It Took A While, But I Finally Got To Fly Alaska Airlines
Written: Dec 08 '01 (Updated Jan 07 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great website that's easy to use. Incredible customer service. Happy employees.
Cons: Nothing worth mentioning
The Bottom Line: From start to finish Alaska Airlines was helpful, friendly, and a real pleasure to do business with.
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| StraightTalker's Full Review: Alaska Airlines |
Sure, Alaska Airlines had a tragic situation a while back when one of their planes went down due to a faultily maintained jackscrew. Since then, the planes have been gone over with a fine-toothed comb. Safest in the air, I'm willing to guess.
And with all that's gone on since September 11th, I can't imagine a safer time to fly with any U.S. airline.
I was planning a vacation to Zihuatenejo, Mexico. After looking around, I found a round trip flight on Alaska Airlines for almost $300 less than anywhere else. Cool!
I got the okay from work, made a reservation for a place to stay in Zihua, and got on the internet to make my reservation.
I was a little apprehensive, as this was my first time booking a flight over the 'net. Thanks to Alaska Airlines it couldn't have gone more smoothly. Their website is very user-friendly. It couldn't have taken me more than 10 minutes to find a flight and make a reservation. The great price was an internet special. No changes, no cancellations, no refunds. No nothin'!
Everything seemed great. The only problem was that my flight was to leave PDX on September 13, 2001. That's right. In case you didn't guess, the flight was canceled because of the cowardly terrorist attacks in New York and D.C. I won't get into how I feel about that in this review. Let me just say that my thoughts and prayers are with all those that have suffered because of this tragedy.
Anyway, I went back to the Alaska Airlines website to check the status of my flight. I had mixed thoughts about taking a vacation after everything that had happened, but felt that changing my plans would just be admitting to the cowards that they had won. Then on the evening of the 12th I saw on the website that the flight had been canceled.
I called Alaska Airlines toll-free number and, not surprisingly, I was put on hold. But only for about 10 minutes or so. Not bad, considering the volume of calls they must have been receiving. I talked to a sales rep who, within a minute or so, gave me a couple of alternative flights that she could reschedule me on. I let her know that I had to talk to my boss to see when I could reschedule my time off from work. She let me know that I needed to reschedule anytime within one year. She suggested that I may want to get a refund, but I needed to do it before September 17th. I let her know that I appreciated the offer, but I wanted to take my vacation ASAP. "No problem!" she said.
When I called back a couple of days later, once again I was put on hold. And once again, Alaska Airlines answered my called far quicker than I expected. And once again I was connected with an extremely cordial sales rep. Considering the number of calls they had to answer every day, and undoubtedly for longer than usual hours, I was impressed by the cheerfulness of the Alaska Airlines employees.
In no time at all, she was able to reschedule my flight. Her demeanor was exemplary. I got the feeling that she truly felt badly that I was unable to make my trip when I had planned and that she hoped all would go well from that point on. She asked a couple of questions to ensure that I would have proper documentation when I arrived at the airport and let me know that I would need to get to the airport at least 2 hours before my departure time.
Now it was time for my trip. I got to the airport about 15 minutes before the Alaska Airlines ticket counter opened. A few minutes later another one of the friendly Alaska Airlines employees came out and made sure everyone was in the right line. Of course, I wasn't. She directed me to the Instant Travel Machine where those of us with electronic tickets could check in. The machine was very easy to use. But, that didn't stop me! I managed to rush through and hit the wrong button when it asked if I had baggage to check.
Once again, there was an Alaska Airlines employee there to save me from myself. She cheerfully got my bag checked for me. And it was on to the gate.
The security check went very smoothly at PDX. They were organized, courteous, and efficient.
Boarding went smoothly with the help of the flight attendants who kept people moving along and helped them stow their carry-ons.
The flight took off on time. It was uneventful. The plane was clean. The flight staff was like all the other Alaska Airlines employees I'd dealt with, very professional and friendly. The inflight meal was... well, typical airline food. Nothing too good, but edible.
We landed at LAX where I transferred to my flight to Zihuatenejo. I didn't realize what a beautiful and clean airport PDX is until I walked into the dumpy, dirty LAX. There was a little confusion as to what gate the flight would be leaving from. They finally made up their mind and we took off about 45 minutes late.
For the first time I encountered Alaska Airlines employees who had room for improvement. They weren't bad, but they all seemed like they didn't really enjoy their work. They lacked the ever-present smile and cheerfulness I'd grown accustomed to.
Again, the flight was uneventful. The Alaska Airlines flight staff, a pleasure to travel with. Clean plane. Airline food.
After landing in Zihuatenejo it was FINALLY time for 9 days of total relaxation.
Wow! That was quick! It's time to head home already.
The trip back was about the same as the trip down. Great flight staff on both legs of my flight. LAX still a dump. Confusion at the gate. Took off late. The only difference was the obnoxious passenger that held up boarding at LAX. But, it was nice to know that Alaska Airlines doesn't tolerate that sort of behavior. After much arguing with the flight attendant the man finally was seated. But, the guy couldn't leave well enough alone. He just had to shoot his mouth off one more time. The flight attendant calmly said, "That's enough. Please get your bag and leave the plane." The guy started to argue again but was cut short when the attendant said "Now!" And off he went to the waiting security people.
It sure was nice to get back to PDX and their spotless, modern terminal! Well, other than the fact that it was raining and about 50º colder than sunny Mexico.Thanks to Alaska Airlines my long-awaited trip was not a disappointment. I'm already planning my next trip with Alaska Airlines. Zihuatenejo was such a beautiful city I have a feeling Alaska Airlines will be taking me down there on a regular basis!
Thanks Alaska!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
StraightTalker
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Member: Rick Jacobson
Location: Milwaukie, Oregon, USA
Reviews written: 107
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
Just hangin' out waitin' for my next trip to Mexico!
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