Background:

I booked this flight specifically because I noticed that on the 5:30 PM Saturday flight, the First Class Cabin often left with empty seats with no one on the upgrade waitlist! 

My plan worked! My parents and I were upgraded 24 hours before departure after I split up our reservations once I arrived back from Iceland. 

As I wrote before, if you have a party of 3 or more, regardless if everyone has MVP status, you must split the reservations so that you may receive an upgrade. So I split off my parents at about T24 and shortly after, all of us were upgraded to First Class. We snagged row 2, as the First Class cabin on a E175 is set up in a 1-2 configuration.

FLIGHT DETAILS:

Alaska Airlines 3319 operated by SkyWest
San Jose (SJC) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Seat: 2A- Window- First
Aircraft: Embraer 175
Scheduled Departure: 5:30 PM
Actual Departure: On Time
Scheduled Arrival: 7:00 PM
Arrival to Gate: On Time

The Flight:

After a short visit at The Club at SJC, which was mediocre to say the least, we headed to the gate for an on time departure. 

Boarding was quick, and I was among the first to board. After taking some photos, I was welcomed to my seat with a nice little Dasani bottle. I chose 2A, and it was very roomy for a regional jet hop.


Seat pitch is 42 inches, which is pretty solid for domestic First. The seat has electrical outlets in First Class (no USB) which is nice to charge your phone.

The captain announced that due to low traffic and good weather that the flight would only be 40 minutes. 

It was announced that in the Main Cabin only water and juice + a snack would be served. In first, we were offered a snack basket with a choice of a Fig Bar, Banana, Kind Bar Mini or Beef Jerky. I opted for the Kind Bar but I was hoping for Warm Nuts (sad!)


Wi-Fi was offered on the flight at reasonable prices (90 minutes for $6). I do like how messaging apps are free, definitely fun to text friends!


A quick, easy landing at LAX and I was on my way!

The Verdict:

Overall, I love the E175 and the direct aisle access is pretty cool (despite the fact that I never left my seat throughout the 40 minute flight). I’d love to fly Alaska Airlines First Class on the E175 again!

Cheers,

Ty


LONDON + ICELAND ADVENTURE:

Stay tuned to see the rest of my London + Iceland Adventure posts!

AIRLINES:

AIRPORT LOUNGES:

HOTELS