation for the delayed bag (without being asked,) though.

    1. vbscript2 Guest

      Thankfully, we were not on the flight that had the tires deflate after the rejected takeoff, though we were on the exact same flight 2 days later. That wasn't Alaska's fault, though. That was on the FAA for clearing another aircraft (on a different frequency) to cross the runway while AS was taking off. I'm not sure if the BNA Ground controller somehow didn't know rwy 13 was in use at the time (it normally isn't) or how that happened.

  3. SAN Greg Guest

    We love flying Alaska and find that they are the only airline that consistently really "gets it" when it comes to service recovery should a controllable problem arise. There's a lot of empty apathy we've experienced from other carriers when they've dropped the ball. Have to agree 100% that the food served in the F cabin is enjoyable and staff is generally engaged and strive to offer good service. We've notice the seats are a...

    We love flying Alaska and find that they are the only airline that consistently really "gets it" when it comes to service recovery should a controllable problem arise. There's a lot of empty apathy we've experienced from other carriers when they've dropped the ball. Have to agree 100% that the food served in the F cabin is enjoyable and staff is generally engaged and strive to offer good service. We've notice the seats are a bit hard on the newer equipment but hopefully just because it's new.

    1. vbscript2 Guest

      Personally, my experience has been that Delta does a better job at service recovery. A couple of weeks ago, I had a flight from ANC to BNA via SEA and one of our bags didn't make the connection (something that has never happened to me for non-delayed flights out of hundreds of trips on DL.) AS doesn't have a baggage office at BNA and there was only one person working the check-in desk, which had...

      Personally, my experience has been that Delta does a better job at service recovery. A couple of weeks ago, I had a flight from ANC to BNA via SEA and one of our bags didn't make the connection (something that has never happened to me for non-delayed flights out of hundreds of trips on DL.) AS doesn't have a baggage office at BNA and there was only one person working the check-in desk, which had long queues. We were in First and I'm also 100K, but the one person working the desk was taking people from the bag drop line instead of the First queue. Overall, it took us about an extra hour just to arrange to get our bag delivered due to understaffing by AS.

      AS also requires you to go by the bag desk to claim the miles when bags don't show up within 20 minutes. Delta has a form you can fill out on their website, which instantly deposits the miles in your account, even at 21 minutes after the aircraft door opened.

  4. Charles Member

    You wrote "I had initially pre-order something different"

    I believe you want to say "pre-ordered"

  5. TMS Guest

    Thanks for the review of Alaska Max-9. The seats are somewhat stiff on their new planes because they are brand new seats and haven’t been softened by repeated usage yet.

  6. Aiea 7 Guest

    This not true Alaska is a horrible airline. I will never fly it ever. They have old and dirty planes , poo service and lazy employees. It really is an inferior airline.

    1. Timtamtrak Diamond

      I’ve fortunately never experienced their “poo service.” Maybe it’s only on select flights? Must be what they load in the down line carts for round-trip catered flights.

  7. Nancy Guest

    Alaska is my favorite choice for Washington DC to LAX. Here's something for pet owners to consider. You cannot take an in cabin pet in first class if the seats are pods. Some IAD-LAX United flights are such seats. So even if the flight is a good price for first class, I can't take it. Since Alaska doesn't have pods, I can fly on any aircraft in first class with my dog. And I definitely...

    Alaska is my favorite choice for Washington DC to LAX. Here's something for pet owners to consider. You cannot take an in cabin pet in first class if the seats are pods. Some IAD-LAX United flights are such seats. So even if the flight is a good price for first class, I can't take it. Since Alaska doesn't have pods, I can fly on any aircraft in first class with my dog. And I definitely find Alaska first class more comfortable than United first class in non-pod seats. The extra legroom makes a big difference! And the food is good and, yes, the Salt and Straw ice cream is divine.

  8. TNflyer Guest

    I flew AS First recently from BNA to PDX. They forgot to cater anything for First Class - no meals. Their apologies were weak and meaningless. First time. Last time

    1. John Guest

      That could happen on any airline.

  9. BjornFree Guest

    The Alaska first class cookie is top notch. I like the Max9 Alaska seats because they have cup holders (it’s the little things). The lack of seat back entertainment and not so free Wi-Fi are the only downsides. Alaska FC is pretty good.

    1. vbscript2 Guest

      Agree on the cookie. Lack of IFE is unfortunate coming from Delta, though, where even Main Cabin has it at every seat on nearly their entire mainline fleet.

  10. Timtamtrak Diamond

    S_LEE is right there are 3 lavs, but nothing beats the convenience of that mid-cabin lav that United installed. Both AS and DL opted for 3 lavs at the rear. If you’re seated towards the front of the plane, whether in F or Y+ it’s nice to not have to traverse two dozen rows of seats to use the loo. Also very convenient if you’re in F and the forward lav is occupied or blocked...

    S_LEE is right there are 3 lavs, but nothing beats the convenience of that mid-cabin lav that United installed. Both AS and DL opted for 3 lavs at the rear. If you’re seated towards the front of the plane, whether in F or Y+ it’s nice to not have to traverse two dozen rows of seats to use the loo. Also very convenient if you’re in F and the forward lav is occupied or blocked for the flight crew. I believe the added weight of the lav being forward of the wing helps slightly with the “tipping” issue on the ground, although it can happen regardless.

    1. Timtamtrak Diamond

      I meant to post this as a reply to another comment, sorry.

  11. Shirley Guest

    I got lucky back in May, and my Alaska flight from SEA to HNL on which I'd purchased a first class ticket, was finally operated by the MAX 9, so I could try out the footrest! The food was great, too, and since it was a flight to Hawaii, the trays were decorated with purple orchids. Then in September, I flew first class on a United 737 MAX 9, EWR - SEA. I wanted to...

    I got lucky back in May, and my Alaska flight from SEA to HNL on which I'd purchased a first class ticket, was finally operated by the MAX 9, so I could try out the footrest! The food was great, too, and since it was a flight to Hawaii, the trays were decorated with purple orchids. Then in September, I flew first class on a United 737 MAX 9, EWR - SEA. I wanted to compare, as this year I also flew in first on Delta and American! One thing about United-- the aircraft shown at the time of booking is the one you fly on--they don't switch between their MAX and NG 737s. United's first class seats are nice, but there is no footrest, and the legroom is slightly less because there are 5 rows instead of 4 in the first class cabin. I'm not tall, just 5'5", so I have a hard time reaching anything under the seat in front of me--on Alaska I have to unbuckle my seatbelt to retrieve my personal item! Also, United put a lav on their MAX 9's just behind row 5 on the left! Super convenient for those in the extra legroom section, which Alaska calls "Premium;" don't recall what United calls that section...maybe just "extra" or something. Now for the best part: United's seatback screens are outstanding, plus they have Bluetooth so you can pair your own Bluetooth headphones/earbuds with them! (The food was good, too.)

    1. Joe Guest

      United calls their extra legroom seats Economy Plus

  12. buschoi Guest

    Alaska’s MVPG 100K here. I don’t fly much on other US airlines’ domestic products, so it is good to see product comparison by a pro.

    I have flown Alaska’s 737MAX First many times, either paid or upgraded. It is good enough, but I already see inconsistency:

    Pre-departure drink was missing from your flight; ice-cream has been missing from at least 10-15 of my AS F flights this year; blankets were missing on some of my...

    Alaska’s MVPG 100K here. I don’t fly much on other US airlines’ domestic products, so it is good to see product comparison by a pro.

    I have flown Alaska’s 737MAX First many times, either paid or upgraded. It is good enough, but I already see inconsistency:

    Pre-departure drink was missing from your flight; ice-cream has been missing from at least 10-15 of my AS F flights this year; blankets were missing on some of my flights; seems that the snack basket was missing from your flight; if you were able to snap a F seat two hours before departure, that means the upgrade Professor failed to upgrade elites at T-120 or T-23 (first world problem).

  13. Alvin | YTHK Diamond

    "I was dreading the thought of landing in Vancouver at 12AM PT. That’s roughly when I ordinarily wake up"

    I think Ben was 22 when I first started reading OMAAT. We've all grown since then...

    1. Bobo Guest

      I think Ben was only 18 or 19 when I flew with him and a bunch of others to a free weekend in Paris on a now-defunct airline ... definitely a college kid.

  14. SEM Member

    Am I the only person thinking that this extra pitch in F came at the expense of Y losing the lavatory that most carriers have just past F class…??? I’m just asking, I am not familiar w/ Alaska’s product, but if that’s the case and there are only 2 lavatories in Y, that’s downright awful…

    1. S_LEE Diamond

      No worries, Alaska has 3 lavs in the aft for Y on all of their 737-900ERs and 737 MAX 9s. Most of their 737-800s and all of their MAX 8s have 3 lavs for Y in the aft as well.
      Alaska is by far the most generous airline in the US when it comes to seat pitch(except Jetblue) and lavs.

    2. Timtamtrak Diamond

      S_LEE is right there are 3 lavs, but nothing beats the convenience of that mid-cabin lav that United installed. Both AS and DL opted for 3 lavs at the rear. If you’re seated towards the front of the plane, whether in F or Y+ it’s nice to not have to traverse two dozen rows of seats to use the loo. Also very convenient if you’re in F and the forward lav is occupied or blocked...

      S_LEE is right there are 3 lavs, but nothing beats the convenience of that mid-cabin lav that United installed. Both AS and DL opted for 3 lavs at the rear. If you’re seated towards the front of the plane, whether in F or Y+ it’s nice to not have to traverse two dozen rows of seats to use the loo. Also very convenient if you’re in F and the forward lav is occupied or blocked for the flight crew. I believe the added weight of the lav being forward of the wing helps slightly with the “tipping” issue on the ground, although it can happen regardless

    3. S_LEE Diamond

      There are pros and cons to have a mid-cabin lav.. It's right behind first class cabin, which means the last row of first class will be disturbed by the noise, traffic and odor from the lavatory. It definitely is more accessible but I prefer the long journey to aft lavs than being disturbed by the mid-cabin lav.

  15. Jimmy’s Travel Report Diamond

    Alaska first introduced this product on the a321s they inherited from VX. It was great when they also put them on the 737max9s - certainly my favorite recliner style F product in the US. The 41” pitch really makes a difference compared to AA, Delta and United. It also doesn’t hurt that Alaska’s soft product is generally very good.

    Ben, were you aware that AA is taking the old a321s from Alaska and keeping that...

    Alaska first introduced this product on the a321s they inherited from VX. It was great when they also put them on the 737max9s - certainly my favorite recliner style F product in the US. The 41” pitch really makes a difference compared to AA, Delta and United. It also doesn’t hurt that Alaska’s soft product is generally very good.

    Ben, were you aware that AA is taking the old a321s from Alaska and keeping that seating (for now) in place? Fingers crossed it’s on my next AA F flight.

  16. TravelinWilly Guest

    I wish all US carriers have those small lips at the back of the armrests in FC to stop items from rolling off the back of them into the row of seats behind. American used to have those (not sure if they still do, haven't flown AA in a couple of years), and they were great.

  17. D.A. Guest

    Ford have a life insurance policy on you? Ever wonder why AS is constantly (at least in my experience recently) swapping out Maxs for 900/900ERs? How was the ventilation in F btw?

  18. Jake Guest

    It looks like a downright awful experience for a 6 hours flight - seats that look like premium economy, only worse as they have no screens(!!), the food looks awful and there's no main after the pasta disk, and the wine, oh my gosh, the Gen5 "wines" rate around the same as petrol (no, I've never had them, and after reading the reviews I hope I never will.

    Ben, your reviews used to be accurate...

    It looks like a downright awful experience for a 6 hours flight - seats that look like premium economy, only worse as they have no screens(!!), the food looks awful and there's no main after the pasta disk, and the wine, oh my gosh, the Gen5 "wines" rate around the same as petrol (no, I've never had them, and after reading the reviews I hope I never will.

    Ben, your reviews used to be accurate - what's going on here? This is no premium cabin for such a long flight - it is pure subpar junk.

    1. Ben Schlappig OMAAT

      @ Jake -- I'm comparing Alaska first class to first class on other US airlines. As I state in the post, this pales in comparison to what you'd get on airlines in other parts of the globe. But that's not a useful comparison.

      I can assure you that American isn't serving Dom Perignon and caviar in first class on the same route. ;-) Consider yourself lucky if you don't have to fly much in...

      @ Jake -- I'm comparing Alaska first class to first class on other US airlines. As I state in the post, this pales in comparison to what you'd get on airlines in other parts of the globe. But that's not a useful comparison.

      I can assure you that American isn't serving Dom Perignon and caviar in first class on the same route. ;-) Consider yourself lucky if you don't have to fly much in the United States, but this is an above average first class experience in the country.

    2. Flying Buccaneer Guest

      What airline does have a "premium cabin" between MIA/FLL and SEA? I'll answer the question for you... none. Ben compared what AS offers to the AA or DL experience (the other two airlines that offer nonstop flights to SEA). The AS 737 Max 9 offers more legroom. While AS doesn't have seat back screens, neither does AA. DL does, but the last time I flew between Florida and SEA on DL, the seat back screens...

      What airline does have a "premium cabin" between MIA/FLL and SEA? I'll answer the question for you... none. Ben compared what AS offers to the AA or DL experience (the other two airlines that offer nonstop flights to SEA). The AS 737 Max 9 offers more legroom. While AS doesn't have seat back screens, neither does AA. DL does, but the last time I flew between Florida and SEA on DL, the seat back screens in row 1 were about the size of an iPhone 15 Pro Max screen. I would rather watch whatever entertainment is offered on my tablet or computer.

      As for the food and wine, the AS offerings are on par with, if not better than, what the competition offers. I haven't tried Gen5 wines either, but Wine Enthusiast's reviews of them seem to differ from the ones you are reading.

      What is it specifically that makes this review inaccurate, in your opinion? It seems to be a spot-on comparison of the AS 737 Max 9 to other AS 737s and what AA and DL offer.

    3. vbscript2 Guest

      Sounds like you got one of the old config 737-800s. Most of Delta's mainline fleet actually has pretty nice IFE, even in economy, but there are still some 737-800s and I think a small handful of 757s that still have the old interior with ancient IFE.

    4. betterbub Diamond

      Context is important. In this case the context is the competition is the other major airlines flying transcon routes

    5. eponymous coward Guest

      So by "transcon" do you mean "NYC-SFO/LAX (and maybe BOS and MIA/ATL-LAX or IAD-SFO, sometimes if a carrier puts a widebody between hubs)"?

      Because that's the thing, this is definitely a transcon but it's also not those markets. SEA-FLL has zero chance of supporting fare and operations premiums for lie-flats, just like SEA-TPA or PDX-ATL, or SAN-BWI. Which is why AS doesn't have them- their network doesn't really support having a subfleet with IFE and...

      So by "transcon" do you mean "NYC-SFO/LAX (and maybe BOS and MIA/ATL-LAX or IAD-SFO, sometimes if a carrier puts a widebody between hubs)"?

      Because that's the thing, this is definitely a transcon but it's also not those markets. SEA-FLL has zero chance of supporting fare and operations premiums for lie-flats, just like SEA-TPA or PDX-ATL, or SAN-BWI. Which is why AS doesn't have them- their network doesn't really support having a subfleet with IFE and lie-flats, and certainly not an entire fleet of narrowbody super-premium F (they would know, they took over VX).

      AS doesn't really fight over NYC-California premium travel the way other airlines do...

  19. Bobby Guest

    So you could say it blew the doors off your expectations.

  20. Willem Guest

    As an Alaska 75K I’ve flown this product ad nauseum, including on redeyes which seem to be 50-50 on whether I get quality sleep or not

    And, never feel bad about not saying No to ice cream, especially Salt & Straw!

    1. Elad Guest

      This is why Americans are so fat.

  21. VT-CIE Diamond

    Great that you could finally snag the AS 737 MAX 9, like on CM, though I will say no more on that matter, seeing as my previous comment on a 737 MAX 9 resulted in a certain bloodhound baying for my blood.

    All I can say is that I’m very much looking forward to your experience on Korean Air’s 787-10 and A321neo, and how it’s trying to keep up with other Northeast Asian airlines —...

    Great that you could finally snag the AS 737 MAX 9, like on CM, though I will say no more on that matter, seeing as my previous comment on a 737 MAX 9 resulted in a certain bloodhound baying for my blood.

    All I can say is that I’m very much looking forward to your experience on Korean Air’s 787-10 and A321neo, and how it’s trying to keep up with other Northeast Asian airlines — especially as it and Asiana have been more or less been left in the dust by Taiwanese (EVA and Starlux) and Japanese (ANA and JAL) airlines. Especially, to fly KE right before JAL will be a study in contrasts between how Korean airlines nowadays are great-but-not-stellar in comparison to JAL’s A350-1000 perfection, as well as others like NH, BR, CX and SQ.

    That said, for all its soft-product perks, AS does have one shortcoming that those in the Middle East and Southeast Asia will likely scoff at (haha): the lack of seatback IFE on any kind throughout its fleet, though it does have extensive streaming IFE. Makes one think of the Virgin America days, but at least JetBlue is still around!

    1. Mason Guest

      Seems like you're always looking for a chance to make anything related to Korea sound bad.

  22. Tim Dunn Guest

    You have very low standards.

    1. Redacted Guest

      Ben, are you ever going to block crap like this? It’s only hurting your website.

    2. cairns Guest

      Agreed. AS blows away Delta and this moron dares to talk about standards. Long past time to cut him off.

    3. Redacted Guest

      @cairns I'm referring to the mocking username, not the content of the post.

    4. ImportViking Diamond

      @redacted & @cairns This 'Tim Dunn' is not the registered member, Delta junkie and superspammer. Apparently OMAAT can have guests using existing registered account names to react, so this could be anyone. That's definitely something Lucky should look into, although I fully understand why this name was chosen for such a reaction. The whole Tim Dunn thing makes the level here sink worse than the Titanic ever did.

    5. cairns Guest

      Thanks guys I get it. I just hate to see that a website that someone puts so much effort into is allowed to be dissed by those with so little respect or even less knowledge...

  23. atlflyer Guest

    Alaska serves Salt & Straw ice cream? That’s amazing!

    1. ToshaGo Gold

      Definitely agree! Salt & Straw ice cream is amazing. And while in the air, you don't have to wait in queue for 30 minutes like at most of their brick and mortar locations. ;-)

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Redacted Guest

Ben, are you ever going to block crap like this? It’s only hurting your website.

8
Ben Schlappig OMAAT

@ Jake -- I'm comparing Alaska first class to first class on other US airlines. As I state in the post, this pales in comparison to what you'd get on airlines in other parts of the globe. But that's not a useful comparison. I can assure you that American isn't serving Dom Perignon and caviar in first class on the same route. ;-) Consider yourself lucky if you don't have to fly much in the United States, but this is an above average first class experience in the country.

4
betterbub Diamond

Context is important. In this case the context is the competition is the other major airlines flying transcon routes

3
Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder
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