Alaska Airlines offers the most frequencies of service to the state of Alaska from many departure cities in the United States. We would get the opportunity to fly from Anchorage in Alaska Airlines First Class on their flagship service to Seattle. We were a little late departing Anchorage due to a medical emergency on board however Alaska may best efforts to recover for this incident which was beyond their control. Read on to see how our first class flight was from Alaska to the “Lower 48”.

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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 B737-9: Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport – 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.

It marks a special occasion to fly Alaska Airlines all the way to Alaska, on what is likely their flagship route. The Alaska Airlines First Class product is fairly familiar to us, and this would mark our twenty sixth journey in the Alaska Airlines First Class Cabin.

For the inbound flight, please see our review Alaska Airlines First Class: Seattle – Anchorage.

Connecting at Anchorage:

We arrived in to the airport on Alaska Airlines First Class Fairbanks – Anchorage. As I had mentioned previously, the Ted Stevens Anchorage international airport was better than expected. It offered bright daylight spaces and an eclectic collection of aircraft hanging from the ceiling which made for an aviation geeks dream in killing off the connection.

Alaska Airlines does not offer Alaska Lounge access on upgraded tickets. With only a Delta Sky Club accessible when flying Delta Airlines through the American Express Platinum Card, and no priority pass option on the concourse, we spent the layover wandering the concourse.

We eventually gathered near our departure gate where they were heaps of people getting ready to depart. Alaska airlines has a ton of Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan elites leaving Anchorage. As a result, the pre-board priority boarding line was starting to get quite congested.

While we were waiting for the flight to board, I checked the upgrade list on the Alaska Airlines app. With a heavy amount of Alaska Mileage Plan MVP upgrades, they were over 26 persons on the upgrade list waiting for First Class seats. That is among the highest I’ve ever seen for a three and a half hour flight.

If this flight is any indication, if you’re hoping to get access to a complimentary First Class upgrade between Anchorage in Seattle, I’d highly recommend booking and upgradeable ticket in advance or purchasing First Class outright.

Alaska Airlines
First Class (U)
ANC – SEA (Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport –Seattle Tacoma International Airport)
AS 144
March 30, 2024
Booked: Boeing 737-900
Flown: Boeing 737-900
Departure: 11:45 AM

Arrival: 4:18 PM

On Board Alaska Airlines First Class:

The newest aircraft used by Alaska Airlines is this Boeing 737-900. Despite this, rather than using more contemporary slim line chairs for its first class passengers, Alaska Airlines has equipped these planes with their older, puffy leather upholstery.

the seating on Alaska airlines first class Boeing 737 900 is in a 2–2 configuration over four rows of first class seating totalling 16 seats.

it’s worth mentioning that the outer window seats have a small metal box that impedes on some of the legroom or luggage space. If you’re looking to maximize under seat room, it’s better to pick the isles which do not have this intrusion.

The Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 900 offers individual overhead lights and individual air nozzles. This makes for a comfortable flight.

The seats offer in seat power that was awkwardly located in the centre console. As a result of it’s position, it was a little difficult to align the plug into the sockets.

The seat offered a table in the arm rest. This was generally retractable but a little on the small side for getting stuff done.

These chairs are still cosy for lounging around in. The seats are comfortable enough for a three and a half hour flight from Anchorage to Seattle. For the longer flights—which often last five hours—from the mainland to Hawaii, I found them to be just barely comfortable and stretching the edge of comfort.

Pre-Departure Services:

It is never reliable on whether you actually get offered a pre-departure beverage on Alaska Airlines.

On todays flight, we didn’t get anything offered.

As we were seated and waiting for the rest of the plane to board, the pilot made their first in flight announcement. We had an all female crew today consisting of our Capitan “Autumn” and our First Officer “Deborah”. There was an announcement of our flight time being three hours and thirty minutes, with three hours and fifty two minutes scheduled gate to gate.

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. This featured similar entertainment on our flight up, so I have just reused the same photographs.

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

There are a number of movies available online through the Alaska Wi-Fi. This is in addition to a low tech moving flight map.

Alaska Airlines has done away with the complimentary tablets previously offered in First Class. If you don’t bring your own device, you’ll be without any video entertainment for the flight.

Departing Anchorage:

It was a very wet and rainy departure leaving Ted Stephens Anchorage International Airport. We departed the gate about ten minutes early from our departure time of 10:00 AM. We headed for the de-icing pad, as some of the rain was close to snow.

Given our middle of the day departure time, we had a great view of several cargo aircraft that had stopped at Anchorage for refueling. We spotted a National Cargo Boeing 747-400F.

Also scooting around was an Nippon Cargo Boeing 747-400F and a UPS Boeing 747-400F on the ground at Anchorage.

While we were out at the runway, we ended up having a medical emergency on board. It was later established that a passenger ended up with shortness of breath. The pilot made a determination to return to the gate to dis embark the passenger.

Upon arriving at the gate, the police and ambulance arrived on board and disembarked three people. Ultimately, this exercise caused a bit of a delay. We ended up departing at 1:02 PM, or three hours behind schedule.

Leaving Anchorage, we had a departure track immediately due south towards Seattle. The pilot announced strong tail winds, with assurances Alaska Airlines would do their best with connecting flights.

The Meal: A Lunch

Once we had reached cruising altitude at about one hour into the flight lunch was served.

Before my flight, I pre-ordered through the Alaska Airlines app. In my experience Alaska airlines does run out of your preferred dish. As a result I always make the effort to pre-order.

I ended up ordering the Tillamook Burger, featuring Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese. While it was a little uninventive to order a burger on an aircraft, it was (at the same time) unique to eat a burger on an airplane.

You can only enjoy a burger on an aircraft in the United States.

My Tillamook Burger arrived presented with Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, sesame seed bun served with crisp lettuce, sliced Roma tomatoes, bread and butter pickles, and a tangy burger sauce. The burger was reasonably tasty for airplane food, although I’d probably try something different if I was flying with Alaska Airlines again on a return flight.

MrsWT73 pre-ordered an Asian Noodle Salad served with soba buckwheat noodles, tossed with mushroom carrot and peppers, served with poached shrimps.

I finished off the meal with my new Alaska Airlines favorite spiked coffee; Crater Lake Hazelnut Espresso paired with Five Farms Irish Cream Liquer paired with Alaska Airlines Stumptown coffee. This combination is excellent as an eye opener and if you’re an Alaska Airlines regular, I encourage you all to try it.

Overall, lunch was a great way to pass the time. I appreciated the ability to pre-order food. Alaska Airlines often has some strange food offerings so it’s great to be able to mitigate this through a pre-order item.

The Second Service: A Snack Basket

Alaska Airlines provided a second service in the form of a small snack basket. Similar to on the way up, I enjoyed “The Original”: Himalayan Pink Salt Popcorn, which was presented in a small 13g bag.

I didn’t expect too much for a second service on a three hour flight. However the snack basket popcorn was the smallest popcorn bag I think I’ve ever consumed.

Arriving into Seattle:

We arrived into Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Although we had strong tailwinds, the pilot announced that they were unable to make up as much time as they had hoped.

As always, we had terrific views on approach through the Pacific Northwest into Seattle Tacoma International Airport.

We arrived over to the “C” Gates at the Seattle Tacoma International Airport. We disembarked fairly quickly along with all those others that were trying to catch their connections as a result of the ninety minute delay.

We had a very fast connection of about five minutes, and made our final boarding call for Alaska Airlines First Class Seattle – Bellingham. Unfortunately our checked baggage and checked skis did not make it. They would end up spending the night in Seattle. I have more on our baggage experience with Alaska Airlines in the next post.

My Thoughts on Alaska Airlines First Class:

Alaska Airlines First Class service from Anchorage – Seattle was a special mile stone as we got to fly the flagship route in the Alaska Airlines system. There were dozens of people on the Alaska Airlines MVP upgrade list so I’m glad I managed to get an upgradeable fare to Alaska Airlines First Class well in advance.

The food on board was about as expected and I appreciate the ability to pre-order well in advance. We had an unexpected medical emergency on board before departing, which resulted in a bit of a delay leaving. Despite this Alaska Airlines made up for it as best as they possibly could.

Despite the loss of our checked baggage, which occasionally happens, we would easily fly with Alaska Airlines again in the future.

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If you travel on Alaska Airlines to or from Alaska, do you have any strategies for getting into First Class?

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