Alaska Airlines Minneapolis Seattle

This post is a review of Alaska Airlines Minneapolis Seattle.

Trip Details

Date: Friday, February 24, 2017

Flight: Alaska Airlines 37

From: Minneapolis – MSP

To: Seattle – SEA

Aircraft: 737

Seat 2C

Booking

My trip to Hong Kong originally started as a weekend trip to Seattle to attend a conference; however, I later changed it when the award booking to Hong Kong became available.

Support the John the Wanderer blog by booking your next trip using our affiliate links: Expedia, Priceline, or TripAdvisor. Note: Elite benefits may be limited when not booking direct.

Travel Insurance

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Airport Experience

The check in area was busy with activity when I arrived. I already had my boarding pass via the app so I made my way to the security line.

Minneapolis Airport recently added CLEAR for faster security access for a fee. The program opened within the past week and there were a lot of marketing material and staff offering to sign people up near the security area.

I made my way to security and joined the Pre-Check line. There were five other passengers in line. The process was efficient and I was able to clear security in about five minutes.

Gate Area

The gate area was crowded when I arrived and no open seats were available.

Boarding began about 30 minutes prior to the flight departure time. I joined the line and the agent greeted me when I reached the front.

After I scanned my boarding pass, the agent used my name and she welcomed me to board.

The flight attendants welcomed me when I arrived and I made my way to my seat.

The boarding process took about 25 minutes. The door was closed on time and there was a short taxi before the plane was up in the air.

Seat

The seat was a reclining first class seat with power and USB port. The aircraft offered WiFi streaming.

The seats reminded me one those on US Airways aircraft and while they are large, you feel a bit cramped. The recline functioned worked and the cushion was comfortable.

The wall at the front of the cabin is decorated in carpet in Alaska theme and it gives it a classic old world feel.

In Flight Experience

Once we were up in the air, the flight attendants prepared the cabin for service.

A flight attendant greeted me at my seat using my name and offered a beverage. The flight attendant also offered a salad for lunch.

Another flight attendant provided an entertainment tablet for use during the flight. The device are complimentary to first class passengers and you can rent one in the main cabin.

Prior to the beverage being served, a hot towel was provided.

The beverage was served with a small container of warm nuts.

I ordered a bloody mary. The drink was strong and it was served with a lime garnish. The nuts were fresh and they had a good taste.

The salad was served a few minutes later. The flight attendant used my name when she served it and she asked if I needed another beverage.

The salad was a chicken apple salad over a bed of lettuce. The chicken salad was served chilled. The chicken had an excellent taste and it was in a creamy sweet dressing. A few pieces of diced apple were also fresh and they were scattered around the salad. Fresh focaccia bread was provided with the salad as well as a pre-packaged oatmeal raisin cookie.

After I finished the meal, the flight attendant picked up the tray and she offered an additional beverage.

The flight attendants circulated through the cabin throughout the flight and they offered additional beverages.

I watched a movie on the tablet. There were about 20 movies, several television shows and games available on the tablet. The video quality was excellent.

Alaska Air offers complimentary iMessage, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp during the flight. To access, I connected to GoGo and then selected the free messenger option. The service connected and I was able to use iMessage throughout the flight. The system did not allow pictures to be sent but it otherwise worked well.

Landing

The flight attendants picked up the tablets about 25 minutes prior to landing.

The plane landed on time and there was a short taxi to a gate. As I was departing the flight attendants smiled and provided a cordial parting message.

Overall

The flight went by quickly. The flight attendants were polite and they were attentive throughout the flight. The salad was excellent. It was really nice that you are able to text message during the flight without having to pay for GoGo. I look forward to more flights on Alaska Airlines.

Have you traveled on Alaska Airlines recently?