DebraK

Hello:

My husband will start a job on the Alaskan pipeline in March. He will make several trips back and forth for the next year. What airline and airline program is the best deal? We are EVV to FAI. Which gives us Alaska Air and Northwest as carriers? Is Chicago as bad to connect thru as I have heard? That is the main connection from our small town by Alaska Air. Any input is appreciated.
Deb-Indiana

cjheck

If you don't mind my asking, who is he working for?

BP will generally fly (charter) its employees and contractors directly from Anchorage to the North Slope--if they are on the usual two week rotation.

From there, its only a hop to SEA (more common with both AS and NW) or MSP (easy on NW).

Sorry for an indirect answer--but it gives you some info.

Chugach

Go with AS. They have around 10 flights a day into FAI, and keep in mind that NW is seasonal at FAI. Options will be much greater with AS. Stockpile your miles on AS; even if he flies NW in the summer months he can credit those trips to AS and have them count toward MVP on AS.

steex

I would have to agree with Chugach. AS gives you nice year-round two-stop options (FAI-SEA/ANC-ORD-EVV), but still gives you the opporunity to earn miles on an FAI-MSP-DTW/MEM-EVV routing when the NW flight is in season.

ifette

I might be contrarian here and say go with NW as your mileage program. AS MVP Gold has a few nice benefits, namely that they pay no change fees on AS tickets, but NW will get you a lot of benefits with a lot more airlines - all of Skyteam, and you can still get upgraded on AS as a NW Gold or Plat. (And earn 100% miles on all AS flights, except the AS flights that are actually operated by American Airlines - but these are uncommon on the routes you're talking about, i.e. anything out of SEA. The AA routes are typically the flights to ORD or some of the flights to LAX.)

As a NW Gold/Plat, you are eligible for at-gate upgrades on AS. AS is rarely full in first class, so it seems to me that you would have a pretty good upgrade rate. On the other hand, as an AS MVP Gold, you would be eligible for at-gate upgrades on NW, but your upgrade percentage would suck as you're likely behind all NW elites, and F is usually filled well before the day of the flight.

So personally, I would say go with NW. Of course, your mileage may vary

DebraK

Thanks for the quick replies. My husband is a union painter and will work for a contractor on the pipe line. He has a buddy who has lived and worked on the line for 5 years. As I understand he needs to fly from EVV to Fairbanks(where the buddy lives)and then they will take the BP oil companies flight to the North Slope.

Could someone please explain the rewards system to me. If we primarily fly Alaska Air or NWA ......will can still redeem/accrue points thru either program? We have only flown short vacation type trips and I am not familiar with the ins and outs of these programs. Thanks again, deb-indiana

ifette

AS details are at http://www.alaskaair.com/mileageplan/ and NW details are at http://www.nwa.com/worldperks/

As an AS member, you can earn on a number of airlines - including NW - details at http://www.alaskaair.com/as/mileagep...rs_Airline.asp - the one nice thing about AS is that it includes American Airlines as a partner on which you can earn.

As a NW member, you can earn on a number of airlines - including AS - details at http://www.nwa.com/worldperks/earn/airfl.shtml - it's a different list, longer, but does not include American ( but includes a number of other carriers, and frankly I wouldn't miss American at all. )

If you fly "enough" (on NW, 25k miles == silver, 50k miles == gold, 75k == platinum) you gain elite status. AS also has elite status (miles depend on whether it's all AS, or AS + partners such as NW/DL/CO/AA) that's roughly MVP at 25k and MVP Gold at 50k. Elite status gets you various benefits, such as first class upgrades. As a NW elite*, you would get first class upgrades on NW, CO, and AS (* only Gold and Plat elites get upgrades on AS). As an AS elite, you would get first class upgrades on AS and NW*, but you will find availability to be next to zero for upgrades on most NW routes. (* - I think this only applies to MVP Gold members, not MVP).

Both of them let you bank up miles and redeem them for flights. AS members can redeem miles for flights on AS for slightly less (20k as opposed to 25k), but that's really not a huge deal IMHO. For flights on partners (NW/CO/DL/etc) it's 25k miles for the cheapest coach tickets, which is the same as you would get if your frequent flyer program were Northwest.

Both programs have associated credit cards that can help you earn even more miles.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions.

crunchie

I think iffette already covered the general benefits very well. One key point I'd suggest you give careful consideration to is what benefits are most useful to you. Don't get carried away by the "extras" that you'll never use. Look at what each program offers and think really hard about what you will really use enough to make it worthwhile.

ifette

One extra f in my name, but other than that @crunchie makes a great point. We can talk all day about the greatness of NWA or AS, but at the end of the day it's what fits you best and your personal travel plans.

fti

Note that when flying first class on AS (including first class award travel), unless it is an upgrade to F, you get access to Alaska Airlines boardrooms (lounges) which is a nice benefit, whether or not you credit the miles to AS or NW. But this applies only to Alaska Airlines lounges, not NW or other Skyteam lounges.

Joh.

ifette

And just for the sake of clarity, this is totally irrespective of whether you are a MileagePlan or WorldPerks member. That's for any paid first class ticket on Alaska (which really isn't that expensive at all.) I personally really enjoy flying AS. I connect to them all the time, and also fly them a lot to SEA/PDX/LAX out of SFO/SJC. I'm not trying to tell OP to prefer AS over NW flights or vice versa (but they compete on very few routes anyways)...

doglover

Based on where you live I would collect NW miles and try both NW and AS flights and choose the one he prefers for the majority of the flights. Once the year is up, the NW status earned will be easier to take advantage of for future travel.

BobH

[QUOTE=DebraK;9024980]Hello:

We are EVV to FAI. Which gives us Alaska Air and Northwest as carriers?

Have you thought about using airports in St. Louis or Indianapolis? NW has direct flights to ANC/FAI -- MSP, so it might be cost/time effective to use STL or IND.

Bob H

DebraK

Bob;
Thanks for the reply. We usually fly out of BNA or SDF....we are southern Indiana and it is only 2 - 2 1/2 hours away. But with the gas prices and the ease of just driving 15 minutes to our local airport it was about an even - steven deal.So we are going pay the extra $100 or so and fly from EVV.We used to save so much by taking a short drive. Those days are gone with oil$100 a barrel.
Thanks, Deb-indiana

Chugach

Lower 48-Alaska flights are next to impossible for MVP/Golds on AS to upgrade on, let alone elites from other carriers. While first class might be mostly empty on something like SEA-RNO, it will be sold out in advance on ORD/DEN/LAX/PDX/SEA-ANC and SEA-FAI.

In addition, being MVP/Gold ensures that when he's flying AS (which he will be doing most of the year to FAI like it or not) he will be at the top of the standby/rebooking list in case of cancellations. Having NW status won't help out much in that case.

Now, if he was originating/terminating his travels in ANC, that would be a different ballgame as NW/CO/DL all have ANC service throughout the year, in addition to AS having a major hub here. In that case, being a Skyteam Elite would probably be better than MVP Gold on AS. But AS is the only game in Fairbanks for 9 months out of the year; as a result I'd recommend partnering with the carrier that has the most options for getting in/out of town.