After an amazing trip to New York City visiting my sister and friends, I was ready to finally take a nice voyage home on Alaska Airlines from Newark. Or so I thought. This flight literally felt like a mixed bag between the long lines at security, the inability to order my meal 24 hours prior to departure, but with the excellent customer service Alaska provides made up for my biggest issues with the flight.
Terminal
To begin with, the line at security was a pain to go through. It was very disorganized with multiple switchbacks and even after you get past the security guard, it took an extra 5-10 minutes for a checkpoint. It took me about 40 minutes to get through all of that. I felt like I was lucky because there were passengers in security that were at risk to miss their flights.
After getting through security, I decided to get myself a burger because I was unable to preorder 24 hours prior to departure. While the fries were really good, the burger was ok. Next time I fly out of Newark, I'm going to order those fries but with a Firehouse Sub.
With food out of the way, I decided to do some planespotting at terminal 2 and got Bon Jovi going on my iPod (because I'm in Jersey right)! While I loved the spectacular views of all the planes taking off, the ventilation in terminal was terrible. It felt a lot like a terminal from the 90s with how warm it was. Not only that, the men's bathroom in the terminal was closed so I had to walk back to the food court again to get to the nearest restroom. The fact that this is a modern airport is a disgrace to modern aviation right now. But sooner or later, it was time to board and I couldn't wait to fly out.
The Flight
While I was happy that I got a seat in the exit row, my issues with Alaska as I previously mentioned in other trip reports still remain in that they need to update their hard product on all of their aircraft. That being said, there was ample legroom for me given that it was an exit role. It also helped that there was no one in the center seat just like on my flight to JFK.
After we took off, the inflight service began and once again, Alaska Airlines proved why they are "the best care in the air" (sorry Midwest) with their best in class customer service. The flight attendants were great in making sure we were taken care of with multiple drink services. The first one, I had an orange fizz (orange juice mixed with ginger ale) as made famous by Emirates with some pretzels.
However, the lack of an IFE system is still an issue Alaska should address. Despite this, I was prepared by bringing my earbuds and decided to stream a movie on my phone. Thankfully it worked and considering how beautiful the sunset was during my entire flight, I felt "the need for speed" and decided to watch Top Gun. Before I settled on that, I was amazed at how many choices there were to watch ranging from Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar to independent films. When I watched Top Gun, a part of me was worried that I would feel uncomfortable watching the movie on a plane when Maverick's F-14 crashes but it didn't happen.
After I finished watching Top Gun, the second drink service started and I decided to have a decaf coffee with a biscotti. It hit the spot. It's probably the closest I'll get to being like Trek Trendy drinking a cappucino in business class before he lands after a long trip (check out his YouTube channel by the way). Then after that I was treated to a beautiful night landing into Seattle to conclude the voyage home.
Verdict
Overall, this flight truly felt like a mixed bag mainly in part to how poorly run Newark was. But despite all of that, Alaska still provided great service on my voyage home. So using my admittedly subjective "Jamscore," here is how I would rate the flight:
Terminal
While the Port of New York/New Jersey and Alaska did a great job with improving terminal 7 at JFK, the same can't be said for terminal 2 at EWR. Even though there were improvements, the lack of ventilation, the long disorganized line at security and the bathroom being closed, it left a sour taste in my mouth despite the incredible views. I expected better. (2.5/5)
Seat
Despite not being Alaska's newest hard product, the ample legroom plus an empty center seat made up for this. Other than that, not much to say here. (3/5)
Food
The catering at EWR is terrible because I couldn't preorder my meal 24 hours before I leave. It isn't all Alaska's fault because even Singapore Airlines doesn't have their best in class catering at EWR. There were passengers that did get their preorder so maybe next time, I should order as early as possible when I fly out of EWR. But the second drink/meal service made up for this inconvenience. (2.5/5)
Entertainment
While I find the lack of an IFE system bothersome, the streaming on my phone worked perfectly with plenty of choices and I was glad that Top Gun was available to stream. (4/5)
Crew
Finally, the crew. Once again, they had attentive service and went the extra mile to take care of their customers. I expected nothing less here. (4.5/5)
That gives this flight an overall Jamscore of 15/25 possible stars. Overall this flight was not up to my standard despite the great customer service that Alaska provides and considering Alaska’s larger presence at JFK, it would make sense if they can mothball their operations at EWR and just focus on building their footprint at JFK. Stay tuned because I’ll be writing about this soon and keep looking to the sky!
EWR sounds like the pits!