My gate at FLL gave amazing views of my Alaska Airbus A321…. not!
“What the heck is a diagcon look of an Alaska Airlines A321 first class product?” Don’t worry, I will get to that.
I had no expectation that I was going to write this review. I recently flew down to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to hang out with Embraer and they were nice enough to put me in first class. When I was preparing for my flight home (I flew on Delta to FLL), I saw it was on an Alaska Airlines Airbus A321. Sweet. I knew that I would either be flying on one of Virgin America’s old birds with their first class product, or Alaska’s new product win/win. I did my thing and looked up the registration number, found the delivery date of the aircraft, and determined that I was going to be trying out the new product. Heck yea.
The good news and bad news is I just had a really long day, got very little sleep previously, and had just flown across the country the day before. That is bad since I wasn’t really prepared to do this review, but good since what better time to test out a product when you aren’t feeling 100%?
Pretty cool display of the new Alaska Airlines first class seat that I viewed during my previous media trip with them
Previously, I had the chance to fly down to SFO to preview Alaska Airlines’ new first class product on their Airbus A321s. I was only able to sit down in a first class seats for a short amount of time, and obviously media flights like that don’t give you a real experience of how the product compares. Know what does? A six-hour flight from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Seattle (SEA), that’s what! And looky there, I just recently did flew that diagcon flight.
Transcons are like LAX to NYC, vs Diagcon being SEA to MIA – Image: GCMap.com
Okay… What is a Diagcon Flight?
So let’s talk about this made up word/definition I started using a while back: diagcon. You probably know about transcon flights right? Well, technically a diagcon is a transcon flight, but it’s longer, goes diagonally across the U.S., and I don’t like them much. I mostly use the term to describe my Seattle to Florida flights.
Over a three-year period, I found myself doing too many non-stop diagcons (for AirlineReporter, my dad lives there, other odds and ends, etc.) and I was getting sick and tired of doing them in single-aisle aircraft. Sure, the SEA-MIA flight might only be 30 min longer than a LAX-JFK flight (or SEA-JFK), but that extra 60 min (roundtrip) in the back of a 737 made me find the point where I actually wasn’t looking forward to the next diagcon flight (I wasn’t sure if I had that limit). So, for me, the definition is not just about flying diagonally, but also getting kind of tired of the routing / (lack of) aircraft choices.
So, how is this relevant to the story? Good question, and thank you for getting me back on track. We can conclude that I am not a huge fan of flying diagcons, and I was tired, so this really was the best combo to put this product to the test. Let’s continue…
Sweet lighting for some sweet seats – Photo: Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airbus A321 First Class Review Time!
Being based in Seattle, I fly Alaska quite a bit. It is the airline where I hold my miles, although I have never held status (I know, crazy right?). The vast majority of my Alaska flight experiences is in the back of the plane… in economy. Although it is always nice when I’ve had the chance to fly first class on Alaska, I have to say that the old hard product isn’t super special. You have the wider seat, with the 2-2 layout, and a good meal, but the tight seat pitch always shocked me. Unless I got a super duper upgrade deal (I don’t think that is their official name), then I didn’t see the value in spending the extra money to move up to first class. I was wondering if this new product might change my mind. I broke it down the pros and cons in easy-to-read bullet points:
Comfy footrest…
What I liked about the new Alaska first class
- The footrest. I have always thought of these as sort of worthless and if anything, they take away my legroom. However, I found myself using it a few times and actually liking it — a lot. That said, I found that when the passenger in front of me reclined their seat (how dare they), then my footrest stopped working. Bummer. I follow up with Alaska after my flight and they confirmed that my footrest must have been faulty and after giving them the plane’s reg number, they were going to fix it.
- The tray table device holder. It took me a while longer to figure out how to use the device holder in first than it did in economy. However, it was quite slick once I got the hang of it. You can prop up your own device (think phone, iPad, Zune — I don’t judge) both when the tray is half and fully opened (scroll down a bit and there are some pics).
Cruising lighting altitude
- The mood lighting. Don’t knock it. I used to make fun of airlines/manufactures promoting their mood lighting as marketing fluff. But I am a convert. My photo isn’t so great, but imagine a Virgin America A320 making a lighting baby with an Alaska 737-900 Boeing Sky Interior and you have it.
- The power box. Up until a few years back I never noticed the power boxes under the seats. Then my pal Jason Rabinowitz would always talk about them when we flew together and now I can’t not notice them. They can take away quite a bit of legroom (like they do in Alaska’s current product). With the new layout, they are tucked way up under the seat and at 6’1″, I couldn’t touch it — even when I tried (and I did). Bravo!
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- The soup
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- The beef
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- The ice cream
- Ice cream. I could have just led with this, called it a day, and been comfortable with my review. Ice cream at cruising altitude will never, ever get old and will always put a smile to my face. It might sound silly to some, but I feel that things like ice cream can take a first class experience to the next level — especially on a domestic flight.
- My overall food experience. If I had a “what I was okay with” section, this would be in it, but I didn’t want to create it just for one bullet. The presentation was great (three course), my squash soup was delish. But the main course of beef was too well done, dry, and didn’t come with enough sauce to save it. It was nice having the full meal service, and then later they came around with a basket of snacks to choose from.
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- Power cord for the entertainment device
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- Salt and pepper
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- Earplugs
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- Safety card
- The Humor. I kept getting these little goodies and they kept being a little funny. Nothing super crazy, but almost dad-joke level of stuff, which I love. Does this sort of stuff matter? Heck yes it does… it leaves you with that sort of “warm and fuzzies” feeling towards a brand and shows an important attention to detail.
- BYOD Entertainment. If you have your own device, you know how to connect it to the internet, and you bring your own headphones… you are set. Alaska offers a great selection of free WiFi entertainment, available to all passengers.
My best try at illustrating the lack of bulkhead. Original (pre-edited) Photo: Alaska Airlines
What I disliked about the new Alaska Airlines first class
- The bulkhead. I don’t say this to be elitist, but I really do not like the new bulkhead, or the idea it doesn’t exist anymore. The best way I can describe it is a sun visor sticking down that provides no real privacy or separation. Ironically the passengers (in premium economy) directly behind me talked about how much they miss the bulkhead. It was just sort of awkward since their 3-3 layout lined up nicely (or badly, I guess) to the first’s 2-2. It made it easier for me to hear them and for them to look over my shoulder. Yea, yea, I know, these bulkheads allow more seats, so lower prices (stuff I preach about all the time), but it doesn’t mean I have to like them!
The device from the airline looks cool, but I didn’t find it easy to use. The holder on the tray table was nice though!
- The Windows tablet video player thingy. These are the handheld devices that Alaska hands out to free to first class passengers that have built-in entertainment. At 39, I sometimes find myself getting more frustrated with technology than I think I should. I tried using the main menus, but somehow ended up in a browser, and couldn’t get any movies to play. After clicking around semi-aimlessly, I figured it out — although my reward was a pretty limited selection. I am confused why these still exist. If they were super simple (push button, watch movie, yay), then sure. But if everyone has devices (i.e. their own phones), and these aren’t easy to use and have limited options…what is the point?
- No WiFi. The WiFi connecting our flight to the world didn’t work. That sucked. Even sucked more that none of the crew member mentioned that it was going to be down (or apologized). Personally, I am fine when my flight doesn’t have WiFi, but if you are planning to use the 6+ hour flight for work, this is a pretty big let down.
Weeeeeeeee
How Does the New First Class Stack Up?
Alaska’s new first class product (hard and soft) is very impressive. In my previous story on the product I questioned how much of Virgin’s influence might be found in the new Alaska and no matter how you feel, I think you will like what you find. I think this is really an “evolution-plus” of the previous product. It is more than just a simple refresh, or updating of textures/colors, but they are providing a leading product.
Of course one would expect a new product to be better than the one it replaces, but how does the new Alaska first class compare to the competition? And really, for those flying out of Seattle, the big question is how does it compete with Delta? After flying Delta’s first class right before the new Alaska first class, I feel pretty confident in my thoughts.
Although I didn’t have a window seat, my seatmate was nice enough to let me snap a few window pics
If you weren’t concerned about miles or status on either airline and just looked at the soft/hard product, overall I would choose to fly the new Alaska first class over Delta’s — no question (you also get access to Alaska’s lounges, which is a huge plus).
I think the biggest issue is consistency. You know what you will get on almost any Delta domestic first class product. Fly on an MD-80, a CRJ-700, a 737, or a 757, no matter when they were built, they are going give pretty much the same passenger experience (which I think they do a wonderful job). With Alaska, they have about 50 of their 71 Airbus converted and when asked they told me that they are “still discussing plans for the 737-800/900 fleet interiors.” That means, it might be a challenge (even for you AvGeek pros) to ensure you will be flying with the new first class.
Fleet change doesn’t come easy, nor happen quickly (especially when Alaska has over 30 737 Max, that are delayed). Once Alaska is able to update their fleet, and provide a consistent first class flight experience, they will be in a much better competitive position. Not to say that they aren’t too bad now, but if they wait too long for the fleet-wide upgrade, that just gives the competition more time to come up with their own improvements.
Not the plane I was on, but one that looks a lot like it. You AvGeek pros will know the big difference.
Have you had a chance to fly it yet? Or even have some thoughts about the older product and how it compares to the competition? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Send me some of the spiked juice you”re drinking that makes you declare Alaska”s Airbus product is an improvement over Virgin. Already choked a couple of times. AS could put toilets in first and you”d lap it up.
Hey Jerry,
I think I would probably not be a fan of all toilets :). But seriously, thanks for commenting and obviously you are passionate about Virgin America. Even though I am based in Seattle and have my main mileage plan with Alaska, I would often fly VX, just because I enjoyed the different experience. No question, I think that the VX first product was better than the current Alaska first. With the Alaska’s new first product, I really think it would have been about the passenger’s preference. Unfortunately passengers just don’t have that choice anymore :(.
When I took the flight, I looked at the product not as a replacement for Virgin America, but for how it compares to Alaska’s current product and the competition. I was also trying to notice the details that weren’t there before the merger (aka VX’s influence).
If VX fans haven’t already, I encourage them to give the new product a try. It’s not going to be Virgin America (no airline will ever be able to replace them), but I think passengers can see it is a very solid domestic first class product.
Cheers, David
Nothing better than ice cream at 38,000 feet
Hey George,
Flying often already brings out the inner-child in me. The excitement of flight and travel. But then you add ice cream to the mix and game over. I am 39, going on 7, and I am totally okay with that!
David
Was on AK SAN-KOA last week, not new seats, but had the notebooks. About half had issues of not being charged, or had parts falling off, then others couldn’t figure out how to use them.
I always pre-load my notebook with plenty of stuff, so never need them.
I’d say get rid of them.
I will admit that my first draft on the devices was much more aggressive towards Alaska getting ride of them (I wrote it while on the plane). But I figured there must be enough of a demand from other passengers to justify them? I hear more stories like yours than people saying that they like them… so, I am not sure.
David
I live in Chicago so my airlines are usually AA or UAfor better and worse. But I enjoy reading about airlines, airplanes and reviews from people like you. It”s my little escape now that I don”t put on the miles for work and fly like a maniac. And I truly enjoyed your flight report.
Butif you are going to publish for the world to read, it”s a good idea to use proper grammar or just get a proofreader.
I”m sure you could easily find one. Or hire me. I”ll do flight reports too.
Hey Peter,
We are always happy to add new voices to AR. Every writer started by emailing me with an idea and a passion for airlines. I am going to email you about the grammar issues — I want to make sure that those are fixed. I will say that I edit the stories a few times myself and then we have a final editor take a last look before publishing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t make mistakes!
Thanks and chat here soon!
David
Hi David. Thanks for the timely reply. I’m impressed with your punctuality. Honestly I don’t know how to point out errors without doing a lot of cut and paste. If you want me to do that I can. (I just saw your last post where I think you wrote “ride” when you wanted to say “rid.” Typing on a phone and predictive text make it very easy to make a typing error.
Peter
Great story David! I”ve been wanting to catch a ride on a new AS 321, so I lived vicariously through you on this review. Cheers!
Hi
Flying first class for the first time on Alaska next month. Do you recommend a certain row in first class in regards to storage, etc? And first row seating super close to restroom and galley?
Thanks so much!
Hey Julie,
There is a lavatory and gallery right at the front of the plane, so the closer to row 1 you are, the closer to those you will be. Also, since the overhead bins are just as large as those in economy sitting 3:3, you won’t have any problem finding space for your bags. The only think to consider is the first row is not going to have any storage under the seat in front of you (since there is none), so your personal item will need to go into the overhead bin. If you were looking to get quick access to the lav/gallery in first class, but also have personal item storage, I would say try to get an aisle seat in row two or row three. Have a great flight!
David