Background:
I needed a flight to position myself to San Francisco and booked an Alaska Airlines flight to do so. This flight was back in September, so this review is more than half a year overdue (oops!)
I was originally booked in a Main Cabin seat on an Airbus A320 in row 5, then about two weeks prior to the flight there was an equipment swap to an Airbus A321 and Alaska kept me in my row 5 seats. Butttt, on an Airbus A321, row is 5 Premium Class. I was happy to have an upgrade to Alaska Airlines Premium Class a few weeks before and I was even more excited that I was flying on a new A321!
Earlier I wrote about how I wasn’t added to the FC or Premium Class upgrade list as an MVP. In short, if you are traveling with other MVP members, make sure to split the reservations in order to make sure you make it on the upgrade list. My FC upgrade wouldn’t have cleared anyway, as I was like 10th on the list.
FLIGHT DETAILS:
Alaska Airlines Flight 1927
Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO)
Seat: 5A- Window- Premium Class
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Status: On Time
Boarding:
After a quick stop at the Alaska Lounge @ LAX , I headed to the gate for an on-time departure.
The plane was very new and unfortunately I couldn’t see the exterior of the plane before boarding because the of the gate position. But once on board I noticed it was the standard VX livery. The interior was still the Virgin America seating as well and it had the brand new First Class seats. I was very lucky to have flown on a similar aircraft (A321) to Seattle, and this plane was no different.
The Premium Cabin spans rows 3-5 on the A321, and now the Red In-Flight Entertainment system says “Premium Class” rather than Main Cabin Select. The seat had amazing legroom and was very comfortable for my one hour hop.
There were a selection of free movies and tv shows through the Red system, as well as USB chargers and plugs at each seat.
Service was good, with a drink service and choice of snack. I chose the Chocolate Pretzels, but I wish they had the Chocolate Chip Cookies I had last time.
The plane was equip with ViaSat WiFi, which is interesting because the last Virgin America A321 I flew on had gogo WiFi. WiFi for this short hop was $5.99 for the flight. My favorite part is that messaging apps like iMessage were free to use! Love having the option to text friends on flights.
The Verdict:
Overall, Virgin America Alaska Airlines Premium Class is a solid way to fly on a short hop with great legroom. Sad that Alaska is going to be gutting the interiors of these brand new VX planes in the coming months (This plane was just delivered in Apr 2018!) Alaska is currently retroffiting all the Airbus’ cabins, and by the end of 2019, all 73 Airbus aircraft will feature the Alaska interiors.
Will you miss the Virgin America interiors? Comment below!
Happy travels,
Ty
LONDON + ICELAND ADVENTURE:
Stay tuned to see the rest of my London + Iceland Adventure posts!
AIRLINES:
- Alaska Didn’t Add Me to The Upgrade List, How Should you Avoid It!
- Alaska A321 Review LAX-SFO
- Icelandair Boeing 767 Extra Legroom SFO-KEF
- Icelandair Boeing 767 Extra Legroom KEF-LHR
- Review: Alaska E175 First Class SJC-LAX
AIRPORT LOUNGES:
- Alaska Lounge @ LAX
- Air France/KLM Lounge @ SFO
- Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge LHR
- Plaza Premium Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 2
- The Club at SJC
