Flying Alaska Airlines in first class for over five hours sure sounded fabulous to me. I elected to fly to Honolulu via Seattle so I could once again enjoy the experience on the oneworld alliance airline.
Sadly, flight cancellations meant I had to take American Airlines via Los Angeles on the way out. While that was disappointing, it did mean I could directly compare the two airlines on the same route.
Honolulu Airport
There was no queue at all at check-in, which made for a very pleasant experience. I had a separate ticket for the last leg of my trip and the agent happily sorted out a boarding pass for that. I do like having my bag checked through to my final destination which British Airways don’t do, and my connection was BA to BA.
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- This is the garden at Honolulu, overlooked by the control tower.
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- My plane at the gate, waiting for me.
While looking for the lounge, I got lost and ended up in the lovely outdoor Japanese garden. Filled with fish and plants, it is a nice place to chill out in. The combined Japan Airlines/American Airlines lounge does not open until 10:30am at the moment, so I cooled my heels outside for a bit before heading to the gate and going straight on board.
AS942 – Honolulu to Seattle (HNL-SEA)
18 April 2022
Boeing 737-890 – N533AS
Seat: First Class 1A
Departure: 08:00 Arrival: 16:55
Most of first class was already seated as I had missed the start of boarding. A strapping young lad was in the seat next to mine, suitably masked and clad in shorts. I was already in my European wear, with jeans and a light jacket on which must have been some contrast.
The First Class Cabin
After I put my bag overhead, I sat down in the cushiony softness of the Alaska Airlines first class seat. I have never rated how they look in pictures, but they sure are comfortable.
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- My seat for today’s flight.
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- No prizes for looks, but oh so comfy.
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- Plenty of leg room for me (I’m 170cm/5’7″). Not so much for the ridiculously tall dude beside me.
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- Box water and sanitiser.
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- Seat pocket to my left.
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- Lovely fabric bulkhead.
Box Water is at each seat, and it turns out my seatmate and I were both into extreme sports. Both of us declined to use the sanitising wipe for anything. Living on the edge!
A Fabulous Sky High Breakfast
After the safety demonstration, we headed out over the Pacific into a sunny morning sky. First order of business was the drinks service and I ordered a Coke. The flight attendant pulled out the extra tray in the front of the seat for the drink. Warm nuts were also provided to accompany the beverage.
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- Here’s the soft drink.
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- Nuts have arrived!
For breakfast I had pre-ordered online two weeks before flying. The choices were Alaska’s signature Fruit & Cheese Plate, a Breakfast Power Bowl or my choice, the Parmesan Omelet with Mango Salsa. It came with yoghurt, fruit salad and a bread roll.
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- A glorious morning for flying across the Pacific Ocean.
The description alone had me intrigued. “Cage-free eggs folded around a filling of Parmesan cheese, toasted russet potatoes, thyme and garlic. Served with seared, pork breakfast sausage and a crisp potato roesti.” – sounds good, right? Oh how I wish I had taken a photo of the inside of this omelet!
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- The tray is non-slip, which is kinda cool.
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- Hot breakfast ahoy!
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- Fruits… including blueberries, pineapple, kiwi and more.
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- Strawberries went swimming in my sparkling wine.
It was a deliciously gooey, moreish, tasty delight for the senses, with the mango accompanying it perfectly. The sausages and rösti (I mean, who screws up potato?) were also flavourful and nicely done. Full marks all round! I did notice that of the other two choices, there was only one Fruit Plate available, as it ran out after one person chose it. Definitely pre-order online before flying.
Of Toilets And Snacks
While nothing flash, the toilet at the front of the aircraft was clean which is all you can ask for. A nice touch were the flowers strewn about inside, which I thought added a festive touch. Once done, I sat about reading rather than using the wireless inflight entertainment and had my drink regularly topped up by the attentive crew.
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- It’s a pretty standard Boeing 737 bathroom.
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- Love the flowers though!
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- The Alaska Airlines snack basket.
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- The view of those bulkheads – that vividly remind you that you’re flying Alaska Airlines – from my seat.
For those who are peckish, there is also food from the snack basket to be had. This had LesserEvil Himalayan Gold organic popcorn, Cooper Street Blueberry Pomegranate Granola Cookie Bakes, KIND Healthy Grains Oats & Honey with toasted Coconut bars, traditional Savory Chex Mix and the cheesy chip things. Eventually it was time to land, which we did on time in rainy Seattle.
Overall Thoughts
All in all, I had a fabulous flight with Alaska Airlines. The seat was very comfortable, the service attentive without being overbearing and the food was quite delicious.
Just like my flight from Seattle to Denver in January, I found everything faultless from start to finish. The Seattle based airline just seems to get it right and they have crew that seem happy to be there. It makes all the difference and I can’t wait to do it again sometime.
What do you think of Alaska Airlines? Do you find them to be a good airline or do you have another opinion? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I really like the Alaska/American dueling reviews as it puts things in perspective. How do you get chatting with a stranger on an airplane about extreme sports? It doesn’t seem like that common a topic (“Oh, I base jumped last week after my hang gliding session but I’m really looking forward to my waterfall kayaking when I get back to the mainland.” lol).
Glad you enjoyed that – I wish AA had surprised me and been amazing, but it is what it is. Oh, the extreme sports thing – that was a quip about how we both didn’t use our sanitizer sachets that were handed out. I’m definitely not into extreme sports hahaha – I think the most extreme I get is going for a run. Never bungee jumped or anything! I’m with you though, I’d have no idea how you’d get into a conversation like that on a flight. Unless you were wearing some gear or had something on a bag, I… Read more »
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That looks more like economy plus, or a tired business class rather than first class.
There’s nothing wrong with it if the price is right, but calling it anything more than an enhanced economy class is misleading.
That is arguably the best first class any USA airline offers.
You’ve apparently never flown Delta first
That’s something I’ll have to try sometime. There had better be caviar and a flight attendant to passenger ratio of 1:1 as the Delta fans seem to rate it all extremely highly, so I’d hate to be disappointed 🙂
This is US domestic first class, which is equivalent of intra-Europe business class. The seat is significantly better than the Europe equivalent, which is an economy seat with middle seat blocked.
Yes, far more space in the individual seat, however the blocked middle seat in Europe provides you with quite a lot of space too. Still, you are right, the seat is better in the US in domestic first class as a general rule.
Alaska ‘First’ – it’s coach with meals. No big deal
Arguably any domestic business/first class could be called that, anywhere in the world. I really enjoyed the flight.