Flying to San Diego via Alaska Airlines
This article is Flying to San Diego via Alaska Airlines. It is a review of my experience flying Alaska Airlines from Minneapolis to San Diego on an E175 aircraft operated by Horizon Air.
This review is part of my San Diego Spring Experience.
Booking
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I used credit from Alaska Airlines that I had from a previously cancelled trip to pay for my flight to San Diego.
The one-way flight had a cost of $290.
My Alaska Travel Bank credit covered the entire cost of the ticket.
I had some additional funds left over, so I attempted to use it to book a Premium Seat, however, the credit is not valid on it, so I selected a regular seat.
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Trip Summary
Date: March 26, 2018
Flight: Alaska Air 2777
From: Minneapolis – MSP
To: San Diego – SAN
Aircraft: E175 – Horizon Air
Seat: 9A
Check In
I checked in for my Alaska Airlines flight using the mobile app.
I arrived at the security area to use CLEAR for security and learned that the CLEAR line was merged with the Pre-Check line so, there ended up being about a five minute late.
All the passengers were asked to walk through a cue where a TSA Dog sniffed the luggage before guests with CLEAR were able to use the CLEAR entrance.
The TSA Rep asked to view my boarding pass after the CLEAR rep said I had Pre-Check and was CLEAR.
The security process took about nine minutes to complete, which was longer than expected, but shorter than the posted 15 minutes.
Gate Area
The gate area for Flying to San Diego via Alaska Airlines was light with activity.
I located one of of the many open seats and relaxed for about five minutes while I waited for boarding to begin.
The gate area was clean and in good condition and the screens behind the gate had information about the flight.
Boarding
Boarding began at the scheduled time. Alaska Airlines boarded the Elite Passengers, followed by the premium cabin in economy.
After the elite and premium cabins were boarded, the agents invited passengers in the back of the plane to board next.
My seat was in the 9th row, so I was in the last group to board.
Boarding was efficient and I joined the line after a few minutes when the last group was called.
A gate agent welcomed me and asked me to scan my boarding pass. The agent used my first name, thanked me and wished me a good flight.
I made my way to the airplane and a flight attendant greeted me at the door.
Once I reached my seat, I got situated for the flight.
The boarding process took about 15 minutes and the door was closed 15 minutes early.
The plane was backed out of the gate and then there was about a 10 minute delay before it made its way to the runway.
It was a busy departure time, so I got to watch several planes take off.
It was cool seeing a 757 take off along with the smaller airplanes.
Soon enough the plane turned on the runway and we made our way up in the air.
I took a few pictures before we went above the clouds.
Seat
My seat was an economy seat in row 9.
The aircraft is an E175, regional jet.
The seat was a standard streamline economy seat and it was comfortable.
The aircraft offered plenty of legroom and I was able to store my backpack under the seat and still have plenty of room for my feet.
The aircraft offers free texting with iMessage and Whats App as well as WiFi.
Entertainment is available via Gogo Entertainment system and a lot of content was available for no charge.
T-Mobile Customers can also get one hour of free WiFi during the flight by entering your telephone number.
In Flight Experience
Once Flying to San Diego via Alaska Airlines aircraft was up in the air, the flight attendants prepared the cabin for service.
In economy, passengers were offered a beverage and a cookie.
I selected a Coca-Cola.
The Coke was fresh and it was served in a small plastic cup.
A Biscoff cookie was served with the soda.
The flight attendants did not pick up the cups and trash for about an hour after the initial beverage was served.
I did some work on my laptop and made use of the WiFi for a while.
In the middle of the flight, I selected a movie to watch via the streaming entertainment.
The system functioned well and the quality of video and audio was good.
About half way through the flight, the flight attendants offered a second beverage service.
They flight attendants returned after about 15 minutes to pick up the used cups and paper.
In Flight Views
Landing
As the plane approached San Diego, I opened the window to look out.
The cloud cover was medium so you could get some great views.
From the mountains and valleys to the approach near the ocean, it was a nice view approaching San Diego.
The plane landed around the scheduled arrival time.
Overall
I enjoyed my flight on Alaska Airlines. The airplane was new and it was comfortable. I appreciated the leg room offered in the plane in a regular economy seat. The added touch of great streaming entertainment and WiFI made it a pleasant flight. The flight attendants were polite and the experience was good overall.