I'm getting disenchanted with Alaska Air!

[DeniseM]

We really used to like to fly Alaska Air to Hawaii, but every year the flight times/durations get worse. Plus, they always change or cancel our flights. I'm thinking about jumping ship. Maybe we will go back to Hawaiian Airline, and switch our credit cards back as well.

 

[tomvc]

Alaska is awaiting approval to merge with Hawaiian.

Alaska Airlines + Hawaiian Airlines | Local Care, Global Reach

Two beloved brands on a single operating platform, supported in the future by a single, compelling loyalty offering.

localcareglobalreach.com

 

[klpca]

We really used to like to fly Alaska Air to Hawaii, but every year the flight times/durations get worse. Plus, they always change or cancel our flights. I'm thinking about jumping ship. Maybe we will go back to Hawaiian Airline, and switch our credit cards back as well.

Our direct flight (SAN-LIH) has turned into a 3pm arrival on island and a red eye going home. That's a big nope for us. We are flying over on Hawaiian and back on Southwest. Even with connections it's better than the alternative with Alaska.

 

[Luanne]

We gave up on Alaska quite awhile ago. Their itineraries to Hawaii just got bad. We had one final trip booked to Seattle using credits or a companion fare, or something, and it got derailed due to Covid.

 

[artringwald]

I don't trust Alaska anymore. Twice they had great airfare from SAN -> LIH months in advance, so I booked it. Then they canceled the flight and had us going from SAN->SEA->LIH which was ridiculous for us since we were starting our trip in MSP. I won't book an attractive fare of theirs unless it's less than 2 months away.

 

[SteveinHNL]

Hawaiian Air is by far the best to/from Hawaii, imo.

 

[Passepartout]

We flew to Mazatlan for the Eclipse in Early April on Alaska. We couldn't book flights out until 13 days later on AA through DFW. We'll use Alaska miles & companion fare to Iceland (on Icelandic) in August. Good chance this will be the final Alaska flights for us. I hate going back to Delta due to local connections, but it is what it is.

 

[daventrina]

We put our grandkids to come visit this summer because Hawaiian was double and the Alaska flights with a similar price all had a 9 hour layover isn SEA. Direct SJC to KOA was double

 

[PrairieGirl]

Alaska hasn't been doing very well recently on their flights to Hawaii. And its annoying when a certain flight that always worked well gets eliminated.

Here is the opposite - Alaska to the rescue! I had booked a West Jet flight from Edmonton (or maybe it was Saskatoon) to Seattle with a stop in Calgary) back in January for a May flight to see the Rolling Stones concert. They screwed around with those flights to the point it was unmanageable and I was just about beside myself trying to figure out how to make it work (it was only a 3 day trip) when I saw an Alaska flight direct from Edmonton to SEA in First Class for less than what West Jet was charging me for Premium! Needless to say I cancelled West Jet (full refund due to their schedule change) and booked the Alaska flight.

This flight had no changes between February and May, was on time and went without an issue. No meal (short duration/time of day) but a snack or two and the wine they were serving was Sokol Blosser which made me glad because I'm originally from Oregon!

I think most of us have horror stories of cancellations/rescheduling on a variety of airlines these days. Travel is not for the faint of heart.

 

[easyrider]

We have had a few Alaska Airlines bad trips. Sometimes it was their fault, other times it was weather or a bad passenger. Alaska did save the day with first class tickets when my wife fell on a cactus in Mexico and they did reimburse us for anything that was their fault, so I have nothing bad to say about Alaska Airlines. We fly out of SEA mostly and haven't had a problem with finding non-stop companion fares or mileage fares for any of our trips. All of our flights are either the companion fare or mileage fare.

Actually, I hate flying days with any airline. The six hour flight to Hawaii heading west is beginning to be too much of a hassle.

Bill

 

[WalnutBaron]

I agree that Hawaiian is the best way to get to Hawaii, but beware: the company is under pretty severe financial pressure. A proposed merger of Hawaiian into Alaska has been delayed (though not formally rejected) by the FTC and the DOJ, placing Hawaiian in real peril. Here's a related article with advice for folks on what to do with their Hawaiian miles should the company go bankrupt.

 

[travelove]

We really used to like to fly Alaska Air to Hawaii, but every year the flight times/durations get worse. Plus, they always change or cancel our flights. I'm thinking about jumping ship. Maybe we will go back to Hawaiian Airline, and switch our credit cards back as well.

I agree with you Denise. Some years ago I opened Alaska cc thinking to use it with companion yearly flight and never used it as timing gets worse and worse. I flew by Alaska to east coast and trip was long from west coast but timing was great and we had good flight and sits. To Hawaii this Friday we are flying by Hawaii and back by Southwest': both trips are non stop with very good timing. I like that Hawaiian gets there in the morning and Southwest leaves around 3 pm back ; flying from Sacramento

 

[artringwald]

Actually, I hate flying days with any airline. The six hour flight to Hawaii heading west is beginning to be too much of a hassle.

It costs twice as much, but flying first class does make it easier. You board and deplane first, you always have room in the overhead and under the seat, plenty of legroom, better food, etc. Sometimes, the luggage comes down the carousel sooner, but you can't count on it. We wouldn't be going to Hawaii every year if we couldn't go first class.

 

[Ken555]

Why would you be loyal to any airline these days? I don’t get it. They all offer a commodity service in a race to the bottom.


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[mjm1]

We used to fly Alaska from San Jose to Hawaii and enjoyed the experience, except when they re-routed us through Seattle a couple of times. Since we have lived in Las Vegas we stopped using them as we didn’t want to have a connection in Seattle. Hawaiian has been our go-to airline as they have direct flights. We do miss having a companion ticket, but just don’t want to deal with the flight changes and connection in Seattle.

 

[easyrider]

It costs twice as much, but flying first class does make it easier. You board and deplane first, you always have room in the overhead and under the seat, plenty of legroom, better food, etc. Sometimes, the luggage comes down the carousel sooner, but you can't count on it. We wouldn't be going to Hawaii every year if we couldn't go first class.

I was planing on only flying first class when I'm about 67 because at that point I will have a ss check to pay for it, lol. We rarely fly first class now but very soon I think that will be the only way.

Bill

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I agree that Hawaiian is the best way to get to Hawaii, but beware: the company is under pretty severe financial pressure. A proposed merger of Hawaiian into Alaska has been delayed (though not formally rejected) by the FTC and the DOJ, placing Hawaiian in real peril. Here's a related article with advice for folks on what to do with their Hawaiian miles should the company go bankrupt.

I am optimistic about the merger, but there is definitely a risk it won't go through. Airline mergers have a history of deep scrutiny and rejection. That said, I think the route networks are largely complimentary. Plus I the DOJ would need to at least consider Hawaiians financial situation, as rejection might not lead to the two airlines remaining competitors, but instead lead to the collapse of Hawaiian and less competition for consumers.

We have used Hawaiian a number of times, it just depends which island we are flying to, who has the best routing.

As a smaller airline, we have had issues with HA not being able to recover very well if they run into a mechanical issue..

 

[easyrider]

Why would you be loyal to any airline these days? I don’t get it. They all offer a commodity service in a race to the bottom.


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For us, Alaska Airlines is the only flight out of our city. They also give us a couple of companion fares each year. We also rack up about 100,000 miles using the Alaska Airlines visa card paying our bills each year and often times I can manage to get up to four flights on miles by flying on off days.

Bill

 

[artringwald]

I was planing on only flying first class when I'm about 67 because at that point I will have a ss check to pay for it, lol. We rarely fly first class now but very soon I think that will be the only way.

Bill

We started when we were 63 and my knees started going bad. There's often not room in economy to stretch out the legs.

 

[DeniseM]

Why would you be loyal to any airline these days? I don’t get it.

I don't have brand loyalty - what I have is a lot of Alaska Airline miles accumulated over the last 5 years, and multiple Alaska Airlines credit cards. I like to target one airline to maximize the benefits, but I'm not sure that is Alaska Airlines any more. (I also like getting two free companion tickets every year.)

 

[easyrider]

We started when we were 63 and my knees started going bad. There's often not room in economy to stretch out the legs.

I have some tall friends that always use the Alaska Airlines premium seats with an extra four inches. It adds about $80 give or take to the air fare. There would still be three people in the row so first class is way nicer.

I'm thinking they will probably fly first class exclusively when they begin taking ss. It's interesting seeing my contemporaries purchases after they get ss. Some buy new cars, some go out more often but for me the first thing on the list is first class flights, lol.

Bill

 

[easyrider]

I don't have brand loyalty - what I have is a lot of Alaska Airline miles accumulated over the last 5 years, and multiple Alaska Airlines credit cards. I like to target one airline to maximize the benefits, but I'm not sure that is Alaska Airlines any more. (I also like getting two free companion tickets every year.)

You could use up the miles on other airlines. American Airlines was one of favorite partners for business class rewards in the past.

Bill

 

[DeniseM]

The American Airlines flights are listed in with the Alaska Airlines flights, and their flights to Hawaii are no better.

 

[Ken555]

I don't have brand loyalty - what I have is a lot of Alaska Airline miles accumulated over the last 5 years, and multiple Alaska Airlines credit cards. I like to target one airline to maximize the benefits, but I'm not sure that is Alaska Airlines any more. (I also like getting two free companion tickets every year.)

Gotcha. I agree it’s time for you to consider alternative options to your Alaska credit card. You might simply prefer a 2% cash back card and then you could just purchase the flights best for your trip at that time. The companion tickets are a definite advantage, but you know the price for that!

There are also alternative options for your Alaska miles, assuming you travel elsewhere. For instance, just last month I redeemed 50k Alaska miles for premium economy from LA to Taipei on Starlux nonstop (~14 hour flight), which I consider good value.


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[daventrina]

The American Airlines flights are listed in with the Alaska Airlines flights, and their flights to Hawaii are no better.

Depends where you are coming from... AA has the best options from Florida