I remember that I used to love flying Alaska. I signed up for their rewards and was about to get their credit card so that I could earn tickets even faster. However, I stopped using the company about a year ago ans switched over to Southwest when they started using non-unionized workers. You may remember there were a rash of air incidents when planes had to reland shortly after taking off. In one case, it was due to a non-union poorly trained worker who ran a vehicle into the plane, and didn't tell anyone about it.
Anyhow, I was in a jam a couple of weeks ago, and ended up booking a ticket on Alaska. While I like that I got to prepick my seats, I did not the service I saw. From the airline attendant who sarcastically remarked about how old people take forever to sit down, to the long wait for beverages, to the obvious preferential treatment of first class passengers, the service that I received on Southwest if far superior. On Alaska, the front bathroom is reserved for first class only, while the rest of the plane need to trek all the way to the back to the two rear ones, as opposed to Southwest allowing people to use the restrooms on both ends. Also, there was only one beverage cart on Alaska, which of course, started in First Class. On Southwest, service runs from both the front AND the back.
For those of you on a budget, I would suggest flying Southwest. Tickets are cheaper, and you'll get treated much better.
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