Recently I visited New York City to catch up with family and friends and since this was my first transcontinental flight after COVID, I felt like now would be a perfect time to do my trip report from the Big Apple to the Emerald City. Considering the flight towards New York was a red eye, I decided that the return trip home had more to offer in terms of describing how the trip went. I feel like Alaska has a good value when it comes to a transcontinental product. So with that being said, let’s check out Alaska’s economy transcon services.
Terminal
Terminal 7 at JFK was way better than it used to be three years ago when I last visited NYC. It used to be more dark and claustrophobic so much so that anytime I decided to fly out of NYC, I would just fly out of Newark if I flew Alaska. Otherwise, I would fly Delta out of Terminal 4 which was a much better experience.
This time, however New York and Alaska did a great job renovating the terminal since then. I was able to check in my luggage just as quickly as I did in Seattle. In addition, security was very efficient taking me 15 minutes to pass through. As for the terminal itself, there were a lot of more places to view the planes coming into the Big Apple.
I was able to catch a glimpse of an ANA 777-300ER along with a Korean Air A380, which was the first one I’ve seen since 2019. Even though the view is an improvement from the old terminal, it does not however hold a candle to the N gates at Seattle. As for the food options, there were many more options than before and I was pleasantly surprised. I’m glad that Alaska are finally investing more into JFK like how they did with Seattle.
The Flight
I was able to get an exit row with seat 17D and let me say that the legroom was amazing. I was able to stretch my legs while having enough room for my carry-on.
As for the rest of the seat itself, the hard product wasn’t updated yet just like with my flight down to San Diego. Even if it’s mainly supply chain issues, I feel like Alaska needs to have a consistent hard product throughout their fleet. Then I decided to try out the gogo app for in-flight entertainment. Even though I was able to text from the plane, unfortunately, I couldn’t get the app to stream movies on my iPad. I really wished Alaska took the ideas from Virgin America on bringing IFE systems onboard their aircraft.
Now it’s time for lunch. Unfortunately, due to turbulence from storms in the area, the cabin service had to start later than normal. But the wait was worth it. Alaska requires you to pre order your meal before the flight in order to reduce contact with passengers. So I pre ordered the Ginger Garlic Beef Wrap and it was very tasty. After that, I decided to wash it down with a cup of hot earl grey tea and some pretzels. Then about 90 minutes before landing, a second cart service was offered so I decided to have a biscotti cookie with some decaf coffee. And then we started our descent into Seattle but unlike last time, we landed from the south so we were unable to see the city of Seattle but the views were still real and spectacular. Huge shoutout to the crew because they went above and beyond to make sure that everyone was taken care of. I expect nothing less from Alaska. So now with that out of the way, what’s the final verdict on this flight?
Final Verdict
I was very satisfied with my transcon flight back to Seattle and Alaska offers really good value when it comes to a transcon product for economy as opposed to other airlines. So with my admittedly subjective “Jamscore,” here is how I would rate the flight:
Terminal
A great job by the State of New York and Alaska Airlines to update terminal 7 to a more modern offering. While there are a few improvements on how to make it less claustrophobic, I feel like now if I decide to fly out of New York on Alaska, I wouldn’t work extra hard to avoid JFK if it was my only option. (4/5)
Seat
Just like with my flight down to San Diego, the hard product was tired and out of date despite the legroom offered with exit row seating. Although I do understand why that’s the case, as I’ve said before, if Alaska wants to remain competitive, they need to refurbish their jets (3/5).
Entertainment
While I liked how you can text others while you fly, unfortunately the IFE wasn’t working on my iPad and I feel like if Alaska wants to compete in the transcon market, they need to install IFE systems on all of their planes (2/5).
Food
The food was great. My beef wrap was well prepared and presented nicely but most importantly, it was delicious and hit the spot for an afternoon flight like this. I wish Alaska would offer these lunch items on their other flights as well (5/5).
Service
The crew was impeccable. Shout out to John for going above and beyond for making sure I got enough cream and sugar for my cup of tea. He knew what he was doing and I appreciate how he and the rest of the Alaska crew worked hard to make sure the flight went smoothly (5/5).
That makes my overall score for Alaska’s New York to Seattle service a 19 out of a possible 25. But what do you guys think of Alaska’s transcon economy product? Be sure to let me know in the comments below and keep looking to the sky!
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