Alaska Airlines offers connecting service from Bellingham International Airport to its hub in Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Our first flight today was on Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 aircraft, operated by Skywest Airlines. As always, we would experience a quick and no nonsense flight before we landed in Seattle Tacoma and connected over to our flight to Anchorage.

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This post is one chapter on a winter trip to Alaska, United States. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Mileage Plan and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Alaska Airlines First Class E175: Bellingham International Airport – Seattle Tacoma International Airport

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Much like my other leisure flights with Alaska, this flight was purchased through an Alaska Airlines Famous 2 for 1 Companion Fare. We purchased this flight in upgradable space and received an upgrade to First Class at the time of booking. We credited these flights to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.

Checking into Alaska Airlines:

Our early morning flight had us leaving from Bellingham International Airport at 5 AM. We spent the night at the Springhill Suites Bellingham to make our departure a little easier and smoother.

We arrived to the Bellingham International Airport at about 3:55 AM. We were travelling with ski equipment that had to be checked. We needed to make the baggage drop off cut off at 45 minutes prior to our flight. In this case, that was 4:15 AM.

We had no wait at the Alaska airlines First class check-in counter at the Bellingham International Airport. Our checked suitcase that contained ski gear, helmets and ski clothes was accepted from us, in addition to our to Thule soft sided ski case containing two sets of skis.

Alaska airlines has a pretty strict 50 pound baggage limit. Despite their membership in Wen world alliance, they haven’t found it fit yet to extend a heavier baggage allowance for OneWorld elites or those travelling in first class. As a result we made sure our checked bags were well under 50 pounds.

We headed for the screening checkpoint where our TSA pre-check was excepted without any issue. We headed through to the secure side and two are pretty deserted terminal hall.

In what felt like “early morning forever”, but wasn’t actually that long at all, we boarded our flight. All the gates at Bellingham International Airport offer outdoor apron boarding. We had a great view of our aircraft as we boarded.

Alaska Airlines – Operated by Skywest
First Class (U)
BLI – SEA (Bellingham International Airport – Seattle Tacoma International Airport)
AS 3400
March 23, 2024
Booked: Embraer 175
Flown: Embraer 175
Departure: 5:00 AM

Arrival: 5:47 AM

On Board Alaska Airlines First Class:

Alaska Airlines offers pre-boarding to serving and retired members of the military. After that was completed, First Class was given the opportunity to board.

Alaska Airlines First Class on their Embraer 175 aircraft is in a 1–2 configuration across 4 rows of seating. We located our seats and settled in for a very short flight.

The seats on Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 are reasonably comfortable. Alaska Airlines tends to use the Embraer aircraft for flights under two hours. We rarely see Alaska Airlines use these flights for long-haul flights of four hours or more. As a result, I can’t complain about the seat comfort.

Alaska Airlines Embraer 175’s offer in seat power, which is located in the centre console. Although admittedly for the short flights I typically find myself on, I rarely find the need to plug-in.

The Alaska Airlines seats to not offer an in seat back monitor. You will need to bring your own entertainment on your smart phone device if you plan on watching any movies or television.

Pre-Departure Services:

you never really know whether you’re going to get a pre-departure beverage on Alaska airlines. Today was our lucky day as the flight attendant offered to bring us whatever we wanted. I decided on an Alaska Airlines Stumptown Coffee Roasters coffee; their special coffee that is supposed to be consumed at 30,000 feet elevation.

Unlike our usual Alaska airlines first class flights, there was no box of water at the seat today.

Food and Beverage:

Like many of it’s other short flights, Alaska Airlines does not offer any food and beverage service for this short 26 minute flight. We were airborne before we knew it, and getting ready to descend at Seattle Tacoma International Airport.

Arriving into Seattle Tacoma International Airport:

We arrived into the “C” gates at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. This portion of the airport does not offer jet bridges. As a result we disembarked onto the apron and wandered inside.

We had a short walk up the ramp and into the Seattle Tacoma International Airport Terminal where we’d locate our connecting flight.

We headed off to the American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle (which I’ve reviewed previously) before getting onto our Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – Anchorage flight.

My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines First Class:

The Bellingham to Seattle First Class service on Alaska Airlines was fairly simple. We had a comfortable twenty-six-minute flight, however there was no formal food or beverage service, aside from the brief Stumptown Coffee.

While you don’t always need First Class for a short twenty minute flight, it’s always nice to have. Despite this, I wouldn’t expect all to much in the way of First Class services while on board if you find yourself flying this route.

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If you travel on Alaska Airlines Sky West Short Haul First Class, do you find it a comfortable way to travel ?

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