CyclingFan

Did a search and read all of the threads. Didn't see anything recent regarding FC to / from LIH via SEA. Will be flying that this week for a vacation and wondered what the service experience is up front recently on the SEA LIH SEA run. Thanks in advance for any response.

JPat

We flew this route in F on Apr 9th. Typical AS service, FAs are nice enough, nothing remarkable.
On Apr 25th we came back in F, it is a late night flight with a bit of food but traveling east daybreak hits fast so it is a quick night....

AS Flyer

If the service is done the way it's supposed to be it is very nice. You are supposed to have a hospitality drink offering of a Mai-Tai or Pog juice prior to beginning the regular meal/beverage service. Following the "hospitality drink", we begin the pre-dinner cocktails with macadamia nuts, then it's pretty much the standard transcon meal service, though the menu has a Hawaiian flair. There should be an orchid on each tray to spruce things up a bit. When I did the flight we offered a macadamia crusted mahi-mahi and another island type dish. The ice cream sundaes had a pineapple topping with crushed macadamia nuts, whipped cream and a cherry - they looked good!!!

The return flight is a red-eye and it's a light meal. When I did it we offered a papaya slaw salad with satay chicken skewers and a Hawaiian roll. Prior to arrival we offered pastry and fruit. Not a lot of food but it's pretty late at night and just enough I think...

In both cabins we offer Longboard Lager by the Kona Brewing Company, Johnny Love's Aloha Vodka (Pineapple flavored), POG juice, Pineapple juice and Guava nectar. Meals have a Hawaiian flair and we do a complimentary Mai-Tai service after take-off on flights bound for the islands.

Honestly, I'm not sure what Jpat meant by nothing remarkable. We didn't have hula dancers or roast a pig or anything but it's designed as a very nice service with a definite Hawaiian flair. It's nicer than most other airlines to Hawaii I think.

ANC

glad to hear it. Im headed there in F in June ^

I will try to dig this thread up in a month and a half and add my 2 cents

Rifleman69

Be prepared if you're transferring to Horizon planes in Seattle from the Lihue flight...they apparently didn't transfer ANYONE's baggage this morning to their scheduled Horizon flight. We got our bags delivered to our house at 4pm, a little bit different than the 8:30 or so arrival in PDX.

Alaska should stop allowing customers to be able to be seated on 8:00 flights if the Lihue plane is going to be late, as well as the ineptness of the ground crew in getting the baggage to the correct aircraft.

ANC

as long as they dont delay luggage enroute I can deal with late luggage on the way home...thats no big deal to me. Heck sometimes I like when I have a 30 minute connection and know my bags arent going to make it home. That way I dont have to stand at the carousel. I can go home and they deliver it to me! LOL

Rifleman69

Well that would be true, considering that your luggage would be about 24 hours late if delayed on the front end.

ANC

yeah ouch !

JPat

Honestly, I'm not sure what Jpat meant by nothing remarkable. We didn't have hula dancers or roast a pig or anything but it's designed as a very nice service with a definite Hawaiian flair. It's nicer than most other airlines to Hawaii I think.[/QUOTE]

Hmmmm.. well sorry to bust your bubble but to me the AS service was not quite as sweet as either Hawaiian or American, I have traveled both in recent years.

I realize the tremendous pressure all the airlines are under with fuel costs and a recession/depression/slowdown, whatever you want to call it but my remarks stand. You did accurately describe our experience in more detail than I provided.

Frankly I think one of the biggest differences is the airplane itself. On HA and AA the cabin is not the hallway for the entire plane. The F cabin is larger in absolute terms than the metal that AS uses for ETOPS. So for us it is an experience not much different than using FC to PHX, LAX, OAK etc.

And, like so many others on Flyertalk, if you have flown F on BA, AF, VA the domestic carriers are fairly pedestrian in comparison....

ANC

I could be wrong but HA uses 767 do they not? I dont know what AA uses..Im guessung a 757 or 767. Of course they have more F room in those and Im sure you were aware of that before booking a flight on a 738 so Im not sure how this is a justified comparison

brarrr

Were you surprised that the 738 was a single aisle plane?

ANC RED-EYE

JPat - sorry you were disappointed in your HI F experience on AS.

I recently did a r/t ANC to HNL in F on AS, and in comparison to F on other AS routes, it was a step up (not to discredit AS normal F - I personally rather enjoy it). I thought the food was excellent - a little island flavor. The ice cream sundae was also very nice. Friendly service, etc. Yes, other than the Hawaiin flair in the menu, drinks, and dessert, it was similar to other F experience (as AS Flyer pointed out, no special live entertainment or anything...) My only negative comment was that I had a hard time getting the FA's attention...ever on the way down - she was busy chatting it up with other pax, but not interested in me, apparently. This was a shocking experience for me, as I am used to very attentive FA's in F generally. Also, it was funny to have a disclaimer on the return trip menu apologizing if my "choice" was not available as there was only one choice on the menu (but it was a red-eye).

Comparing AS (or ANY US carrier's) F experience to european or asian carriers is not a very realistic comparison (no one else comes even close to making that mark, so I can't imagine anyone would expect AS to and keep prices competitive). And since I knew AS didn't go buy a 757 or 767 for these routes, I was not surprised to be sharing the aisle with Y for boarding.

Happy flying...waiting for ANC-LIH and ANC-KOA!!! But for now, I can connect via the other 2 (OGG and HNL don't interest me much).

gba

I flew LAX-LIH/HNL-LAX on an AA 757 back in February (report at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=813772) and, having experienced transcon F service (but not Hawaii) on AS, I'd say that I'd probably opt for AS over the AA narrrowbody. AA does send some 767s with international business seats to the islands, in which case they'd probably get the nod, but AA 757s have a pretty out of date F section and are nothing to write home about. And I think the AS food service and digeplayers sound slightly better (AA just has overhead monitors).

Rifleman69

I would take Alaska over American to Hawaii any day of the week, even Alaska in coach vs American in first class. To each their own.

I wouldn't expect a ton of service on the flights going back from Hawaii if they're red eyes as most of the flight is sleeping after about an hour or so into the flight.

Comparing a 767 to a 757 or a 737 is just plain ludicrous. Did you not know what aircraft Alaska has before booking your ticket?

CyclingFan

Thanks to all for your responses to my original query. Just completed the trip with the return on the red eye last night. Service was fine, about par or slightly above with other domestic carriers to HI. It would be nicer if there was a larger AC in the Alaska Fleet for these long over water flights, even a 757 would be more preferable to the 738. FA's were mostly attentive through out the flight from SEA to LIH. Didn't experience much service on the red eye since I slept most of the way. My only real complaint is for AS to find a better supplier of content for the Dig E Player. I like the concept of the Dig E Player but the movies were really too old and same with the TV show offerings.

Mahalo