In 2015, Alaska Airlines expanded its partnership with regional carrier, SkyWest Airlines. As part of this partnership, Alaska Airlines added the popular Embraer E175 regional jet to its fleet. Alaska Airlines’ E175 features 12 first class seats, 16 premium seats, and 48 economy seats. The E175 is arguably one of the most comfortable aircraft for passengers with a 2-2 configuration in the main cabin and a 1-2 configuration in first class.
Though the E175 was delivered to Alaska Airlines to serve “long, thin routes”, the airline has significantly expanded the regional jet’s role within its fleet. Today, the E175 also operates more traditional regional routes like Seattle (SEA) to Walla Walla, Washington (ALW).
In April 2016, I came across an amazing deal from Dallas to Portland so, I booked a seat on an Alaska Airlines’ E175 in first class. This trip would allow me to try out Alaska Air’s new regional jet as well as ride Amtrak’s Cascades train in a sleeper car.
Here’s what it’s like to fly aboard an Alaska Airlines E175 in first class.
The Itinerary
Airline/Flight#: Alaska Airlines AS/OO3389
Aircraft: Embraer E175
Departure/Arrival City: Dallas, TX (DFW) / Portland, OR (PDX)
Departure/Arrival Time: 7:20 AM / 9:28 AM [On-Time/Early]
Seat: 1A (Window+Aisle)
Cabin: First Class
Meal(s): Breakfast, Snack Service
Alaska Airlines E175 First Class Check-In at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
I had been up since 3:30 am (not a good start to the day) and after an enthusiastic early morning conversation with my Uber driver, I was wide awake and ready for the rather long flight up to Portland.
The flight departed from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal E. Knowing that DFW can be a zoo in the morning hours, I arrived fairly early. It wasn’t until I stepped into the terminal that I realized I had overestimated how busy Terminal E would be. I figured that out when I realized that I was the only one at the Alaska Airlines ticket counter.
Though I only had a carry-on and a duffle bag, an agent quickly left his podium to come to the kiosk to assist me with check-in.
Check-in took maybe two minutes, and the Alaska Airlines team was quite helpful and friendly. After check-in, it was on to security.
Terminal E wasn’t very busy so the TSA consolidated all passengers to a single checkpoint. This created a line that stretched quite a ways down the ticketing area. Thankfully, the TSAPreCheck line was much shorter. At the time, it appeared I was the only passenger traveling from Terminal E with PreCheck. With that said, it took me roughly 45 seconds to pass through security.
Once I cleared security, I checked the Alaska Airlines app to view my departure gate. Though it was an hour before departure, the app had yet to update the gate information. It wasn’t just the app that didn’t have up-to-date departure gate information. The departure screens throughout the terminal listed “HG” as the departure gate for my flight.
Though I wasn’t completely sure what gate I’d be departing from, I made my way down to a gate with Alaska Airlines’ signage and began to take some pictures from the gate. Soon enough, the boarding area filled up with other passengers.
I asked if I could board a little early to snap a few pictures of the recently delivered aircraft. The agents were nice enough to allow me to do so. So, an agent called down to the cabin crew and opened the door to the jetway for me.
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Alaska Airlines E175 First Class Interior and Cabin
Once onboard, I was welcomed by the number one flight attendant with a smile. I can’t recall the last time I encountered such a warm and welcoming crew. After taking a few photos, I sat down in seat 1A.
The number one flight attendant asked me why I was headed to Portland. We then discussed our travels and shared some of our favorite and least favorite airports. She then offered me a cup of orange juice as general boarding commenced.
The Embraer 175 operating the flight had recently entered service for Alaska Airlines. Alaska Airlines treats the E175, a regional jet, somewhat like a mainline aircraft. It’s also one of my favorite airliners thanks to its gigantic windows, bright interior, and spacious seats.
The cabin was pretty standard and looked like any other regional jet. Alaska Airlines even omitted their unique Indigenous Alaskan patterned carpet bulkheads from their E175 fleet. Dullness aside, the cabin was clean, new, bright, and comfortable.
Alaska Airlines E175 First Class Service
The in-flight service was excellent, especially for a flight operated by a regional carrier. I knew what to expect after days of researching previous Alaska Airlines service experiences. I even contacted Alaska Airlines via Twitter (X) to see if the flight would feature their digital e-players. Unfortunately, the flight would not feature these devices. So, I decided to download some of my own content ahead of departure.
Though the flight lacked in-flight entertainment, the AC units sufficed as I had downloaded roughly three hours of content. As I settled in and started watching my pre-downloaded content, the crew began the meal service.
The first meal service was a pastry service. The number one flight attendant came around to take drink orders and offer hot towels. I ordered a cup of Starbuck’s Pike Place Roast. My drink order was accompanied by a warm cherry pastry which was quite tasty.
About a half hour later, the flight attendants began the main breakfast service. The breakfast service consisted of either cereal and fresh fruit or a breakfast burrito with egg and sausage with fresh fruit. I selected the breakfast burrito.
I was surprised at how well the burrito was cooked. Everything seemed quite fresh. Even though it wasn’t the most luxurious or hearty first class meal I’ve had, it was flavorful and satisfied my appetite.
There were also two other surprises related to the in-flight service. First, many airlines choose not to fit their Embraer E175s with ovens so, it was quite surprising to receive a hot meal on a regional jet. Additionally, other than the fruit plate, all items were served on a paper towel which is quite unusual, especially in premium cabins.
Following breakfast, I connected to the in-flight wi-fi service offered onboard and got some work done. The in-flight wi-fi was offered through Gogo’s air-to-ground (ATG) service so, speeds weren’t great and service was spotty at times.
A few minutes before the initial descent, a snack basket was brought around the cabin. All items in the snack basket were both non-GMO and vegetarian. Shortly after the snack service, the flight attendants took their seats and after a beautiful final approach, we arrived in Portland (PDX).
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The Bottom Line
Flying first class on Alaska Airlines’ Embraer E175 was a surprisingly enjoyable experience. The Embraer E175 is arguably one of the most passenger-friendly aircraft with an ideal seating configuration in all cabins and massive windows. What made this flight especially enjoyable was the welcoming and attentive flight crew. The in-flight service was also quite good considering this was a flight operated by a regional carrier.
Have you ever flown on Alaska Airlines’ Embraer E175?
Could use some spelling and grammar editing. Also, the E175 you flew is a SkyWest aircraft operating for Alaska, with a SkyWest crew. If you Google the tail number, you’ll see. SkyWest is a regional jet airline that operates for Alaska, American Eagle, United and Delta. That also explains why the interior was not in Alaska colors.
Could use some spelling and grammar checks. The E175 is I believe either Horizon Air or SkyWest and not Alaska. It is, in fact, a regional aircraft due to union standards.
4.5