World Traveller 73 
Review: Alaska Airlines First Class E175, Seattle – Bellingham
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.
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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✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Skiing Aleyska, Alaskan Railroad and Dog Sledding in Alaska
- Springhill Suites Bellingham, Washington, USA
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Bellingham – Seattle
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Anchorage
- My Experience as a Hertz President’s Circle renter in Anchorage, Alaska, USA
- Aloft Anchorage, Alaska, USA
- A Cold War Secret: Visiting Whittier, Alaska
- The Alyeska Hotel, Girdwood, Alaska, USA
- Three Days at Alyeska Mountain Resort, USA
- Marriott Anchorage Downtown, Alaska, USA
- The Alaska Railroad Aurora Winter Train: Anchorage – Fairbanks
- Springhill Suites Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
- Dog Sledding in Fairbanks with Rod’s Alaskan Guide Service, North Pole, USA
- Visiting the North Pole, Alaska
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Fairbanks – Anchorage
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Anchorage – Seattle
- Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Bellingham
Review: Alaska Airlines First Class E175: Seattle Tacoma International Airport – Bellingham International Airport
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.
Connecting through Seattle Tacoma International Airport:
We had started the day by leaving Fairbanks International airport on Alaska Airlines First Class Fairbanks – Anchorage, followed by Alaska Airlines First Class Anchorage – Seattle.
We had a medical emergency on our flight departing Anchorage which resulted in about a 90 minute delay. As a result, we had a very tight connection in Seattle. We arrived at our departure gate at about 16 minutes prior departure, with the knowledge that the flight gate usually closes 15 minutes before departure.
I noticed that Alaska Airlines had already booked us onto the last flight of the day to Bellingham on the Alaska Airlines app. Our flight itinerary was showing two separate Seattle to Bellingham flights. Fortunately we made the first flight as originally scheduled, and didn’t have any further complications… aside from the lost baggage.
The gate agent was empathic and allowed us to board. As a result, we stepped out on to the ramps for our last flight of the day, Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – Bellingham.
Departing from Seattle Tacoma International Airport, USA
We located our plane and promptly found our way up to the aircraft.
Alaska Airlines – Operated by Skywest
First Class (U)
SEA – BLI (Seattle Tacoma International Airport – Bellingham International Airport)
AS 3305
March 30, 2024
Booked: Embraer 175
Flown: Embraer 175
Departure: 5:30 PM
Arrival: 6:19 PM
On Board Alaska Airlines First Class:
As a result of being late, we missed the entire boarding process and were among the last ones to arrive on board along with two other passengers from our Anchorage flight.
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. Since the cabin was full, I didn’t take any photographs of the seat for this flight. As a result, I am offering posting some recycled photographs of our outbound flight.
The seats on Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 are reasonably comfortable. 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, we were offered a small glass of orange juice or water, despite our late arrival to the plane. I ended up with orange juice, which was refreshing.
Alaska must’ve discontinued the usual boxed water at the seat. Unlike our usual Alaska Airlines First Class flights, there was no box of water at the seat today.
Departing Seattle Tacoma International Airport:
We had a fast departure out of Seattle Tacoma international airport. While there is usually a wait given the volume of traffic, today’s departure was relatively quick.
We followed an Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 out to runway 34.
We got airborne pretty quickly and up to a cruising altitude of 12,000 feet for our short flight over to Bellingham.
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.
Views from the Wing:
With a combination of great weather and a low cruising altitude, we had an absolutely beautiful flight up to Bellingham. We were seated in seats 2D and 2F on the right hand side of the plane. This allowed for the sunset to shine terrific light into the Pacific Northwest coastline against a backdrop of Mount Baker.
It has been a while since I had approached Bellingham International airport from the water side. We had great views of this historic Fair Haven neighbourhood and downtown Bellingham, as we descended into Bellingham International Airport.
Arriving into Bellingham International Airport:
We landed into Bellingham International Airport. As is usually the case, there’s only one aircraft arriving here at any given time. We parked near an Allegiant Air Airbus that was destined for Las Vegas.
When we got to baggage claim, we quickly discovered that our checked baggage did not arrive as a result of our tight connection. We were using AirTags in our bag, which quickly confirmed that our luggage was on the ground at Seattle Tacoma international airport.
We filed a claim with Alaska airlines. Alaska Airlines typically offers a 20 minute baggage guarantee or compensation is due. After some proactive inquiries, we are reunited with our bags less than 24 hours later. After some chasing, we were also given a US$100 voucher for future travel on Alaska Airlines to be redeemed within one year. This was a reasonable outcome, and certainly paid for my gas back to Bellingham.
My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines First Class:
Our Alaska airlines first class Seattle – Bellingham flight was pretty uneventful. The highlight was a spectacular sunset views of the pacific northwest coast as we travelled along at cruising altitude.
Although we lost our baggage, this circumstance was resolved pretty quickly and with a small amount of compensation provided as goodwill.
World Traveller 73 
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