Alaska Flight Questions...

@Thrak- I don't know where in NorCal you live- be aware that AS also flies to SEA from RNO, OAK, and STS (Santa Rosa). You may be closer to one of those, or there may be a better connection to a SEA-FAI flight.

We are a bit less than two hours north of Sacramento and SMF so that's where will fly from. I've heard of the companion fare but am wondering exactly how it works. Can one book a flight using miles from the card and still get a second fare at the companion fare?

I'm obviously new to the whole thing. We haven't had time to fly in the past but this is my last year of working (YEAH!!!) and we will be flying next year and more in the future.

We are a bit less than two hours north of Sacramento and SMF so that's where will fly from. I've heard of the companion fare but am wondering exactly how it works. Can one book a flight using miles from the card and still get a second fare at the companion fare?

 

I'm obviously new to the whole thing. We haven't had time to fly in the past but this is my last year of working (YEAH!!!) and we will be flying next year and more in the future.

Our family has combined 6 companion tickets annually and use them often. They can only be used with a paid ticket, I go for lowest coach available. There is no black out dates . What makes them so great is you can use with any paid coach seat. We use to fly grandkids to Hawaii round trip for $99 plus tax.

You can NOT use with mileage award seats. And need to be used on flights actually operated by Alaska Airlines (not a code share)

If you don't have an ALASKA Airline B of A Visa you need to apply thru the Airline website, open a Mileage Acct on that same website so you will have a Mileage Number to give on the Application.

You should receive within 14 days of applying 25,000 miles plus a companion ticket that needs to be used to book a flight prior to the anniversary date of your card. The flight booked can be to fly the following yr, just need to make the reservation.

Their is an annual fee it's $75 or $95 (I forget) and no it's not waived the first yr.

Almost forgot, all reservations booked on the same reservation (up to 6 people) get the 1st bag free.

Looking at flights today. I checked the AS site and it looks like I can get good pricing on AS but would end up arriving at 2:00 AM. Check in at the hotel is not until 3:00 PM. I could pay about $100 more and arrive at 3:15 PM on check in day which is a lot nicer.

I then looked at Princess EZ Air. I can get a Delta flight that arrives around 2:00 pm for about the same price as the cheaper AS flight that makes me wait around for a looooooooooooong time after arrival.

I don't know much about Delta (heck, I don't know much about any airline!) or Princess EZ Air. I don't mind not using the companion fare if I get a cheaper flight without it. I just have to wonder why the Delta flight is so much cheaper. Any thoughts on that?

I also checked the Delta site directly. I see one way for two leaving at 7 AM and arriving at 2 PM (weirdly, the flight time shows as 8 hours but the difference between departure and arrival is only 7 hours -I don't get that at all...) with a total of only $329. The AS flight that has essentially the same departure and arrival times is more than that total for one and then the companion fare is tacked onto that. It's about $468 total.

I guess I should probably grab the Delta flight but still have to wonder why it's so much cheaper. I could book at that price either directly with Delta or through Princess EZ air. Am I missing something important that you knowledgeable flyers know about or am I just overthinking things and would be an idiot not to grab the rate immediately?

Check the Delta website directly something does not sound right. Wonder if ez air is up to date??

Check the Delta website directly something does not sound right. Wonder if ez air is up to date??

It's pretty much the same whether on Princess or on Delta's site. I just wonder why it's so much cheaper than using Alaska Airlines even when factoring in the companion fare.

I also don't see how to use my Alaska Airlines miles on the Delta site. It offers to let me use Sky miles but that isn't the same. I see info saying I can book with a partner airline on the Alaska Airlines site but don't see how to do that either. GAH! I think the whole thing is designed to make people crazy.

Maybe I'll just go ahead and book directly with Delta for the better rate and hope for the best. It's "supposed" to get me to Fairbanks in the early afternoon of the day my hotel reservation starts. Hopefully it will do so. Since it's more than $100 less than booking through Alaska Airlines - even factoring in the companion fare - I guess I'd be crazy not to snag the tickets at that price.

Delta is on a campaign to run Alaska out of their own territory. I guess I call this a Price War

I have not seen this but I fly year round to Alaska and Delta only flies seasonally up there

Booked it. Done. Tired of thinking about it. :rolleyes:

I don't know much about Delta

 

I also checked the Delta site directly. I see one way for two leaving at 7 AM and arriving at 2 PM (weirdly, the flight time shows as 8 hours but the difference between departure and arrival is only 7 hours -I don't get that at all...)

 

I guess I should probably grab the Delta flight but still have to wonder why it's so much cheaper.

The 8 hour flight that arrives only 7 hours later is due to the different time zone; you gain an extra hour flying from CA to AK. ;)

Stop worrying about Delta, it's fine. Airline's have different prices all the time and it's simply due to supply and demand or fare wars or whatever. It does not necessarily mean the airline is sub-par. I had a trip in December to a location that I can usually book on Delta for $300-350, maybe $500-600 if it's holiday time. Delta wanted $1250 (:eek:) and Jet Blue wanted $250. Obviously the Delta flight was selling well and that was reflected in the price. Meanwhile it was a new route for Jet Blue so they were offering great deals to get new, customers.

The 8 hour flight that arrives only 7 hours later is due to the different time zone; you gain an extra hour flying from CA to AK. ;)

 

Stop worrying about Delta, it's fine. Airline's have different prices all the time and it's simply due to supply and demand or fare wars or whatever. It does not necessarily mean the airline is sub-par. I had a trip in December to a location that I can usually book on Delta for $300-350, maybe $500-600 if it's holiday time. Delta wanted $1250 (:eek:) and Jet Blue wanted $250. Obviously the Delta flight was selling well and that was reflected in the price. Meanwhile it was a new route for Jet Blue so they were offering great deals to get new, customers.

Yeah... My wife pointed out the time difference. D'Oh! I knew that and totally spaced on it. I'm sure my flight will be fine - or as fine as any other flight. I don't fit in airplane seats well at all and have a nasty bad back. I've found that a couple of little bottles of JD half way through the flight helps a bit. ;) I used to think the drinks on airlines were horribly overpriced but realized that, compared to cruise ship prices, they aren't any worse. Now I just need to put a couple of movies on either my tablet or my phone. I have a new Droid Turbo 2 so I put a 200 GB micro SD card in it and can rip movies to it in HD. I may well just do that as it's easier to carry than a tablet and I can read on it just fine as well.

Now I just have to book a night in Vancouver and then book the train (yep, the train :)) for the return from Vancouver to home. I can hardly stand to wait for the trip to Alaska with the 6 day land tour followed by the 7 day cruise. It's especially sweet as it marks the half-way point of my final year of work. :D