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This post is one chapter on our trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Alaska Airlines. This trip was booked and credited to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan using a two for one Companion Fare courtesy of the Alaska Airlines credit card. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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I finished up a busy day at work and managed to leave the office at about 4 PM. I returned home to drop a car and then hooked up with MrsWT73 at the house, who was kind enough to collect me for the trip to the airport, despite having just come from there since she works near the airport.

We left the house around 5 PM and made it up to YVR. While MrsWt73 parked the car, I had to stop by the Air Canada baggage office in the domestic terminal as they happened to have recovered my driver’s licence which I had accidentally left on my work Air Canada flight Toronto – Vancouver just 3 days earlier. Truth by told, I had written it off and never expected to have seen it again but they were able to return it with surprising efficiency.

Alaska Airlines
AS 2239 – Economy (single class of service)
YVR – SEA (Vancouver International – Seattle Tacoma International)
April 16, 2019
7:20 PM – 8:15 PM
Booked: De Havilland DHC-8-400
Flown: De Havilland DHC-8-400

We headed over to the Alaska check in counters in the Transborder area. It was deserted tonight and the usual empty scene. The only memorable change was that the YVR airport authority had a decoration out for Easter.

The friendly agent was only able to issue boarding cards to Seattle this evening. He was able to tag our checked bags straight through to Mexico.

We headed through US security and US pre-clearance. With Nexus we were straight to the front of the queue at the primary inspection line. The US CBP officer took interest in our trip to Cabo San Lucas having been previously assigned to the San Diego area; “I used to go there all the time; check out Van Halen’s bar!” was his advice. . .

Needing quick dinner options, we headed over to the Plaza Premium Lounge where access was granted courtesy of Priority Pass. The US Transborder area is in a pretty dismal state of restaurant offerings at the moment. Aside from Starbucks, Vino Volo was boarded up (permits for expansion on the plaster board), A Sal Y Limon was under construction, and the Tim Horton’s didn’t look all to appealing.

We had a short flight delay posted of 30 minutes, which was later reduced to 15 minutes. At T-30, I headed down to the propeller gates in the E finger at YVR to snap some quick photographs, while MrsWT73 took another quick round in the lounge.

It’s deserted down at the E90 gates in YVR; I try to spend the least amount of time down here as possible.

I arrived and boarding started. I ended up getting on the plane a little early; dropping my rollie at the Alaska “A-La-Carte”. The usual brown interiors tonight with the refreshed paint job outside.

There is no in flight service on the 26 minute flight from Vancouver to Seattle. There were just the usual picturesque views around the Pacific Northwest.

We were off quickly at the usual C gates in Seattle. We ended up heading to the Alaska Lounge in the C gates area where we got our boarding cards for the next day and fulfilled our obligations to have our documents checked. The initial plan was to head for a night cap at the American Express Centurion Lounge but thanks to the new access policy of having to be on a connecting flight (and not accepting arriving passengers; even next day connecting ones) we were denied entry. Another blow to the ego (laughing), we ended up heading straight for the hotel.

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