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I will be flying on AS to SEA on the 7:40AM flight for a business trip on the 21st, flying CO back on the 28th on the 8:00AM flight.

Normally I would have booked on CO for both segments but it was out of my hands. How is AS in coach? I see that its $100.00 to upgrade day of flight from coach to first for AS. How is AS coach compared to CO in coach? I looked in trip reports for EWR-SEA on AS but the last trip was a couple years ago.

Any thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

I flew AS 11 back on March 1st in First Class. I have to say that I enjoyed it, hot breakfast (I believe it was an omelette with hash browns) and a snack. Free Digiplayer, I didn't particularly like the selection of movies but I'm rather picky and I get spoiled by the Live TV on B6. Personally, I would definately pay $100 to upgrade, I don't know if short flights like SEA-SFO are worth it but I definately think on a transcon it is. Especially since it will be difficult to get a good breakfast at Terminal A as it lacks alot of choices.

I think the upgrade would be worth it on a transcon. That said, I doubt there will be any availability on the day of flight. But you might get lucky.

I think that in Coach, AS is a better product than Continental. Seats are more comfortable. The only difference is that AS has moved to buy-on-board, and you have to rent the DigiPlayer if you want to watch movies. A bit of a pain, but I still prefer it to CO.

I tend to agree with the guy in reply 2.
While Continental is (by FAR) my preferred airline, their coach seats aren't particularly comfortable. Granted, I'm usually stuck in them for 7+ hours on the nonstop Anchorage-IAH 737-800 service. But still. They're... firm. Like a cardboard box... firm.

But Continental has the niceties that make my flying more enjoyable- namely, free food, and free IFE. And they just dropped the price of their headphones to $1, which makes my habit of saving them until they break even more ridiculous. AS now charges for food.

But AS has a nice leather seat.

If I were you, I'd pay to upgrade. $100 ain't much money these days anyway.

I say this as a dedicated AS FF who has flown SEA-EWR on both AS and CO (but never in F) - Continental's coach product is vastly superior. Meals are the norm and the in-flight entertainment is much better than Alaska's Dig-e-players (which cost $5 in Coach).

That being said, I love flying Alaska and I don't think you'll have any problems with their service - merely a lack of amenities.

Quoting NYC2theworld (Thread starter): I see that its $100.00 to upgrade day of flight from coach to first for AS.

The F/C product at AS has been upgraded substantially on the transcons...

I've flown AS Y numerous times within the past few years and have found their product to be relatively positive in comparison to UA, DL, US, etc. I believe they use the 737 & 738's for their transcon flights, and in that case, it should be a nice flight. They will hold exit row seating and the forward few rows until check-in, so you shouldn't have a problem securing at least a descent forward aisle seat if you have yet to do so. As for in-flight service, they do not serve a complimentary meal like CO does, but their BOB options aren't too bad, and they always have fresh hot cookies and plenty of beverage services. If its only $100 to upgrade to F, it would be well worth it.

--KLM11

Quoting NYC2theworld (Thread starter): I see that its $100.00 to upgrade day of flight from coach to first for AS.

DO IT!!! It's worth every dime. AS trans-cons are great.

I checked for you and there are no open seats in FC as shown and also there is no option to buy a seat in FC. So will some seats open up day of travel or what? Anyone?

Thanks for checking UAL. If nothing opens up 24 hours before hand, I'll have my laptop and my MP3 player and will just load up on food before I leave, though the extra leg room would have been nice. 6ft tall, while doable in coach, is not the most comfortable.