Background/Routing
There are 3 main operators on the SFO-SAN route: AS, UA, and WN. I picked AS for their flight times and price (~$150 round trip booked 2 weeks out). AS operates 7x daily flights on this route, which is even more than what UA offers. They have two morning flights (06:00 and 07:10), I opted for the later one that is operated on mainline Alaska (B737) versus SkyWest (E-175):
Enchainement de vols
- 1AS912 - Economy - San Fransisco → San Diego - Boeing 737-800
Online Check-in
AS offers "Premium Class" for $18 on this route, which is very competitively priced compared to UA. Considering that they wanted $140 for upgrades to First Class, Premium Class bulkhead seats are an excellent value option. Doing online check-in the night before the flight, it appeared that it would be a very light load down to SAN.
SFO Experience
Based on the lounge offerings at SFO T1, there was little incentive to set my alarm any earlier and I planned on arriving at 06:00 for my 07:10 flight. After parking my car, it was a short, desolate walk over to the terminal. AS operates from Harvey Milk T1.
Passing the AS check-in desks as I make my way up to security.
I used the mezzanine level checkpoint and was airside in less than 5 minutes.
No shortages of artwork throughout the terminals of SFO.
After grabbing a coffee, it was a short walk down to the gate.
We would be leaving from Gate B12 this morning, and the light load is also reflected with the few people sitting in the gate area.
Our plane down to SAN this morning will be N534AS, a 14 year-old B737-800 with the older F12 Y150 configuration.
Post renovations, Harvey Milk T1 is very nice with a good diversity of seating arrangements and original artwork.
There are also several museum areas throughout, this one was Chinese Woven Baskets.
Boarding
Boarding was called on time at 06:30 with AS' unique lettered boarding groups. I would board in Group B, which is actually the 4th or 5th group to be called.
One nice personal touch on AS is that the gate agents will greet you by name as they scan your boarding pass. Reaching the plane, the new Atmos stickers are already applied. A friendly good morning from the 2 FAs in the galley as I turn right into the cabin.
The F cabin, which would go out with only a 4/12 load, highly rare for US domestic flights, but indicative of the very few AS elites on this non hub-to-hub route.
The Y cabin.
Seat Tour
My seat for this flight (on arrival). They feature fully adjustable headrests and decent padding.
Due to the transition between F/Y, the under seat space is a little bit less spacious.
Seat pitch is royal with the bulkheads removed and better than that up front.
The only negative of this row is that there are only 2 ports (USB-A and 110V universal outlet) for the 3 seats and they are placed on the back of the F cabin's console so very difficult to reach.
My seat pocket is on the side of the seat.
Seat back contents and the BOB menu details.
These cabins used to have physical bulkheads, so the seats retain the airbag seat belts.
The view from my seat on this foggy morning.
Very nostalgic, the captain came out and did his remarks before the front door closed.
The mood lighting turns on as we await push back.
Push Back and Taxi
The front door closed at 07:02, and we started our push back at 07:04 as the crew did a manual safety demonstration.
The AS B739 in UNCF special livery leaving for MCO ahead of us. Probably one of the best special liveries out there.
DL B763 taxing by.
UA A319 taxing by.
UA B772 taxing by.
Plenty of traffic waiting to take off from 1L/R.
Take-off from SFO
We eventually had the very short taxi to align on Runway 1L.
Rotating and crossing over 28L/R as we make our way up and over the bay.
Punching through the marine layer.
Making our sharp u-tun to start the trek south over the marine layer.
The rim of mountains forming a horseshoe around the fog filled bay.
In-Flight Service
As we level off, the crew closed the ceremonial mesh curtain.
As a formal bulkhead seat, the tray table deploys from the armrest as a standard bifold design. It is very wobbly and didn't handle the weight of a laptop well.
The cart started from the back of the cabin and took some time to reach me. I was handed some snacks and offered drinks. While alcohol is complimentary for Premium Class, it will just be a coffee.
AS' fleet has Wi-Fi and is easily accessed. Their offering is definitely more basic than their competitors. Having flown DL and UA a lot domestically this year, I find AS' app and streaming service to be less advanced, that said there are at least a decent selection of movies/shows, through the navigation is not intuitive to find specific content. Wi-Fi is $8, which is on par with UA, but not free like DL.
There is also a "moving" map, but since this is as far as it zooms in, it is very useless.
Views over central California as I sip my coffee.
It is a very short flight and we were soon crossing over the San Fernando Valley as we made our way into LA.
Downtown LA with Dodger Stadium.
A hazy morning over LA.
Flying over LGB…
…then SNA.
Following the coast south.
Turning inland over La Jolla.
Aerial of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar.
Making our u-turn over eastern San Diego and saying good morning to Kevin.
Landing into SAN
Starting our short final into SAN over the I-805.
Plenty of Navy ships in the dock today including a trio of carriers.
Downtown San Diego.
Almost there.
We touch down on Runway 27 at 08:25, almost 30 minutes early.
We taxi off the runway and join a queue of planes awaiting gates. Since we arrived so early, the pilot came on and said that we would need to wait 10-15 minutes for our gate to clear.
AS E-175.
WN's expansive operations at T1.
We pull in next to our brethren.
We arrived on stand at 08:45, 20 minutes after landing. It turns out that this E-175, N404SY, heading to AUS would be the one taking me back to SFO.
A warm goodbye from what was a quite friendly crew.
SAN Experience
And welcome to the 1990s as you step off the plane.
It will be quick out to the exit.
Down into the baggage claim and out the doors.
I can admire Kevin's favorite palm trees as I await my ride.
I'll leave off this series as I start my stay in San Diego.
Flight Information
Alaska Airlines, AS912
Equipment: Boeing B737-800 [N534AS, delivered January 2011]
Departure: 07:10 (ATD: 07:16)
Arrival: 08:52 (ATA: 08:25)
Flight time: 1:09
