4 ms·

I highly suggest you wait and see. I moved from LA--where I flew almost exclusively Virgin because they were fantastic--to Seattle--where I now fly exclusively

by jyrkesh 10y ago

I highly suggest you wait and see. I moved from LA--where I flew almost exclusively Virgin because they were fantastic--to Seattle--where I now fly exclusively Alaska and have an Alaska credit card. The credit card is fantastic, their mileage program is generous, their partner network is wide, and in my experience, they've got really good customer service, both on the phone and in the air. They do a low-price guarantee so that you can call in and get refunds if the price of already-purchased tickets drop. Combine that w/ TripIt Pro, which gives you notifications when the price drops, and you can save a ton of money. The downside? They're much lower tech than Virgin: typically no screens on the backs of seats (especially for shorter flights), less of the fancy check-in stuff, the app isn't SO slick. But I really think the value combined with a sense of "wow, that was actually a pleasant flight" more than makes up for it. So I'm actually excited to see if we can get the best of both worlds: the technical innovation of Virgin with the no-nonsense customer experience of Alaska. :fingers crossed: Either way, I'm stoked to have more places to earn/burn miles.

mikestew 10y ago
They're much lower tech than Virgin: typically no screens on the backs of seats (especially for shorter flights), less of the fancy check-in stuff, the app isn't SO slick. True, but...I bring an iPad or MBP on every flight so I don't need a screen. Fancy check-in stuff? I dunno, how fancy can it be (serious question asked out of ignorance)? What Alaska has seems to do the job, and I'd be at a loss to improve on what I view as a simple process. Virgin's nice, yes, but I really just want to be transported from point A to point B without the cattle car feel of less expensive airlines. For me, Virgin does seem to hit the happy medium of "costs a little more but worth it", but they don't fly Seattle to anywhere I care to go other than SF. Service? I've had them screw up, but they have always eventually made it right. The worst was when it snowed in Seattle, meaning the plane never left to go get me in Orlando. Just a voice mail at 3:00 a. m. telling me I'm screwed. Called right back to their outsourced overnight call center who told me I could fly out in two days. Eventually my wife took over, got a FTE Alaska employee who got us out that day, and exit rows for the trouble. Now, that was with a five-hour layover in DC, and we shouldn't have to spend hours on the phone. I'd say they did their best, but "best" would have included taking me up on my offer to fly out of Tampa instead so they didn't have to funnel all the cancellations through Orlando. But it was good enough for me, and I've had far worse from other airlines. And Alaska has never once given so much as a sideways glance when I walk on with my mandolin case. If they can extend the Virgin amenities to Alaska's SEA-MCO route (my most common trip), I look forward to it. Otherwise, meh, I'm happy with Alaska the way they are.
pbarnes_1 10y ago
United is a better airline than Alaska if you're flying out of SFO... United. Alaska doesn't even let you pay for E+ seats. Or have IFE. Or... working WiFi half the time.
- unstatusthequo 10y ago
  United is hands down the worst airline I've ever flown. American, Virgin, Alaska are much better. Even Delta.
  - Fomite 10y ago
    Pretty much this. United is only tolerable if you're on a United hub.
  - GCA10 10y ago
    Baseline United service is deplorable. But they've become quite clever at providing better variants for people who fly them a lot. It's almost like being a party member in the old Soviet Union. You get the equivalent of your own, better-stocked stores, etc. The private United lounges are quite nice. Tasty buffets and excellent coffee machines, at no additional cost. Lots of space and outlets to get some work done. Plus the staff at those lounges have access to all sorts of better tools to get you re-routed, improve your seat, etc. I'm a mere MileagePlus Silver foot-soldier in their world. But the United Explorer credit card gets me a couple lounge passes a year. On occasions when weather has disrupted my intended flights, the Lounge Wizards have managed to get me astonishingly better arrangements, just because they can.
    - fapjacks 10y ago
      Not just for the baseline flier. My last flight out of SFO with United, I watched as the gate agent called the police on a first-class passenger for getting on the plane without first putting his standard-sized carry-on in the stupid little metal thing. I vowed to the gods in the heavens at that moment that I would never fly United ever again. I should mention here that three out of my last eight flights with United were delayed at least four hours, and we sat on the runway for most of that time.
Fomite 10y ago
> The downside? They're much lower tech than Virgin: typically no screens on the backs of seats (especially for shorter flights) This is a deliberate design choice for the seats. They can be thinner, and have more space, if there are no screens. A lot of airlines are moving in that direction - people bringing their own tablets, or Delta now providing them for the flight. It's also apparently a pain to design an aircraft seat with a screen in it - the amount of engineering you have to do to make sure the screen won't kill someone in a crash bulks the seat up tremendously.
- taurath 10y ago
  They have actual honest to god outlets at their seats, so no problem for me.
- patmcguire 10y ago
  The rule of thumb is a thousand dollars per square inch. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/21/game-of-thrones http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/21/game-of-thrones

by jyrkesh 10y ago

mikestew 10y ago

They're much lower tech than Virgin: typically no screens on the backs of seats (especially for shorter flights), less of the fancy check-in stuff, the app isn't SO slick. True, but...I bring an iPad or MBP on every flight so I don't need a screen. Fancy check-in stuff? I dunno, how fancy can it be (serious question asked out of ignorance)? What Alaska has seems to do the job, and I'd be at a loss to improve on what I view as a simple process. Virgin's nice, yes, but I really just want to be transported from point A to point B without the cattle car feel of less expensive airlines. For me, Virgin does seem to hit the happy medium of "costs a little more but worth it", but they don't fly Seattle to anywhere I care to go other than SF. Service? I've had them screw up, but they have always eventually made it right. The worst was when it snowed in Seattle, meaning the plane never left to go get me in Orlando. Just a voice mail at 3:00 a. m. telling me I'm screwed. Called right back to their outsourced overnight call center who told me I could fly out in two days. Eventually my wife took over, got a FTE Alaska employee who got us out that day, and exit rows for the trouble. Now, that was with a five-hour layover in DC, and we shouldn't have to spend hours on the phone. I'd say they did their best, but "best" would have included taking me up on my offer to fly out of Tampa instead so they didn't have to funnel all the cancellations through Orlando. But it was good enough for me, and I've had far worse from other airlines. And Alaska has never once given so much as a sideways glance when I walk on with my mandolin case. If they can extend the Virgin amenities to Alaska's SEA-MCO route (my most common trip), I look forward to it. Otherwise, meh, I'm happy with Alaska the way they are.

pbarnes_1 10y ago

United is a better airline than Alaska if you're flying out of SFO... United. Alaska doesn't even let you pay for E+ seats. Or have IFE. Or... working WiFi half the time.

unstatusthequo 10y ago
United is hands down the worst airline I've ever flown. American, Virgin, Alaska are much better. Even Delta.
- Fomite 10y ago
  Pretty much this. United is only tolerable if you're on a United hub.
- GCA10 10y ago
  Baseline United service is deplorable. But they've become quite clever at providing better variants for people who fly them a lot. It's almost like being a party member in the old Soviet Union. You get the equivalent of your own, better-stocked stores, etc. The private United lounges are quite nice. Tasty buffets and excellent coffee machines, at no additional cost. Lots of space and outlets to get some work done. Plus the staff at those lounges have access to all sorts of better tools to get you re-routed, improve your seat, etc. I'm a mere MileagePlus Silver foot-soldier in their world. But the United Explorer credit card gets me a couple lounge passes a year. On occasions when weather has disrupted my intended flights, the Lounge Wizards have managed to get me astonishingly better arrangements, just because they can.
  - fapjacks 10y ago
    Not just for the baseline flier. My last flight out of SFO with United, I watched as the gate agent called the police on a first-class passenger for getting on the plane without first putting his standard-sized carry-on in the stupid little metal thing. I vowed to the gods in the heavens at that moment that I would never fly United ever again. I should mention here that three out of my last eight flights with United were delayed at least four hours, and we sat on the runway for most of that time.

Fomite 10y ago

> The downside? They're much lower tech than Virgin: typically no screens on the backs of seats (especially for shorter flights) This is a deliberate design choice for the seats. They can be thinner, and have more space, if there are no screens. A lot of airlines are moving in that direction - people bringing their own tablets, or Delta now providing them for the flight. It's also apparently a pain to design an aircraft seat with a screen in it - the amount of engineering you have to do to make sure the screen won't kill someone in a crash bulks the seat up tremendously.

taurath 10y ago
They have actual honest to god outlets at their seats, so no problem for me.
patmcguire 10y ago
The rule of thumb is a thousand dollars per square inch. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/21/game-of-thrones http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/04/21/game-of-thrones