I recently flew Alaska airlines to California on a business trip. I hate flying. Absolutely hate it. I have to say that Alaska makes flying a lot more pleasant than some of it's competitors... More

I recently flew Alaska airlines to California on a business trip. I hate flying. Absolutely hate it. I have to say that Alaska makes flying a lot more pleasant than some of it's competitors (*cough* United *cough*). The airplane we flew on was clean and new - the seats were leather and comfortable and I didn't feel quite as squished as I have on other carriers. I think there may be an extra couple of inces of pitch on the newer Alaska airlines fleet. The flight attendants were very pleasant and on the way back we had a funny captain, who made fun of his first officer's landing. (It was a bit bouncy and the captain came on and said, "Folks I'm sorry about that. I hate it when he does that.") My outbound flight was delayed an hour (late inbound aircraft) and Alaska did a fantasic job of turning the plane around once it arrived. We ended up departing 20 minutes earlier than the estimate. I have to fly to Dallas next month for business - and I chose Alaska. They had the best times and the best prices.
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If you're like me, no amount of freebies, rewards, or whatever can make the experience of air travel pleasant. That said, there are airlines that are better than most at mitigating the negatives... More

If you're like me, no amount of freebies, rewards, or whatever can make the experience of air travel pleasant. That said, there are airlines that are better than most at mitigating the negatives and making the experience of getting to the airport, through check-in, on the flight and off it bareable. Alaska is one such airline. Each time I've flown the service has been friendly and attentive without being cute and annoying like Southwest. Fares are generally reasonable and flight availability is good. In particular, if you reside in the Puget Sound area where the Alaska hub is, you do yourself a service but checking Alaska flights first before going to other airlines.
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