Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air

Recently flew with Alaska air from LAX to Vancouver. I was lucky there were no delays asides from their system crash which caused a backup at the baggage drop off. Tickets were cheap, but check in bags cost $ 25 each when some airlines have at least 1 free check in. Also unfortunately the planes do not have TV’s so no entertainment during flight. They do have outlets on each seat so no more worries about your phone dying while you try to keep yourself entertained on such a boring flight. You get what you paid for, nothing more, nothing less. Or sometimes less. I say MEHH

Very disappointed… heard such great things about his airline, but they give your seats away even after you check in. My mother and I checked in at Victoria airport… scanned our passports at kiosk downstairs. The signs said our Flt to Seattle was delayed for 1 hr 10 minutes. When we got to the gate 35 minutes ahead of departure, T. told us she gave our seats to a family of four and we had to go on next Flt. The doors to plane remained open for another 15 min. But there were no seats. I was told by T. that she called our names over the loudspeaker… which I know was not true as I or my mother would have heard. I told her I checked in at the kiosk downstairs and she said that did not matter. even though I scanned our passports. I asked her if the Alaska Air computers «talked» to each other?.. Come on… it’s a network! We were connecting to Bozeman via Seattle and we’re now going to arrive in BZM at midnight. When we got to Seattle, I had boarding passes (again) and went to check in. The Alaska air person asked me why I was checking in when I already had boarding passes… and I told her I did not trust this airline, sure enough, even though we were there 3.5 early for is Flt — they gave our seats away again. I finally got a supervisor to find us new seats which were not together. Lesson to learn… even if you have purchased seats, have a boarding pass… get to the gate early or they will sell your seats to someone else. One other peeve… I had requested a wheelchair at both Victoria and Seattle for my 87 year old mother… a no show so she had to struggle to walk. Finally I saw an empty wheelchair and I put my mother in it… it took us 7 hours to get from Victoria to Seattle… we should have just driven. Sorry Alaska air… you have lost my business. So much favorable hype and you made this travel day a disaster. And special note to T. please don’t lie about paging someone to cover your own mistake. We had checked in, and my name is distinct, so both my mother and I would have heard the page. My hearing is perfect.

not bad, some of the employees seem disgruntled.

100+ people standing in line for 1 hr plus to check in at YVR… EPIC FAIL
When I finally reached the check in desk, I politely mentioned that they should find a way to move folks through faster. The clerk replied that they were moving very fast. I said, «than you should tell your manager you need more staff». Reply: «We are properly staffed, this is why we tell you to arrive 3 hours prior to your flight.»
If that’s the prevalent attitude at Alaska/​Horizon YVR it’s clear that this situation will not get better.

The gate staff here at YVR are absolutely amazing. I fly a few times a month on Alaska Airlines and I have only seen happy up beat friendly people working here. A few in particular have gone out of their way to help me a few times and I cannot say thank you enough!

worst check in process ever! so damn long. the line was so long, the e-​check in machines had no one helping out to answer questions. pfft.

Infinitely better and more organized than it’s Los Angeles counterpart. I actually couldn’t believe it was the same airline as the LA location is so bad compared to here. I arrived early but there was still a long line, but it moved quickly. I *loved* that the self check-​in kiosks were in the line itself.

When West Jet or Air Canada are not viable options, Alaska is my go to airline. Prices are always competitive. Flight attendants are always friendly. $ 20 baggage fees are annoying but such fees are standard on US flights and at least Alaska’s fee is relatively cheap. If your bag takes longer than 20 mins to arrive they give you $ 20 off your next flight (but my luggage has always been on time so I’ve never taken advantage of this). There is no in-​flight entertainment (again, pretty standard as far as US airlines go), however there is FREE BEER AND WINE IN FLIGHT, regardless of your departure time (I took advantage of this on a 7:45am flight). Who needs entertainment when you can down 2 glasses of chardonnay and pass out on your flight?

We’ve popped over to Vegas a few times from Bellingham and have hod nothing but shockingly great service and attentiveness from Alaska Air from check-​in through entire boarding and flight. An upgrade to first class is usually just 150 bucks a great deal.
Flight staff are some of the most patient and polite I’ve ever seen, especially considering the flight can be a bit of a party-​cruise! 5 stars. Will use these guys again alot.

I flew Alaska Air from Vancouver back to LAX.
The staff at check in was friendly and got my check-​in done pretty quickly. Security was no problem, though apparently, they check your fingers at YVR airport now — that’s new to me.
For a flight less than 3 hours, it was decent. It was a very basic flight — clean aircraft, and polite stewardesses. They offered refreshment (drink and snack) but no entertainment/​TV/​films/​radio.
Note: If you want to have a meal during your flight, you MUST purchase beforehand; you cannot buy on-​the-​spot inflight.
We got back on time and didn’t have to wait long for my luggage at the carousel. I had no issues with this airline, but it would be nice to have some amenities inflight (hint, hint)!

This really is a great airline. They pride themselves on having a fleet of exceptionally new and clean aircraft. You’ll notice how dingy American Airlines planes are after traveling on one of these guys; the difference is more than I ever imagined. I had also heard that they are known for their service but (whatever the cynics will say) service is typically pretty good across all airlines. Alaska Airlines does a fine job of it, but nothing outstanding.
I don’t seek them out, but I do smile every time that I discover my Delta flight is actually an Alaska Airlines codeshare.

I’ve always trusted this airline. They’re made it through 2 economic recessions and managed to provide the same levels of service the 2 times i’ve been on it. They have good service and they do every effort to run on schedule. If your going anywhere west of the rockies take this airline.

* Don’t tell me to be at the airport before you open! *
Ok, had to take a VERY early morning flight from Vancouver to Seattle. Alaska Airlines told me that I «MUST» check in 2 hours before the flight or they might cancel the ticket because of the need to pre-​clear US Customs. Blah, blah, blah. But I really needed to make the flight and bit the bullet and showed up at 4:30 2 hours before the flight. Ugh. What a way to start the morning!
When I got to the airport the Alaska desk was CLOSED. There was a LONG line of everyone else that followed the same stupid advice.
Ok, so I skipped the line and did the electronic check-​in (as I would have no matter what) and got my boarding pass. I then started to head to the US Customs area and it was CLOSED. Ugh again. Guess customs doesn’t have to open until the airlines actually open their desks, which is more like 4:45.
Eventually customs opened up and thanks to Nexus (
) I got to skip the line and clear really quickly and got to the gates by 4:50. I love NEXUS!!!
The Alaska Airlines lounge was, you guessed it, CLOSED. The sign said it opens at 5. So I sat around in a deserted terminal where nothing was open yet still thinking I really need breakfast.
5am came. And went. No sign of activity in the Alaska lounge. They finally turned on the lights at 5:20. Ok. Breakfast here I come.
The lounge is definitely not one of the better ones in the Vancouver Airport. It has a few seats and a small self-​serve area that had something they called bagels, but were really just rolls in the shape of a bagel, some english muffins, bread, PB&J in little containers, some canned juices and a few soft drinks. No hot food other than toasting the «bagel.»
Anyhoo…Quickly ate and went to the plane.
The plane was pretty ratty. Seats were showing signs of wear, and considering it was the first flight of the day I would have expected them to have done a better job cleaning up the cramped first class seat.
There was a flight attendant that was barking orders at people as if she was on an emergency rescue flight in the Arctic. Ironically while the 3 flight attendants were chatting with each other instead of serving drinks she was talking about how she likes some of the Alaska flights in the north where there are no customers and just cargo most days. She liked the fact that they get to «wear pajamas» (her words, not mine) instead of a uniform. Ok. Good customer service attitude liking when there are no passengers, eh?
It showed throughout the short delayed flight. Yes, delayed. Apparently since they hadn’t opened up the check-​in on time some passenger bags got delayed. So we are sitting on the tarmac with a bunch of people worried about missing their connections. Nice.
They didn’t serve any drinks at all until we took off when they announced they would suspend service for this flight and just give a small bottle of water. Nice.
Someone once told me the first flight of the day is supposed to not have delay issues. Oh well, not yesterday with Alaska Airlines!