Alaska Air’s Bad Day – Highlights and Lowlights

Frequent travelers have likely experienced a dreaded check-in process that included a long line to visit the check-in kiosk. Even worse is finally getting to the kiosk, only to have the system freeze or crash. Alaska Airlines wants to change that by removing the check-in kiosk altogether and adding new technology.

Enter the Holland America Line “Choose Your Cruise” sweepstakes by March 31, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a seven-day Holland America Line cruise for two to the winner’s choice of Alaska, Canada and New England, the Caribbean, or Europe, including most onboard meals.

In a first for a U.S. airline loyalty program, Alaska Airlines is offering members of its Mileage Plan program the option to redeem miles to pay for TSA PreCheck service.

Alaska Airlines is justly lauded for its Mileage Plan loyalty program, which among other features boasts 17 airline partners, allowing program members to earn and redeem miles for flights throughout the world.

Until yesterday, American Airlines customers dismayed at the airline’s August 1 pivot to a spend-based mileage program had a fallback option: Earn miles for their American flights in Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program, which still awards miles the old-fashioned way, according to the distance flown.

Ever since Delta began ramping up operations in Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ hometown and main flight hub, the relationship between the two airlines has been disintegrating. And there was plenty to disintegrate. The carriers were long-time partners in each other’s frequent-flyer programs, and they code-shared on a host of flights. They were, in the industry vernacular, preferred marketing partners.

Wi-Fi access isn’t free on Alaska Airlines flights. But at least for the next year, the airline’s passengers can use inflight Wi-Fi to send and receive unlimited texts for free.

By traditional measures, Alaska Airlines is a carrier of decidedly modest size, even after its acquisition of Virgin America. Its own flight network is small, compared to those of American, Delta, and United. And it’s not a member of one of the three global airline alliances.

I recently dubbed Alaska Airlines’ loyalty program, Mileage Plan, the “Best Mileage Program for Average Travelers.” It’s a hard-won honor, awarded for two principal reasons. First, Alaska has chosen to retain Mileage Plan’s distance-based earning scheme, even as most other airlines have adopted less generous spend-based earning. And second, Alaska has cobbled together a roster of earning and redemption partners that rivals those of the world’s largest airlines.

Warren Buffet is famous for being one of the world’s savviest investors, earning billions for himself, and plenty for his stockholders as well. As chief of the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, he’s been accorded the honorary title of the Oracle of Omaha.

Last week, Alaska Airlines made two significant announcements. First, the airline will be making changes to its upgrade policies and procedures. And second, it will be rolling out a premium economy product worthy of the “premium” designation.

The world’s best this, the world’s best that. Everyone has an opinion. But those opinions only accrue real value when they’re aggregated with those of other people, and preferably other people with first-hand experience of the matter being judged.