Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge
This article is Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge and it covers my wife and my flight on Alaska Air flying from Minneapolis to San Francisco.
This review is part of our San Francisco Foodie Adventure Trip.
Trip Details
Date: October 11, 2017
Flight: Alaska 3467 operated by Skywest
From: Minneapolis – MSP
To: San Francisco – SFO
Aircraft: E175
Seats: 3C, 3D
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Booking
My wife and I decided that it would be fun Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge shortly after Alaska Air introduced the non-stop route from Minneapolis.
We purchased the tickets for about $190 each, which was an incredible value for a flight to the West Coast.
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Upgrade
Thanks to matching to Alaska Air MVP Gold 75k last year, our flight was eligible for a complimentary upgrade.
About four days before the flight, I received an email notification that both my wife and I were upgraded to first class for the flight operated by Skywest on the E175.
Check In
My wife and I arrived at the airport a couple hours before our scheduled departure time and made our way to the check in area to drop off a bag. We both utilized the app to check in so we already had our boarding pass and pre-arranged for the check in bag.
When we arrived at the check in area, there was no waiting in either the general line or the elite line.
Upon joining the line, an agent welcomed us and processed our bag check efficiently.
The agent offered to reprint our boarding passes. We declined and she thanked us and asked us to enjoy our flight to San Francisco.
The check in process lasted one minute.
My wife and I both have CLEAR for bypassing the ID check at TSA Pre-Check so we proceeded to the line.
CLEAR agents greeted us and walked us to the kiosks. We used our fingerprints to verify our identity, scanned our boarding passes, and then the agent escorted us to the TSA agent who waived us through.
It took about three minutes to go through the security screening.
The general TSA Pre-Check Line had a line of about 20 other passengers and it appeared to take about 10 minutes, so we saved nearly 10 minutes by having CLEAR.
Gate Area
My wife and I visited the Escape Lounge and the PGA Lounge MSP while we waited at the airport for our flight.
At the scheduled boarding time for Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge we made our way to the gate area. Upon arrive, a gate agent made an announcement that the flight was delayed for two hours due to air traffic control Ground Stop in San Francisco. The agent invited passengers to return to the gate at that time for boarding.
The Alaska App notified me about the delay at the same time.
My wife and I decided to return to the Escape Lounge to relax for the delay.
While we were in the lounge, the flight was delayed another 40 minutes.
Boarding
We returned to the gate area for boarding at the time it started, about two hours and 40 minutes after the scheduled time.
When we arrived, the first-class cabin was invited to board so we joined the line.
A gate agent welcomed us and scanned our boarding passes before inviting us on the flight.
We made our way into the jetway to board the plane.
A flight attendant greeted us with a smile at the door and we made our way to our seats.
A water bottle was waiting for us at the seat, which served as the pre-departure beverage.
Boarding continued for about 20 minutes.
At the end of the boarding process, the flight attendants and gate agent asked some of the passengers to gate check their bags.
We stored our bag in the overhead bin above our seat.
The boarding completed about 10 minutes before the new scheduled departure time.
The flight attendants provided a safety demo after the door closed.
There was a 15-minute taxi before we took off.
I had a window seat on the flight so I took advantage of taking a few pictures during the take-off process.
I always love watching the plane lift off and watch the ground get further and further away as we go up into the clouds.
Seat
Our experience Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge was on an E175 regional jet operated by Skywest.
The first-class cabin is setup in a 1-2 configuration with four rows.
The economy cabin features seats in a 2-2 configuration.
The first-class cabin offers power outlets under the seats.
The seat was a standard first class seat that reclined and was comfortable overall.
The plane offers WiFi with streaming entertainment as well as you can use iMessage and a few other messaging apps for free without having to pay for a GoGo pass.
In Flight Experience
Once we were up in the air Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge, the flight attendants welcomed the passengers on board and they described the steaming entertainment options and meal items.
The flight attendant in the first-class cabin greeted us at our seat and asked what we wanted to drink during the flight. The flight attendant also offered lunch which was a chicken wrap. My wife and I both accepted and ordered a beverage.
The flight attendant thanked us.
About 10 minutes later, the flight attendant provided a hot towel.
The drinks were served a few minutes later in plastic cups along with warmed nuts also served in a plastic container.
I ordered Prosecco.
The Prosecco was served chilled and it had a good taste and flavor and had a good amount of bubbles.
The nut mixture included almonds, cashews and pecans. The nuts were fresh and they had an excellent taste.
The flight attendant was assisting in the economy cabin for a good part of the beginning of the flight and she did not offer additional beverages even after passing by our seats a couple times.
The meal was served about 40 minutes after the drinks and snacks.
My wives meal was served first followed by mine about five minutes later.
The flight attendant did not offer additional beverages when the meal was served even though our glasses were empty. We asked for refills and she provided them a few minutes later.
The meal was a chicken salad with quinoa and it was served with bread and a brownie.
The chicken salad was served on a small plate with four small pieces of warm chicken on top the chilled salad. The salad was a mixture of quinoa and spinach and it had a good flavor. The salad was topped with shaved parmesan cheese. Ranch dressing was provided on the side.
The bread was a multi-grain role and it had a good taste overall. The brownie was prepackaged from Love and Quiches and it had a good chocolate flavor.
After we finished the meals, we waited for about 15 minutes before the flight attendant returned to remove the trays.
The flight attendant offered another drink and we accepted and ordered it.
She provided it several minutes later.
Entertainment
Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge flight offered streaming entertainment via GoGo. All of the content was complimentary and the system offered a great deal of content.
The streaming service worked well and I did not notice any buffering issues.
The sound quality was also good.
Content was available for everyone including options for kids and adults.
Landing
The flight lasted about three and a half hours. As the flight neared San Francisco, the flight attendants prepared the cabin for landing.
Once on the ground, there was a short taxi to a remote stand.
The plane waited for about 10 minutes while the busses and other equipment arrived.
The door was opened and the passengers used a staircase/ramp to walk off the plane and to board a bus to the terminal.
Although it is annoying going to a remote stand, I like being able to stand near the airplane from the ground.
After waiting for about five minutes for the bus to fill up, there was a short drive to the terminal.
We had to use a staircase in the employee area to go to the main level in terminal 2.
After arriving in the terminal, we walked to the baggage claim area.
Upon arrival in the baggage claim, our bag was already waiting for us. The bag was returned without any issues.
Overall
Flying Alaska to the Golden Gate Bridge left a bit to be desired as the flight attendant appeared distracted throughout the flight. While the food and drinks were good, the delay in service and checking back took away from the experience. The seat was comfortable and the view out the window was excellent. The entertainment streaming service functioned without issue. Overall it was an okay flight. Perhaps our return experience on Alaska Air would be a bit better.
How did your last experience on Alaska Air compare?