9 ms·

If anyone is taking over or merging with Virgin America, I'm glad it's Alaskan. I've never been unhappy with flying with them. A couple examples of little thin

by mabbo 11y ago

If anyone is taking over or merging with Virgin America, I'm glad it's Alaskan. I've never been unhappy with flying with them. A couple examples of little things they do that are clever and should be copied by everyone else: check your bag at the gate 30 minutes before boarding and you can board early; a guarantee that your checked luggage will be in your hands 20 minutes after landing, or you get $20. They are an airline that are trying things, experimenting.

koolba 11y ago
[emphasis mine] > A couple examples of little things they do that are clever and should be copied by everyone else: check your bag at the gate 30 minutes before boarding and you can board early; a guarantee that your checked luggage will be in your hands 20 minutes after landing, or you get $20. Is that (gate check bag) for free? 20 minutes or $20 sounds like a great idea too.
- jbeda 11y ago
  It isn't "gate checking" as your bag will show up in baggage claim with the other checked bags. They'll sometimes do real gate checking for people in first but it usually isn't necessary.
- JoshTriplett 11y ago
  > Is that (gate check bag) for free? Yes. They make an announcement asking for anyone willing to check their bag at the gate rather than carrying it on, and anyone who does so gets priority boarding (at the same time as the "families with small children and anyone who needs more time to board")
  - raisedbyninjas 11y ago
    I don't see why anybody is anxious to board early unless they are jockeying for a bin for their carry-on or have a seat in a luxurious first or business class. First class already gets to board early, so I'm not sure what appeal this policy is supposed to have.
    - Certified 11y ago
      Because once you are boarded and settled, you can start counting sheep.
      - 67726e 11y ago
        Between everyone else fighting for overhead space and possibly having to get up for others in your row, that doesn't sound likely.
        gherkin0 11y ago
        You wouldn't have to do that if you have a window seat, which you'd probably try to get if you'll fit in one and you want to sleep.
    - gherkin0 11y ago
      > so I'm not sure what appeal this policy is supposed to have. I've never flown Alaskan, but it's pretty obvious what the appeal is: it's a small optimization to make flying a little more convenient and enjoyable for some people. It seems like it would be nice not to have to wait in the boarding line and manhandle my carry-on. Plus, the policy creates some goodwill because they're passing up an opportunity to nickle-and-dime you.
      - tamana 11y ago
        I'd rather wait in the terminal than on the plane.
        gherkin0 11y ago
        To each his own. They certainly give you that option.
      - ZanyProgrammer 11y ago
        I've never flown Alaskan either, but I regularly fly Alaska between the Bay Area and Portland.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
gaur 11y ago
> you can board early I'd pay good money for the ability to exit the plane early after the flight is over. I really don't care about boarding early, especially if I'm not looking for bin space.
- ucsdrake 11y ago
  > I'd pay good money for the ability to exit the plane early after the flight is over. Apparently not good enough money, first class customers get that privilege. Beyond that, the crew is required to finish certain landing procedures before allowing customers to disembark off the plane.
  - jessaustin 11y ago
    Good point! Actually everything about airlines that inspires complaints, can be avoided by spending enough "good money" to fly e.g. NetJets instead.
    - Nicholas_C 11y ago
      The problem is that the amount of "good money" a consumer has to spend to get slightly better service is a lot. But for a business traveler with an expense account it is not a lot and can be expensed.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - gaur 11y ago
    > Apparently not good enough money, first class customers get that privilege. Airlines like Southwest have no first class. And Southwest lets you pay for priority boarding, so it stands to reason they could cook up a scheme for letting people pay for priority exiting.
    - _acme 11y ago
      Pay for priority boarding and sit at the front of the plane?
bogomipz 11y ago
So this will likely be one of the first things that Virgin gets rid of along with 1 free checked bag. It never ceases to amaze me that the airlines refuse to abandon this absurd policy of charging for a piece of checked luggage. When you look at when this practice was introduced of charging for checked luggage, the time it takes to board and un-board a plane has increased by about 20 minutes due to everyone trying to shove as much as possible into overhead bins. Perhaps this time axis doens't carry much weight for carrier? Although that would be hard to imagine. It seems like false economy to say charging $25 per luggage checked make sense when you have now added 40 minutes to each flight. I can count the number of times on one hand that my flight has left at its scheduled time even though it boarded on time.
- privong 11y ago
  > It seems like false economy to say charging $25 per luggage checked make sense when you have now added 40 minutes to each flight. It makes sense to the airlines. For them, it probably doesn't matter that much if you leave a bit late. The cost of the flight doesn't change with how much time it takes to board, so they're making more money by charging for bags (even if not that many people check bags). There might be 2nd order effects, like shifts being affected because flights take a bit longer, but I can't imagine that overwhelms the additional income from charging for bags.
  - martinald 11y ago
    On short flights that 40m could be another 40-50% of the flight time. The cost of a plane is v. expensive. Sitting on the tarmac for 1/3rd longer is VERY expensive, just in deprecation/interest/lease payments. However, it probably makes sense because I imagine some/all airports charge luggage handling fees per item/kg, that are probably quite expensive.
  - bogomipz 11y ago
    How can you make that claim? One of the largest costs for an airline are the union labor costs associated with their operations. So another 40 minutes should very much matter to an airline. The longer a plane stays at a gate the less gates are available for other flights. Its not uncommon to have to wait for a gate or a jetway now after landing. It happened to me last week and we sat on the tarmac. You can't tell me this sort of inefficiency doens' contribute to labor costs - unionized labor costs at that.
esterly 11y ago
Agreed. Alaskan was one of the first to have check in kiosks and app base checkin. They just released a pre-print bag check tag as well. Best experience of any airline I have flown people and technology wise. ( I'm a former Delta Platinum miles member )
- thedaveoflife 11y ago
  I remember my first time using Alaskan's self check-in kiosks... it was a revelation
giarc 11y ago
Isn't "20 minutes or you get $20" out of their hands? I thought all baggage handling was completed by airport contractors, not by the airlines. Is Alaskan putting their faith in these employees?
wdr1 11y ago
> I've never been unhappy with flying with them. I've had the reverse. My experience with them is always miserable. Honestly, they seem an airline stuck in the 1980s. For example, after we married, my wife changed her name & got a new ID. She realized she also needed to change a name on a future flight back home to Seattle. Alaskan charged her $100 to change her name. $100. To update a field in a database. For a flight over a month out. By contrast, she also had to change a Southwest flight. $0 & she was off the phone in 10 minutes. Example 2: I actually tried to take advantage of the 20 minute guarantee at LAX. I was literally sent to SIX different people. My bags had taken 25 minutes to arrive. It took another 30 minutes to get my $20 vouchers. (Because, damnit, I wasn't giving up on principle! To the chagrin of my wife.) And those $20? It expired in 2 months. And despite being delayed for for six bags for 3 people, I could only use one $20 voucher. The boarding process is bizatine based on some complex rubric of status. Half the Alaskan personal I've encountered are nice. The other half are pretty miserable. They clearly hate their job. Or hate the customers. Possibly both. Their fees and even basic pricing is overly complex. Their planes tend to be older. The only defense I ever hear comes from either 1) people who have status or 2) people who say other airlines are just as bad. (2) just isn't true. I've flown Korean Air, Emirates, Jet Blue, etc. and they are FAR better. There is part of me that wishes we had let United, American, & the others go bankrupt in 2001, so better companies would have emerged. Anyway, I hate Alaska. (Source: Me. I typically travel on different airlines once or twice a month.)

by mabbo 11y ago

koolba 11y ago

[emphasis mine] > A couple examples of little things they do that are clever and should be copied by everyone else: check your bag at the gate 30 minutes before boarding and you can board early; a guarantee that your checked luggage will be in your hands 20 minutes after landing, or you get $20. Is that (gate check bag) for free? 20 minutes or $20 sounds like a great idea too.

jbeda 11y ago
It isn't "gate checking" as your bag will show up in baggage claim with the other checked bags. They'll sometimes do real gate checking for people in first but it usually isn't necessary.
JoshTriplett 11y ago
> Is that (gate check bag) for free? Yes. They make an announcement asking for anyone willing to check their bag at the gate rather than carrying it on, and anyone who does so gets priority boarding (at the same time as the "families with small children and anyone who needs more time to board")
- raisedbyninjas 11y ago
  I don't see why anybody is anxious to board early unless they are jockeying for a bin for their carry-on or have a seat in a luxurious first or business class. First class already gets to board early, so I'm not sure what appeal this policy is supposed to have.
  - Certified 11y ago
    Because once you are boarded and settled, you can start counting sheep.
    - 67726e 11y ago
      Between everyone else fighting for overhead space and possibly having to get up for others in your row, that doesn't sound likely.
      - gherkin0 11y ago
        You wouldn't have to do that if you have a window seat, which you'd probably try to get if you'll fit in one and you want to sleep.
  - gherkin0 11y ago
    > so I'm not sure what appeal this policy is supposed to have. I've never flown Alaskan, but it's pretty obvious what the appeal is: it's a small optimization to make flying a little more convenient and enjoyable for some people. It seems like it would be nice not to have to wait in the boarding line and manhandle my carry-on. Plus, the policy creates some goodwill because they're passing up an opportunity to nickle-and-dime you.
    - tamana 11y ago
      I'd rather wait in the terminal than on the plane.
      - gherkin0 11y ago
        To each his own. They certainly give you that option.
    - ZanyProgrammer 11y ago
      I've never flown Alaskan either, but I regularly fly Alaska between the Bay Area and Portland.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

gaur 11y ago

> you can board early I'd pay good money for the ability to exit the plane early after the flight is over. I really don't care about boarding early, especially if I'm not looking for bin space.

ucsdrake 11y ago
> I'd pay good money for the ability to exit the plane early after the flight is over. Apparently not good enough money, first class customers get that privilege. Beyond that, the crew is required to finish certain landing procedures before allowing customers to disembark off the plane.
- jessaustin 11y ago
  Good point! Actually everything about airlines that inspires complaints, can be avoided by spending enough "good money" to fly e.g. NetJets instead.
  - Nicholas_C 11y ago
    The problem is that the amount of "good money" a consumer has to spend to get slightly better service is a lot. But for a business traveler with an expense account it is not a lot and can be expensed.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- gaur 11y ago
  > Apparently not good enough money, first class customers get that privilege. Airlines like Southwest have no first class. And Southwest lets you pay for priority boarding, so it stands to reason they could cook up a scheme for letting people pay for priority exiting.
  - _acme 11y ago
    Pay for priority boarding and sit at the front of the plane?

bogomipz 11y ago

So this will likely be one of the first things that Virgin gets rid of along with 1 free checked bag. It never ceases to amaze me that the airlines refuse to abandon this absurd policy of charging for a piece of checked luggage. When you look at when this practice was introduced of charging for checked luggage, the time it takes to board and un-board a plane has increased by about 20 minutes due to everyone trying to shove as much as possible into overhead bins. Perhaps this time axis doens't carry much weight for carrier? Although that would be hard to imagine. It seems like false economy to say charging $25 per luggage checked make sense when you have now added 40 minutes to each flight. I can count the number of times on one hand that my flight has left at its scheduled time even though it boarded on time.

privong 11y ago
> It seems like false economy to say charging $25 per luggage checked make sense when you have now added 40 minutes to each flight. It makes sense to the airlines. For them, it probably doesn't matter that much if you leave a bit late. The cost of the flight doesn't change with how much time it takes to board, so they're making more money by charging for bags (even if not that many people check bags). There might be 2nd order effects, like shifts being affected because flights take a bit longer, but I can't imagine that overwhelms the additional income from charging for bags.
- martinald 11y ago
  On short flights that 40m could be another 40-50% of the flight time. The cost of a plane is v. expensive. Sitting on the tarmac for 1/3rd longer is VERY expensive, just in deprecation/interest/lease payments. However, it probably makes sense because I imagine some/all airports charge luggage handling fees per item/kg, that are probably quite expensive.
- bogomipz 11y ago
  How can you make that claim? One of the largest costs for an airline are the union labor costs associated with their operations. So another 40 minutes should very much matter to an airline. The longer a plane stays at a gate the less gates are available for other flights. Its not uncommon to have to wait for a gate or a jetway now after landing. It happened to me last week and we sat on the tarmac. You can't tell me this sort of inefficiency doens' contribute to labor costs - unionized labor costs at that.

esterly 11y ago

Agreed. Alaskan was one of the first to have check in kiosks and app base checkin. They just released a pre-print bag check tag as well. Best experience of any airline I have flown people and technology wise. ( I'm a former Delta Platinum miles member )

thedaveoflife 11y ago
I remember my first time using Alaskan's self check-in kiosks... it was a revelation

giarc 11y ago

Isn't "20 minutes or you get $20" out of their hands? I thought all baggage handling was completed by airport contractors, not by the airlines. Is Alaskan putting their faith in these employees?

wdr1 11y ago

> I've never been unhappy with flying with them. I've had the reverse. My experience with them is always miserable. Honestly, they seem an airline stuck in the 1980s. For example, after we married, my wife changed her name & got a new ID. She realized she also needed to change a name on a future flight back home to Seattle. Alaskan charged her $100 to change her name. $100. To update a field in a database. For a flight over a month out. By contrast, she also had to change a Southwest flight. $0 & she was off the phone in 10 minutes. Example 2: I actually tried to take advantage of the 20 minute guarantee at LAX. I was literally sent to SIX different people. My bags had taken 25 minutes to arrive. It took another 30 minutes to get my $20 vouchers. (Because, damnit, I wasn't giving up on principle! To the chagrin of my wife.) And those $20? It expired in 2 months. And despite being delayed for for six bags for 3 people, I could only use one $20 voucher. The boarding process is bizatine based on some complex rubric of status. Half the Alaskan personal I've encountered are nice. The other half are pretty miserable. They clearly hate their job. Or hate the customers. Possibly both. Their fees and even basic pricing is overly complex. Their planes tend to be older. The only defense I ever hear comes from either 1) people who have status or 2) people who say other airlines are just as bad. (2) just isn't true. I've flown Korean Air, Emirates, Jet Blue, etc. and they are FAR better. There is part of me that wishes we had let United, American, & the others go bankrupt in 2001, so better companies would have emerged. Anyway, I hate Alaska. (Source: Me. I typically travel on different airlines once or twice a month.)