Alaska Airlines A319 first class review Seattle to San Diego

01. Delta Air Lines 717-200 economy class San Diego to Los Angeles
02. Air Canada 787-9 economy class Los Angeles to Toronto
03. Air Transat A330-300 economy class Toronto to Montreal
04. Air Canada A330-300 economy class Montreal to Vancouver
05. Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class Vancouver to Seattle
06. Alaska Airlines A319 first class Seattle to San Diego

Is there no better feeling in the world then strutting around an airport knowing that your first class upgrade cleared over a week ago and that you’re going to be stretching out like a king in a big comfy seat for the final leg home? Well, duh, of course there is. But that didn’t stop me from feeling like the #1 luckiest dude in all of SeaTac as the minutes ticked down to flight time.

I didn’t mention it before, but I made Alaska Airlines MVP status by the skin of my teeth last year. And not because I flew a crap ton of AS miles or anything. It was mostly thanks to that paid Emirates business class flight from Los Angeles to Dubai last May, and if you ask me, that was a very fun way of doing it. It sure beat the heck out of flying back and forth between San Diego and San Francisco million times!

AS1620
Seattle, WA (SEA) – San Diego, CA (SAN)
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Aircraft: A319
Registration: N528VA
Duration: 2 hours 27 minutes
Seat: 2A (first class)

By the way, if this is your first ever visit to SANspotter.com, you might be interested to know that I create videos of all my flights as well. Here’s what I put together for this one:

It’s been just under a year since Alaska Airlines officially swallowed Virgin America, forming the fifth-largest US airline. I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time letting go. Why do all the fun airlines have to die? It’s not fair!

Anyway, as long as I still see Virgin America airplanes flying around, it’s an airline that still exists and I’m not willing to bury the coffin yet. It might not be exactly like the Virgin America we used to know and love, but I’m still trying to fly those red white and blue Airbus’s (Airbii?) as much as I can before they slather Chester the Eskimo on the last remaining tail.

This flight down to San Diego tonight was chosen specifically for the fact that it was a Virgin America bird, and getting the first class upgrade thanks to my MVP status was just the icing on the cake. Hell yeah!

The Alaska Airlines first class ground experience at Seattle international airport

This is the part of the review where I suspect that many of you are going to roll your eyes at me and become even more convinced than you already are that I can be a total weirdo sometimes. Thanks to my complementary upgrade, I had full access to any Alaska Airlines Lounge here at SeaTac tonight. However, I chose to forgo that little perk completely.

In my defense, it had been an extremely long day so far having flown two segments over 2400 miles starting in Montreal at 1 AM Pacific time. The only thing I wanted to do was walk around and stretch my legs, fearing that if I sat down somewhere comfy I would probably zone out and become miserable for the rest of the journey home. I needed to stay awake if there was any hope of continuing with getting footage for my trip reports and videos.

Keep in mind that these trip reports and videos are my job now. It’s what I do for a living, so when I’m traveling, I’m working. Therefore, I need to keep my legs busy and my mind sharp as I walked around the airport snapping pics and trying to find epic B roll.

During the two hours I spent walking around doing my thing, I took notice of how large and diverse this airport is. Every terminal looks different to me, and there’s no cohesive layout and design from one section to another. Not that I think that’s bad or anything, but it makes it hard to get to know the airport and to be able to find my way around with my eyes closed. Not that I’ve ever walked around an airport covering my eyes or anything. But it’s nice to know I could do it if I wanted to.

If you’re curious, the Alaska Airlines first class ground experience here in Seattle is unremarkable outside of the lounges. If you’re flying first class out of this airport on Alaska Airlines, you need to take full advantage of the complimentary lounge access. Don’t be dull like SANspotter.

Fact: Alaska Airlines first class service on a Virgin America A319 feels completely wrong

This was the second time that I’ve experienced “Alaska Airlines” on a Virgin America aircraft. The first time was in economy class. This time it was going to be in first class with those notoriously white (and obnoxious) leather recliners. It feels weird to be sitting in one of those things knowing that it’s Alaska Airlines first class and not my beloved Virgin America first class. It’s just so completely wrong.

On the surface, everything looks exactly how I remember it back in the VX days. Huge white leather chairs with gobs of legroom between them, black accents everywhere, all draped in deliciously beautiful pink and blue mood lighting.

The first indication that it’s not Virgin America first class is when they do the safety demonstration. Instead of a live high-energy dance routine performed by young and hip flight attendants, it’s just a run of the mill (and very dry) explanation of how to use a seatbelt. I ask again: why did Virgin America have to die?

The next thing that you’ll notice is that the in-flight entertainment system is a convoluted mess of a mix between the old Virgin America Red product and the current Alaska airlines offering.

I’m a really big fan of both of these products, but not when they merge them together in a way that feels more like a temporary hack than anything else. For example, firing up the system for the first time will greet you with that glorious Virgin America Red splash screen, and you’ll feel the adrenaline running through your veins as you realize that they haven’t yet switched over completely and that VX isn’t dead quite yet. However, a few gentle taps of the screen will reveal that it’s just Alaska Airlines underneath slowly taking over.

What’s the food like in Alaska Airlines first class these days?

This is a question I was dying to know myself, since they recently switched up their menus to feature higher quality food than they were serving in years past. For the sake of comparison, when I flew Alaska Airlines 737-700 first class from Portland to Anchorage a few years ago we were served a humble plate of pasta and chicken that looked like it came fresh out of a maximum security prison cafeteria.

Compare that with my recent first class flight from San Diego to Orlando in March of last year (which was just after they switched over to the new menus) and the food quality was noticeably better. I was expecting really good things on tonight‘s flight down to SAN, but unfortunately, I think I set my expectations a touch too high.

The only thing on the menu for this flight was a roast beef sandwich (slathered in mayonnaise) accompanied by a bag of potato chips. Disappointing to say the least, especially since my natural reaction when looking at mayonnaise is to gag. I hate the stuff.

Despite wrinkling my nose with every bite, I ate every last crumb of that thing considering that this was my dinner tonight and it had to keep me alive until the next morning. It would’ve been a really good sandwich if it wasn’t for that mayo.

Conclusion

Airline mergers have always been an awkward and frustrating process for all involved. It’s gotta be totally migraine-inducing for airline executives and staff trying to deal with two completely different business cultures (while attempting to stay up beat and energetic). Just ask United – it’s been 6 years since their merger with Continental has been official, and they still haven’t completely merged both systems. It’s a total mess from what I hear.

It’s rough even for us airline enthusiasts as well. Just sitting there in the remnants of the old Virgin America first class product made me feel nostalgic for yet another great airline that had been wiped from existence forever. It’s sad to see such a great airline die, especially sine there are so few new ones being born to take their place.

As much as I hate to see Virgin America go, I’m very much looking forward to the time when the all new Alaska Airlines first class product is fully integrated and we won’t be subject to these painful reminders anymore. We’ve still got a ways to go before reaching that point, but I remain hopeful that Alaska Airlines can learn a thing or two about VX culture and elevate their game to the next level (pun totally intended).