Alaska Has Started Integrating Virgin America

wedgetail737 · Sun Jan 15, 2017 7:44 am

Hi there! I noticed tonight that AS has already began integrating VX by moving them from the B-Concourse to the D-Concourse (gates D4 and D5) at SEA. At LAX, it's not too integrated for obvious reasons. But they do have a shuttle between T3 and T6 to link the two airlines inside the secured area. I wonder that when DL moves to T2/T3, will AS (assuming VX is already absorbed by then) will move to T5.

And what about SFO? Is there anything there for connecting between AS and VX?

PlanesNTrains · Sun Jan 15, 2017 7:52 am

I'm surprised AS has already moved them to D in SEA. I'd think they'd want to squat on those B gates for awhile to keep DL from growing, but perhaps this was all pre-negotiated with the airport authority before?

theSFOspotter · Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:09 am

AS is still in the A and VX in T2. No connection I'm pretty sure

SFOtoORD · Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:13 am

PlanesNTrains wrote:
I'm surprised AS has already moved them to D in SEA. I'd think they'd want to squat on those B gates for awhile to keep DL from growing, but perhaps this was all pre-negotiated with the airport authority before?

It's only 6 or 7 flights per day on what looks like a CUTE gate. It's something someone else could use, but nothing major.

QXAS · Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:51 am

wedgetail737 wrote:
I wonder that when DL moves to T2/T3, will AS (assuming VX is already absorbed by then) will move to T5.

Wouldn't AS remain at T6 and the used to be Virgin America operations joint the AS operations at T6? It would make more sense than AS moving its whole setup to another terminal.

chrisair · Sun Jan 15, 2017 9:03 am

theSFOspotter wrote:
AS is still in the A and VX in T2. No connection I'm pretty sure

No airside connection in SFO yet. Supposedly one is coming...sometime.

PlanesNTrains wrote:
I'm surprised AS has already moved them to D in SEA. I'd think they'd want to squat on those B gates for awhile to keep DL from growing, but perhaps this was all pre-negotiated with the airport authority before?

When I was at SEA last week, there was a VX flight stuck down at A16. Makes sense they're bringing them closer to Father Chester.

ericm2031 · Sun Jan 15, 2017 9:18 am

AS needs to get out of the international terminal on SFO before any connection would happen, so probably nothing until T1 is finished

SANFan · Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:06 pm

I'm expecting AAG in SAN will soon move VX into T1W, where AS currently resides, using up to 7 of the 8 gates there.

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if F9 is relocated from T1W (Gate 12) to Virgin's current location in T2W, giving AAG all 8 gates in T1W. They don't really need 8 gates yet but if growth here continues -- as I hope and expect it to -- the Company will want, and need, all the gates they can get! (The new T1 is years away...)

bb

ty97 · Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:17 pm

QXAS wrote:
wedgetail737 wrote:
I wonder that when DL moves to T2/T3, will AS (assuming VX is already absorbed by then) will move to T5.

Wouldn't AS remain at T6 and the used to be Virgin America operations joint the AS operations at T6? It would make more sense than AS moving its whole setup to another terminal.

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

HeeseokKoo · Sun Jan 15, 2017 4:37 pm

I thought SFO T2 is adding 15th gate and that would squeeze at least half of AS flights. But I don't know if the project is going on or not.

viewtopic.php?t=1341187
http://media.flysfo.com/media/sfo/Desig ... -07-16.pdf

chrisair · Sun Jan 15, 2017 6:46 pm

SANFan wrote:
I'm expecting AAG in SAN will soon move VX into T1W, where AS currently resides, using up to 7 of the 8 gates there.

Ugh. I purposely book VX out of SAN to avoid T1...

wedgetail737 · Sun Jan 15, 2017 7:01 pm

ty97 wrote:
QXAS wrote:
wedgetail737 wrote:
I wonder that when DL moves to T2/T3, will AS (assuming VX is already absorbed by then) will move to T5.

Wouldn't AS remain at T6 and the used to be Virgin America operations joint the AS operations at T6? It would make more sense than AS moving its whole setup to another terminal.

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

Oh...ok. AS would have pretty much all of T6 to itself, except for Great Lakes, Mokulele and Copa.

Sooner787 · Sun Jan 15, 2017 7:37 pm

Any word on whether AS/VX will keep the 2 gates at DAL?

ty97 · Sun Jan 15, 2017 8:39 pm

wedgetail737 wrote:
ty97 wrote:
QXAS wrote:
Wouldn't AS remain at T6 and the used to be Virgin America operations joint the AS operations at T6? It would make more sense than AS moving its whole setup to another terminal.

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

Oh...ok. AS would have pretty much all of T6 to itself, except for Great Lakes, Mokulele and Copa.

T6 will reportedly gain a few other airlines too (AC, EI, a couple of others). Not sure how locked down all of this is.

atypical · Sun Jan 15, 2017 9:28 pm

ericm2031 wrote:
AS needs to get out of the international terminal on SFO before any connection would happen, so probably nothing until T1 is finished

That's around 2022 just to get back the number of B gates demolished and 2024 for the remainder. I think they will integrate long before then.

HeeseokKoo wrote:
I thought SFO T2 is adding 15th gate and that would squeeze at least half of AS flights. But I don't know if the project is going on or not.

viewtopic.php?t=1341187
http://media.flysfo.com/media/sfo/Desig ... -07-16.pdf

That's a 5 year plan. To squeeze another gate out is going to require at least 1 gate to be modified (unless it is on the terminal building itself) so it would need to be closed during construction. That won't probably happen at least until the first new B gates open and they can somewhat relieve the pressure. Doing this anytime soon (assuming a gate closure in the interim) would cause worse disruptions. I also think AS has a couple periods where they have AC at 3 gates. 16 flights a day around a 14 hour period is two gates easy and is too tight at VX gates for all flights to remain. Some will be dropped and some rebanked.

N292UX · Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:50 am

Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

ty97 · Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:13 am

N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

I don't believe anything has been announced either way regarding the future of the VX fleet (most of which is leased I believe).

EA CO AS · Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:35 am

N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

cschleic · Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:58 am

HeeseokKoo wrote:
I thought SFO T2 is adding 15th gate and that would squeeze at least half of AS flights. But I don't know if the project is going on or not.

viewtopic.php?t=1341187
http://media.flysfo.com/media/sfo/Desig ... -07-16.pdf

Notice that page 13 of the presentation indicates a possible outdoor observation area in the central terminal changes. That would be wonderful.

blacksoviet · Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:16 am

ty97 wrote:
QXAS wrote:
wedgetail737 wrote:
I wonder that when DL moves to T2/T3, will AS (assuming VX is already absorbed by then) will move to T5.

Wouldn't AS remain at T6 and the used to be Virgin America operations joint the AS operations at T6? It would make more sense than AS moving its whole setup to another terminal.

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

Will UA ever get any of the gates in T6 back? Right now, UA needs 1-2 additional mainline gates at LAX. Aircraft are being held for too long. T7 doesn't have enough gates. Why did UA give up all of their CO gates?

blacksoviet · Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:18 am

EA CO AS wrote:
N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

Are the A320s older than the 734s?

blacksoviet · Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:32 am

atypical wrote:
ericm2031 wrote:
AS needs to get out of the international terminal on SFO before any connection would happen, so probably nothing until T1 is finished

That's around 2022 just to get back the number of B gates demolished and 2024 for the remainder. I think they will integrate long before then.

HeeseokKoo wrote:
I thought SFO T2 is adding 15th gate and that would squeeze at least half of AS flights. But I don't know if the project is going on or not.

viewtopic.php?t=1341187
http://media.flysfo.com/media/sfo/Desig ... -07-16.pdf

That's a 5 year plan. To squeeze another gate out is going to require at least 1 gate to be modified (unless it is on the terminal building itself) so it would need to be closed during construction. That won't probably happen at least until the first new B gates open and they can somewhat relieve the pressure. Doing this anytime soon (assuming a gate closure in the interim) would cause worse disruptions. I also think AS has a couple periods where they have AC at 3 gates. 16 flights a day around a 14 hour period is two gates easy and is too tight at VX gates for all flights to remain. Some will be dropped and some rebanked.

What replaced the Concourse B gates that have already been demolished? What will replace the rest of the B gates currently being used by WN?

PlanesNTrains · Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:41 am

blacksoviet wrote:
EA CO AS wrote:
N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

Are the A320s older than the 734s?

I cannot image that they are. Alaska is actively retiring the -400's from service.

EA CO AS · Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:14 am

blacksoviet wrote:
EA CO AS wrote:
N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

Are the A320s older than the 734s?

No. Since their launch in 2007, VX has only leased new Airbus equipment, to my knowledge.

anonms · Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:51 am

blacksoviet wrote:
What replaced the Concourse B gates that have already been demolished? What will replace the rest of the B gates currently being used by WN?

The already-demolished gates haven't been replaced; airlines have been displaced mostly to IT-A (US was moved to T1C). Once the new T1B has been built and the gates on the eastern side are activated, then the old T1B currently being used by WN will be torn down so that the western side of the new concourse can be finished.

blacksoviet · Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:54 am

anonms wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
What replaced the Concourse B gates that have already been demolished? What will replace the rest of the B gates currently being used by WN?

The already-demolished gates haven't been replaced; airlines have been displaced mostly to IT-A (US was moved to T1C). Once the new T1B has been built and the gates on the eastern side are activated, then the old T1B currently being used by WN will be torn down so that the western side of the new concourse can be finished.

So does this mean that the old T1 headhouse will stay? How will passengers get to the new T1B before the old T1B gets torn down? Will the new T1B be operated as a remote concourse?

Skycondition · Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:41 am

EA CO AS wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
EA CO AS wrote:

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

Are the A320s older than the 734s?

No. Since their launch in 2007, VX has only leased new Airbus equipment, to my knowledge.

Not quite.

Four are used from Jazeera Airways (tails 639, 640, 641 and 642. Fun fact: The exit window placards still show arabic instructions.

In addition, tails 521 and 522 (A319's) and tail 623 (A320) were subleased to Skybus and TAM before VX got their wings.

The average fleet age is 6.8 years. The 319's average 9.3 and the 320's average 6.4 years.

EA CO AS · Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:39 pm

Skycondition wrote:
EA CO AS wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
Are the A320s older than the 734s?

No. Since their launch in 2007, VX has only leased new Airbus equipment, to my knowledge.

Not quite.

Four are used from Jazeera Airways (tails 639, 640, 641 and 642. Fun fact: The exit window placards still show arabic instructions.

In addition, tails 521 and 522 (A319's) and tail 623 (A320) were subleased to Skybus and TAM before VX got their wings.

The average fleet age is 6.8 years. The 319's average 9.3 and the 320's average 6.4 years.

Interesting - thanks for the knowledge drop!

As to the original point however, they're noticeably younger than any B737-400 in the AS fleet.

ty97 · Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:20 pm

blacksoviet wrote:
ty97 wrote:
QXAS wrote:
Wouldn't AS remain at T6 and the used to be Virgin America operations joint the AS operations at T6? It would make more sense than AS moving its whole setup to another terminal.

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

Will UA ever get any of the gates in T6 back? Right now, UA needs 1-2 additional mainline gates at LAX. Aircraft are being held for too long. T7 doesn't have enough gates. Why did UA give up all of their CO gates?

My understanding was that UA had subleased the T6 gates to AA but did not give them up formally. However, the huge terminal move going on right now appears to involve a completely new set of gate lease agreements with LAWA. Not sure if UA is in that discussion at all but my gut (which is sometimes wrong) says that UA is out of T6 for good.

WA707atMSP · Mon Jan 16, 2017 3:00 pm

ty97 wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
ty97 wrote:

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

Will UA ever get any of the gates in T6 back? Right now, UA needs 1-2 additional mainline gates at LAX. Aircraft are being held for too long. T7 doesn't have enough gates. Why did UA give up all of their CO gates?

My understanding was that UA had subleased the T6 gates to AA but did not give them up formally. However, the huge terminal move going on right now appears to involve a completely new set of gate lease agreements with LAWA. Not sure if UA is in that discussion at all but my gut (which is sometimes wrong) says that UA is out of T6 for good.

Several years ago, UA and AA did a gate swap, where UA gave AA the 4 ex-CO gates at LAX in exchange for two of AA's L-US gates at ORD. UA's then-management felt that two more gates at ORD were worth more than four gates at LAX.

SFOtoORD · Mon Jan 16, 2017 3:30 pm

ty97 wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
ty97 wrote:

Yes, this is the plan at LAX, announced by LAWA last year as part of the much larger series of moves that will result in Delta taking over T2/T3. The first domino in those moves will be AA moving its 4 T6 gates to T5 late this month.

Will UA ever get any of the gates in T6 back? Right now, UA needs 1-2 additional mainline gates at LAX. Aircraft are being held for too long. T7 doesn't have enough gates. Why did UA give up all of their CO gates?

My understanding was that UA had subleased the T6 gates to AA but did not give them up formally. However, the huge terminal move going on right now appears to involve a completely new set of gate lease agreements with LAWA. Not sure if UA is in that discussion at all but my gut (which is sometimes wrong) says that UA is out of T6 for good.

IIRC UAs lease on the T6 gates ended at the same time their sublease to AA ended which basically means UA won't be taking them back.

NameOmitted · Fri Jul 07, 2017 10:04 pm

AS is releasing photos of their new SEA lounge in for Concourse C. The article is a bunch of publicity stills, but what made it worth sharing was, as the author points out, there is absolutely no attempt to integrate anything VX into this space. Given that this is a flagship space, and given that we are still doing a certain amount of tea-leaf reading as to the merger, that makes this worth sharing.

https://loungereview.com/first-look-alaska-lounge-seattle-tacoma-airport-concourse-c/

ldvaviation · Fri Jul 07, 2017 10:19 pm

SFOtoORD wrote:
ty97 wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
Will UA ever get any of the gates in T6 back? Right now, UA needs 1-2 additional mainline gates at LAX. Aircraft are being held for too long. T7 doesn't have enough gates. Why did UA give up all of their CO gates?

My understanding was that UA had subleased the T6 gates to AA but did not give them up formally. However, the huge terminal move going on right now appears to involve a completely new set of gate lease agreements with LAWA. Not sure if UA is in that discussion at all but my gut (which is sometimes wrong) says that UA is out of T6 for good.

IIRC UAs lease on the T6 gates ended at the same time their sublease to AA ended which basically means UA won't be taking them back.

Technically, the AA sublease never ended. LAWA bought out the remainder of the United lease. LAWA negotiated a new lease with AA, replacing the previous sublease and swapping the T6 gates for T5 gates.

wedgetail737 · Fri Jul 07, 2017 11:24 pm

NameOmitted wrote:
AS is releasing photos of their new SEA lounge in for Concourse C. The article is a bunch of publicity stills, but what made it worth sharing was, as the author points out, there is absolutely no attempt to integrate anything VX into this space. Given that this is a flagship space, and given that we are still doing a certain amount of tea-leaf reading as to the merger, that makes this worth sharing.

https://loungereview.com/first-look-alaska-lounge-seattle-tacoma-airport-concourse-c/

First of all, why would AS include VX aspects in their lounge at Concourse C. VX operates out of Concourse D. Secondly, SEA has always been primarily AS. VX has hardly an existence at SEA...even with upcoming service to DAL. Lastly, VX will be fully integrated in to AS by 2019, at which there will no longer be a VX brand.

DocLightning · Fri Jul 07, 2017 11:59 pm

EA CO AS wrote:
N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

AS really needs the lift. Certainly, they could obtain one-for-one 738 replacements for the A320s but at what cost? Even if the airframes can be had inexpensively or be traded one-for-one for the A320, it still costs money to rebrand the interiors, update all the maintenance stuff, bring them up to AS fleet standard, etc.

Given that VX already has an A320 maintenance program and a fleet of 65+ frames now, there's already an economy of scale to continue to operate that fleet. In the long term, AS will probably want to settle back into a single supplier, but the A320s are young, they are efficient, they are popular with passengers, and they're perfectly good.

usxguy · Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:19 am

I'm trying to figure out what parts of the VX lounge you want AS to keep? The one where you have to pay per entry? The one where you *must* be in revenue first class, but only on transcontinental routes, to enter?

The one where you have to pay for each and every alcoholic drink?

The one with miniscule food offerings?

The one with dirty bathrooms from the 1970s?

The one with super slow wifi?

*user scratches head*

*disclaimer: I'm an Alaska Lounge member & Gold 75k, and have flown VX a handful of times - then went right back to AA for my transcons.

EA CO AS · Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:26 am

NameOmitted wrote:
AS is releasing photos of their new SEA lounge in for Concourse C. The article is a bunch of publicity stills, but what made it worth sharing was, as the author points out, there is absolutely no attempt to integrate anything VX into this space.

Which is intentional, since the VX brand won't be surviving.

EA CO AS · Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:30 am

DocLightning wrote:
EA CO AS wrote:
N292UX wrote:
Will AS be inheriting VX's A320s?

Yes, but it remains to be seen if they will be kept in the long term.

AS really needs the lift. Certainly, they could obtain one-for-one 738 replacements for the A320s but at what cost? Even if the airframes can be had inexpensively or be traded one-for-one for the A320, it still costs money to rebrand the interiors, update all the maintenance stuff, bring them up to AS fleet standard, etc.

Given that VX already has an A320 maintenance program and a fleet of 65+ frames now, there's already an economy of scale to continue to operate that fleet. In the long term, AS will probably want to settle back into a single supplier, but the A320s are young, they are efficient, they are popular with passengers, and they're perfectly good.

The Airbus fleet will be around for awhile; the business case was just approved to go forward with retrofitting each VX aircraft to the new cabin interiors for AS, including seatback power at all seats, new FC seats with footrests, cabin dividers, and yes, mood lighting. But this is largely because AS wants a unified brand experience while the Airbus fleet is evaluated, and the leases still have many years on them, so it makes financial sense to do it.

PlanesNTrains · Sat Jul 08, 2017 12:45 am

Any idea when we'll see the first "Alaska" Airbus? In other words, a VX repaint?

klkla · Sat Jul 08, 2017 1:39 am

DocLightning wrote:
Even if the airframes can be had inexpensively or be traded one-for-one for the A320, it still costs money to rebrand the interiors, update all the maintenance stuff, bring them up to AS fleet standard, etc.

You mean down to AS fleet standard, don't you? I have nothing against AS but the VX fleet standard is by far superior.

SFOtoORD · Sat Jul 08, 2017 1:42 am

EA CO AS wrote:
NameOmitted wrote:
AS is releasing photos of their new SEA lounge in for Concourse C. The article is a bunch of publicity stills, but what made it worth sharing was, as the author points out, there is absolutely no attempt to integrate anything VX into this space.

Which is intentional, since the VX brand won't be surviving.

That wasn't his point and you knew that. AS has tried to portray that they'll bring some of the best of VX to AS, but that clearly isn't the case and brings strange joy to many AS proponents.

EA CO AS · Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:47 am

SFOtoORD wrote:
EA CO AS wrote:
NameOmitted wrote:
AS is releasing photos of their new SEA lounge in for Concourse C. The article is a bunch of publicity stills, but what made it worth sharing was, as the author points out, there is absolutely no attempt to integrate anything VX into this space.

Which is intentional, since the VX brand won't be surviving.

That wasn't his point and you knew that. AS has tried to portray that they'll bring some of the best of VX to AS, but that clearly isn't the case and brings strange joy to many AS proponents.

Stop, just stop. AS has actually incorporated quite a bit of VX flair into their branding, including the Lounge spaces; take a look at the D concourse Lounge vs. the new location on C, or even C vs. the T6 Lounge at LAX and you can easily see the influences.

I can't help it if you're upset that there isn a hint of red or purple; there won't be, since those aren't part of Alaska's color palette.

usxguy · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:09 am

I guess Alaska should bring in:

-> Seatback IFE that doesn't always work
-> Seats that seem to have a high failure rate
-> 100% Buy on Board
-> Changing Premium Cabin to mirror Virgin - only a few select rows and are typically 50% to 100% more than the cost of a Y ticket
-> Charge for each and every movie you want to watch
-> Reduce the size of the galley space so FAs barely have room to breathe
-> Reduce the size of the lavatories so the passengers can't even do a #2

did I forget anything?

hiflyeras · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:17 am

usxguy wrote:
I guess Alaska should bring in:

-> Seatback IFE that doesn't always work
-> Seats that seem to have a high failure rate
-> 100% Buy on Board
-> Changing Premium Cabin to mirror Virgin - only a few select rows and are typically 50% to 100% more than the cost of a Y ticket
-> Charge for each and every movie you want to watch
-> Reduce the size of the galley space so FAs barely have room to breathe
-> Reduce the size of the lavatories so the passengers can't even do a #2

did I forget anything?

LOL love it! And grumpy FA's from having to answer the seatback ordering system instead of a cart service. Praying that AS does not adopt this system.

usxguy · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:31 am

VX had a GREAT product 7 years ago. *7 years* that's allowed other airlines to meet the VX product, or beat it.

The VX employee pages are full of a lot of complaints - and have been for the past 3 years. That's nothing Alaska can fix until VX is gone, unfortunately. Including the bad VX apples in mgt that caused a lot of the discourse.

Alaska is NO Singapore/Emirates, but they're certainly not the "ValuJet" some portray it to be. I thought the C club was very well done, I like the "newness" of it and I do thank VX for that - Alaska has been more ballsy and open with marketing & trends than before. Seems like yesterday everyone was complaining about the lack of prayer cards in F.... And I'll gladly take AS 41" seat pitch in F over DL/AA/UA anyday. That's a lot more roomier, add in foot rests and its on a touch above AA (which I think has the best F seat in a 737 for domestic)

SFOtoORD · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:35 am

I've never seen a group of fliers get as weirdly defensive and self righteous as the AS people on the topic of VX.

JayWings · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:42 am

hiflyeras wrote:
usxguy wrote:
I guess Alaska should bring in:

-> Seatback IFE that doesn't always work
-> Seats that seem to have a high failure rate
-> 100% Buy on Board
-> Changing Premium Cabin to mirror Virgin - only a few select rows and are typically 50% to 100% more than the cost of a Y ticket
-> Charge for each and every movie you want to watch
-> Reduce the size of the galley space so FAs barely have room to breathe
-> Reduce the size of the lavatories so the passengers can't even do a #2

did I forget anything?

LOL love it! And grumpy FA's from having to answer the seatback ordering system instead of a cart service. Praying that AS does not adopt this system.

That makes two of us... rumor is they are looking for ways but I hope not!

EA CO AS · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:46 am

JayWings wrote:
hiflyeras wrote:
usxguy wrote:
I guess Alaska should bring in:

-> Seatback IFE that doesn't always work
-> Seats that seem to have a high failure rate
-> 100% Buy on Board
-> Changing Premium Cabin to mirror Virgin - only a few select rows and are typically 50% to 100% more than the cost of a Y ticket
-> Charge for each and every movie you want to watch
-> Reduce the size of the galley space so FAs barely have room to breathe
-> Reduce the size of the lavatories so the passengers can't even do a #2

did I forget anything?

LOL love it! And grumpy FA's from having to answer the seatback ordering system instead of a cart service. Praying that AS does not adopt this system.

That makes two of us... rumor is they are looking for ways but I hope not!

There's probably room for a little of both; one or two (depending on the length of the flight) standard cart runs, followed by on-demand ordering for the remainder of the flight via the alaskaair.com app.

grbauc · Sat Jul 08, 2017 3:55 am

wedgetail737 wrote:
NameOmitted wrote:
AS is releasing photos of their new SEA lounge in for Concourse C. The article is a bunch of publicity stills, but what made it worth sharing was, as the author points out, there is absolutely no attempt to integrate anything VX into this space. Given that this is a flagship space, and given that we are still doing a certain amount of tea-leaf reading as to the merger, that makes this worth sharing.

https://loungereview.com/first-look-alaska-lounge-seattle-tacoma-airport-concourse-c/

First of all, why would AS include VX aspects in their lounge at Concourse C. VX operates out of Concourse D. Secondly, SEA has always been primarily AS. VX has hardly an existence at SEA...even with upcoming service to DAL. Lastly, VX will be fully integrated in to AS by 2019, at which there will no longer be a VX brand.

True but There is still the question of what and if any are they keeping of the VX merger. I like the VX modern vibe not sure how they could of done something from VX in the AS Sea Hub lounge but its really going to just Disappear VX all together with only a Plane painted in memory ala PSA or TWA left over from them.

grbauc · Sat Jul 08, 2017 4:07 am

usxguy wrote:
VX had a GREAT product 7 years ago. *7 years* that's allowed other airlines to meet the VX product, or beat it.

The VX employee pages are full of a lot of complaints - and have been for the past 3 years. That's nothing Alaska can fix until VX is gone, unfortunately. Including the bad VX apples in mgt that caused a lot of the discourse.

Alaska is NO Singapore/Emirates, but they're certainly not the "ValuJet" some portray it to be. I thought the C club was very well done, I like the "newness" of it and I do thank VX for that - Alaska has been more ballsy and open with marketing & trends than before. Seems like yesterday everyone was complaining about the lack of prayer cards in F.... And I'll gladly take AS 41" seat pitch in F over DL/AA/UA anyday. That's a lot more roomier, add in foot rests and its on a touch above AA (which I think has the best F seat in a 737 for domestic)

and I personally don't think he meant by linking the Article malice but from a outsider view point I wonder if they will add a Red white strip on all everything.

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