Alaska Airlines has among the most frequent flights from Hawaii to the Mainland United States of America. Tonight’s flight would have us returning to the Mainland from Hawaii in Alaska Airlines First Class from Kona to Seattle in Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900 series product. It has been quite some time since we’ve flown Alaska Airlines First Class overnight coming back from Hawaii and I’d remember that the First Class Seats are less comfortable than I remember. Although better than economy class, the First Class services were about “as expected” for this segment.

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This post is one chapter on my trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Alaska Airlines First Class B737-9: Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole – Seattle Tacoma International Airport

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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.

For the outbound flight, please see our review Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – Kona.

Checking into Alaska Airlines First Class:

We departed The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort and arrived to the airport by Hertz Rental Car Kona. We returned the vehicle after a week’s use and took the rental car shuttle over to the airport.

Kona International Airport is mostly an open air operation. In some ways, it reminded me of the Rapa Nui International Airport on Easter Island with it’s open air lobby and departure zones.

With a short line at the Alaska First Class Check In Line, we just opted for the empty kiosks in order to process our bag tag. We checked in online using the Alaska Airlines App, and already had assigned seats in First Class on this flight to Seattle and on our second flight Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – Bellingham.

A friendly Alaska Airlines agent helped us affix our bag tags to the checked bag. After a short baggage weigh, gave our bag front of the line service to be dropped off. We had no issues with the bag being over the fifty pounds weight this time around.

We had a short line at TSA Pre-Check and proceeded over to the secure side of the airport. The Hawaiian Airports (among some others) always prominently display the Flag of Honor that represent all the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks, including a list of Hawaiian Purple Heart recipients right next to it. The Flag of Honor is a unique part of travelling within the United States of America, and isn’t something that is at every security check point (especially international security connecting ones).

Once on the secure side, we wandered down to our gate. All of the gates are outside and do not have any air conditioning to keep you cool. It is also worth mention that Kona International Airport does not have any lounge facilities branded with any carrier or accessible through Priority Pass. As a result, you’ll be outside along with your fellow passengers in the departure lounge.

Aside from sitting in the departure lounge, there is a small restaurant with about twenty seats, a small news stand that was smaller than my living room at home and, aside from some sponsored free wifi, there was not much else in order to keep you entertained.

From the departure lounge, you can spot the aircraft on the apron outside.

Boarding Alaska Airlines:

Alaska tends to board it’s planes early, or right on the time printed on their boarding cards. This flight was no exception. Our flight was promptly boarded with a call for active or retired military to board first, followed by First Class and all of Alaska’s MVP elites. The agriculture X Ray scanner is done immediately during the boarding process, and not completed in advance unlike some other Hawaiian airports.

When it came time to board, we followed the gate ramp agent on the apron outside. Kona International Airport doesn’t have any jet bridges so all boarding is done outside. It’s always a bit of a treat to get right up close to your aircraft.

Alaska Airlines
First Class (U)
SEA (Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole – Seattle Tacoma International Airport)
AS 880
August 14, 2023
Booked: Boeing 737-900
Flown: Boeing 737-900
Departure: 10:20 PM

Arrival: 7:14 AM + 1

On Board Alaska Airlines First Class:

Like on our way out, the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900 represents Alaska Airlines newest aircraft. Alaska Airlines is maintaining an all Boeing narrow body fleet, you if you’re flying with Alaska Airlines, you’re likely to be flying these aircraft for quite some time. Despite this, Alaska Airlines has outfitted these aircraft with their older puffy leather seating up front for it’s first class travellers.

Alaska Airlines First Class travellers will have access to four rows of First Class in a 2 – 2 configuration.

These seats are really comfortable for relaxing in, although for a long haul flight beyond five hours, they are a little less than idea as a result of their limited recline feature. This was especially prevalent on a short overnight flight of five. andhalf hours, where you really have limited time in order to get some sleep.

I also find the space between the seats to be a little compact and less spacious than it could be. Getting out from the window seat requires contorting over your aisle seating partner, if it can be done at all, without them getting up.

A separate power port with a three-prong outlet and a USB charging port is provided for each seat. Unless you are a contortionist, it is a little challenging to see what you are plugging into because this is very awkwardly situated in the centre console.

There were three air nozzles for each of the two seating positions on each seat. This made the flight much more comfortable.

The familiar Alaska Airlines First class seat was a better way to get back from Hawaii to the Mainland. Unfortunately, the recliner seat doesn’t allow for lying all the way back. Dependent on your sleeping style, it can make for a rather uncomfortable sleeping experience.

Pre-Departure Services:

On Alaska Airlines, it is never reliable to know if you will actually be provided a pre-departure beverage. In this instance, we were not provided with a pre-departure beverage as we awaited the airline’s boarding of the remaining passengers. Instead, a box of boxed water was waiting for us on arrival at the seat.

As I have mentioned earlier, MrsWT73 doesn’t particularly care much for the taste of these, but after spending about ninety minutes waiting outside in Kona International Airport’s Departure Lounge high seventies, low eighties degree heat, I certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Like on our flight out, a thin blanket was also waiting for us on the seat. The light blue blanket provided a little warm for the overnight flight. I ended. upusing the blanket this time around, as being seated in the window seat next to the fusilage wall. It got a little cold during the flight.

The blanket was welcomed, although I wished it was a little thicker in texture. It didn’t add a whole lot of warm throughout the flight.

In Flight Entertainment:

Alaska Airlines offers in phone flight entertainment. This is accessed through the Alaska Airlines home page on the wifi sign in screen.

Alaska Airlines offers free messaging and texting, which is a nice addition for those that need to stay connected with friends and family.

It’s worth mentioning that the complimentary tablets that Alaska Airlines previously provided in First Class are no longer available. You won’t have any video entertainment on the flight, if you don’t bring your own device.

Departing Kona:

We set out on time from Kona International Airport. The boarding process was efficient, and we didn’t have any delays departing. Our pilots announced a smooth flight time of five hours and forty minutes to Seattle, with an expectation we were going to arrive a little bit earlier than scheduled.

We set off on runway 17, which was immediately adjacent to the Manta Ray Cove where we had done our sunset Manta Ray Adventure the day before. With a right turn towards Oahu, we headed off on our North Easterly Track towards Seattle.

The Meal: A Light Dinner

Once we were airborne, and being an overnight flight, we were offered our dinner meal service.

For those that had downloaded the Alaska Airlines App, customers would have had the ability to pre-order food up to twenty four hours prior to the flight. The options for the overnight flight represent something a little lighter than you might expect for a regular meal service, with a charcuterie plate, a sandwich wrap and a salad being the only options on the pre-order menu.

I had debated on whether I would go light on the meal ordering, and visit 13 Coins Sea Tac Restaurant on our connection. Instead, I ended up pre-ordering the Mediterranean Chicken Shawarma Wrap as a pre-order. I’ve generally had better luck ordering Alaska Airlines food in advance than waiting to see what is offered on board.

As with our flight out, there was no printed menu. Instead, the drink menu for First Class was found in a flyer in the seat pocket. Today’s wines were featured by Ste Chapelle, along with a variety of spirits and beers.

The drink selection was reasonable and about what I might expect for a five hour flight in domestic first class.

The meal service was presented approximately one hour and fifteen minutes into the flight. The meal service was presented all at once, and there aws no pre-supper cocktail with macadamia nuts offered on the return flight. Like most others, I preferred to eat and get right to sleep.

The pre-ordered Mediterranean Chicken Shawarma was presented with a bag of Popcho’s popped potato snacks.

I enjoyed this with a refreshing Aviation Gin and Tonic, with ice in the glass. The Chicken Shawarma ended up being a little dry. I suspect that it was double catered from the mainland and had been several hours since it was prepared.

MrsWT73 enjoyed the charcuterie plate. While it didn’t meet what you might expect in Europe, she gave it high marks for the snack-ability and light nature of the dish.

After the meal service, I attempted a nap in the Alaska Airlines First Class seats. As a side sleeper, I didn’t have much success with getting a restful sleep. My head ended up teetering all over the back of the headrest, tipping over into the wall or MrsWT73’s space as the passenger net to me.

Although it was much more comfortable than economy class, the overnight flights really demonstrate the weakness of the recliner seat when travelling back to the mainland. It is definitely inferior to the United Polaris product or Delta One product that you can find on these routes if you are selecting in your research.

There was no second meal service as in our flights to Hawaii. We ended up arriving into Seattle without an additional snack or meal offering.

Arriving into Seattle:

After almost five hours, we were on the approach to Seattle Tacoma International Airport. It was just about morning on the arrival time, and we had great morning sunrise views from the wing.

We landed in Seattle before the day’s operations really got busy about twenty minutes early ahead of schedule. As a result, we didn’t have a wait for a gate and arrived to the conveniently located D Gates really quickly.

We ended up going back to the American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle for a connection. We accessed this through our American Express Platinum Card. It turned out we didn’t need the larger meal at 13 Coins Restaurant anyway.

We connected onwards to our Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – Bellingham flight later in the day.

My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines First Class:

Alaska Airlines First Class service between Hawaii and Seattle really highlighted the disadvantages of the recliner seat. Although it is much more comfortable than economy class would have been, I found it difficult to get a proper rest in these upright recliner seats.

While I didn’t happen to notice it as much on my recent Icelandair flights that offer the same recliner seats, I attribute this to the shorter length of the Hawaiian flights versus a trans continental one. Regardless, Alaska Airlines First class is a much better way to go than an economy seat. If I can’t find a United Airlines Polaris First class or Delta Airlines Delta One First Class product to fly, this is the next best thing.

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If you travel on Alaska Airlines First Class from Hawaii, did you find the recliner seats to be a disadvantage for the overnight portion ?

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