Alaska Airlines Consumer Reviews

SEATLE, WASHINGTON -- I bought a ticket for my mother in law from New Jersey to Fairbanks, I am in the US ARMY and I wanted her to be here to help my wife with the kids after having a surgery from a combat related injury in Afghanistan. The ticket was cheaper from NY but I wanted my mother in law to flight from home town. When she got to the airport her flight got delayed because according to them they had to get fuel for the airplane which took almost 1 hour.

She was supposed to take the second flight from Seattle to Fairbanks 1 and a half hour after arrival. Because the first flight was delayed 1 hour she lost the second flight and my wife talked to the guy at the gate and he said my mother in law had to wait 13 HOURS for the next flight because it left and left all the passengers from the first flight. My wife got upset and requested a supervisor.

After a long wait, a supervisor named ** at the Seattle airport got on the phone. I told my wife to let me talk to her because she was upset and as soon as I talked the supervisor ** told me I was not a woman and she was not talking to me, she wanted to talk to the woman who requested a supervisor. My wife took the phone and the supervisor told her she was not doing anything for us because there was not their fault the first flight got delayed and like it or not my mother in law had to wait 13 hours at the airport for the next flight.

We told her we found more flights available online and she said there was nothing she was going to do. My wife asked her name and she said ** the supervisor and she did not have a last name or a employee ID and gave the phone back to the guy at the gate and walked away. I CANNOT believe Alaska Airlines has people like that dealing with customers.

ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA -- Alaska Airlines takes no responsibility for this frequent problem. My wedding ring was stolen from the checked baggage, and their answer is that they are not liable. They gave me a $100 discount and believe that's the end of the problem. I was planning to take the bag on as carry on, but had a back spasm and decided to check it rather than have to lift it. I paid an enormous price. However, I know that baggage handling is normally done in sight of surveillance cameras, and I am sure they could do a great deal more to make this better.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- June 30th we flew "home" to Arizona, the girl at the service desk where we checked in at Sea-Tac got us checked in and asked us to have a seat at the handicapped chairs up front and she'd order wheelchairs for us as it was a long process to get to our gate. After 75 minutes I asked someone for help, everyone else who was sitting where we were, got their assistance and were wheeled to their gate within just a couple minutes... chairs were never ordered for us. There was a young lady I talked to, and SHE ordered the chairs and they were there in a couple minutes and we were whisked through the airport, then security and taken to the gate.

We were left at the gate to walk on down to the plane but it wasn't that far so we were okay. I did go over to one of the bars and order a couple kid's meals for us, didn't want to eat too heavily before the flight. The flight crew and attendants were great, even served hot cookies straight from the oven on board! But they did only come through one time with drinks (soda, water, and coffee).

Got to sit in the first row of seats behind first class and have decided if I ever have to fly again, that would be the way to go. The seats we had were very narrow and hard to comfortably sit in the three hours we were on the flight, but it had lots of leg space. Needless to say, we will be driving on our return trip to Washington, because we have decided to move there! Whatever fits in the truck and our 4 x 8 trailer, will be taken with us... we're gearing up for a HUGE yard sale!

Anyhow, back to the airlines.... when we got to Phoenix, two attendants were waiting to whisk us off to baggage claim, but were nice enough to stop at the restrooms for both of us. They gave us about 10 minutes while they took care of something else and they came right back for us. At baggage claim, the one young man waited for us to get our luggage and then he put it on a cart and walked us outside to our waiting ride and loaded it for us.

The dogs were both well received. Munchie slept through the flight again, she had her stuffed monkey to rest her head on, so she was happy. Bearbear slept for about the first hour of the flight and woke with a growl and sharp bark (must have been dreaming), and he looked like he wasn't real happy at being in his tote, so he sat on my lap and took another nap. All the attendants had to come see him.... he's very friendly, as a service dog must be, but he just sighed and laid his head on my shoulder again and went back to sleep.

All in all, it was a good flight, and all went well except when we didn't get up to the gate with enough time to get a decent meal.... I'd have preferred anything but hotdogs but they were the easiest to hold and eat.

FURIOUS IS WHAT I AM. Last night, I set three alarms to wake me up at precisely 4:00 AM for my 6:30 AM flight from San Jose Mineta Airport to Seattle/Tacoma. I woke up on time with a bit of a struggle, but regardless, I reach the airport at 5:00 AM. There was horrific traffic and slow-ass drivers who couldn't drive to save their life, hence me arriving 30 minutes later than expected.

Anyway, I get into the airport only to find it extremely jam-packed; I casually tap on a shoulder of a Caucasian woman holding her baby boy and ask her if she's checking in for the Seattle flight. She replies with obvious frustration and says that they will soon cut off the line at a certain point and declare that those who were on flight AS351 were not going to get through.

I was rather surprised and irritated that they didn't give priority to those were desperate to hop on the plane to Seattle. So, I decide to be proactive and ask the people at the counter, who apparently already got harassed by many of the pissed off people who couldn't get a seat on the plane to Seattle. I asked kindly and softly if they could just squeeze ONE person in. But boy, were they rude and curt.

My cell phone rings, and it's my dad. He's anxious to know if I made it on time. At first I was reluctant to pick it up, because I knew I was in for an earful the second the lady told me that I was going to be able to catch the 351 flight. My dad kept on yelling and lecturing the whole time I was waiting in line, and I was really stressed out. He kept pressuring me to bother the people at the counter, but people were already bombarding them with their mean comments and complaints.

After 45 minutes, he gives up and tells me to call him back when I sort things out. Afterwards, I arrived at the counter and asked yet again if she could still squeeze me in, and she gave a rude "no." I tried to ask her if she could put me on the next plane, but unfortunately, all of them were on standby or either completely booked. So, I decided to give the flight from San Jose to Portland, WA a shot. I was put on the standby list.

After she checked in my luggage, I practically sprinted to the security area, where yet ANOTHER long line formed. Then, I hustled to the C10 gate and asked the lady if she could squeeze me in. She said she did not know at that time, and that I probably would not be able to get in. I waited for another 30 minutes only to be disappointed since every single person was on that plane. Again, I approached the counter with a hopeless face set on, and the lady just booked me a fight for tomorrow night at 8:35 PM. There's Alaska/Horizon Air for you.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- August 20, 2006 - After my flight from Seattle to Dallas, I discovered that my cell phone and digital camera were missing from my luggage once it arrived in Dallas. I reported this to Alaska Air employee **. He completed a Lost Article Report and told me to call in two days to check to see if they had found it.

August 22 - Spoke with Alaska Air baggage employee **. Mr. ** told me he hadn't seen any paperwork on my loss and wasn't familiar with my claim. He doesn't know what ** may have done with it or if he sent it on. There is nothing showing a record of my claim. He also told me that Alaska Air is not responsible for stolen articles. It says so on the ticket, so there will be no settlement given me. He said that he's got no proof that I had a camera and a phone in the bag. He suggested I contact the police to file a report there as well.

August 22 - Attempted to contact Alaska Air Central Baggage Services several times but received a busy signal each time. August 22 - Sent message to Central Baggage Service via the Alaska Air website. Gave a brief description of my issue. Received an e-mail back from them saying that they are busy and it will be two weeks before they can look at my note to them. It suggests that I call rather than mess with their website messaging. It also says “for flights less than 5 days ago please contact your final destination station directly.”

August 23 - Contacted the DFW Airport police. In order to inconvenience the victim and give the thief more time to elude the law and a chance to get rid of his booty, they would not take a report over the phone. I must come into the station in person. August 23 - Sent e-mail to Seattle Baggage Department asking for their help: E-Mail to: sea.baggage@alaskaair.com.

August 23 - Called the Seattle baggage department of Alaska Air and spoke to **. She said I have to call Central Baggage Services since it's been over 24 hours. I told her that ** had told me to call him after two days. She said it didn't matter, that Central Baggage handles stolen items after 24 hours. August 23 - Attempted to call Central Baggage Services several times but only received a busy signal.

August 23 - Called and spoke to **. He asked if I had receipts for the stolen items and how much they totaled. Then he told me if it's over $500, it's got to go to Central Baggage Claim. He also said that he hasn't done anything with my paperwork since he was off yesterday. He hasn't reported this to CBS yet. He asked me to fax him my receipts and he will talk to his station manager tomorrow to see if they can take care of it here in Dallas or if it needs to go to CBS. He will call me back tomorrow after 2:00. Never called back.

August 24 - Faxed receipts, boarding pass, claim ticket and proof that I had to turn off my cell phone. August 24 -
Received a response from my e-mail to the Seattle Baggage department. They told me to call someone else. I responded that I had already called someone else who had suggested I contact them.

August 28 - Called Seattle police department to report the theft. Spoke with officer **, badge number **. He took the report and gave me reference number **. He told me that reports like this come in regularly and he's not surprised that I'm not getting any assistance from Alaska Air. They have so many thefts from luggage that they try to ignore it. He also suggested I call TSA in case they took it out to inspect and forgot to put it back in the baggage.

August 28 - Left a message for ** at Dallas Baggage. Called back later and spoke to Mr. ** again. He still doesn't know what ** may have done with the report he took. He emphasized that Alaska Air wasn't responsible for their employees stealing items from baggage. I told him that we could at least view the video from the baggage area to see who was rifling through the bags. He said I would have to take that up with Central Baggage.

August 28 - Called Seattle Alaska Air baggage department for update. They told me that this is not the right department to call, I must call Central Baggage. They did find my claim in their file so apparently ** finally completed the paperwork and turned it in. August 28 - Sent another e-mail to the Central Baggage Claim and got the same automated response that I had received the first time telling that it will be two weeks before anyone will pay attention to my e-mail.

August 28 - Called Central Baggage again. Received a recorded message telling me to contact the local baggage area if within five days. This is what I did, to no avail. The rep that answered asked for a claim number which I have never been given. She said this was logged as an item left on the plane. I corrected her and asked where this will go from here. She said I would be receiving some information in the mail. I asked what this information would tell me or do for me to retrieve my stolen property. She said that she didn't know.

I asked where this will go from here and she told me she would send this to their security office for investigation. I asked how many of these cases were resolved and she didn't know. She gave me a claim number of ** and said that I would be receiving my information in the mail. I told her I would volunteer to view the security tapes. She informed me that there are no security camera in their baggage departments. August 28 - Attempted to call Seattle TSA but there is no answer or answering machine at their number.

August 29 - Called the TSA. According to the announcement, they are currently experiencing a high number of thefts. There were 36 calls in front of mine. Completed the on-line claim form and faxed and mailed it to the appropriate address. Sent an e-mail with claim information.

August 29 - Called the local Dallas baggage area to talk to ** to ask him how my report got entered as “left on plane” and to ask if he had been able to talk to his boss and do something locally like he said he may be able to do. He wasn't at work again. I talked to Mr. ** who reinforced that they can't do anything and that I might as well accept the loss and move on. He said it's in the hands of Central Baggage at this point.

August 29 - Called Verizon to see if they can track my old phone in the case someone tries to activate it. Also asked if they could print an original receipt for the purchase of that phone. Similar to Alaska Air, they said they can't do anything in the local store and that I would need to contact their customer service department. I called the customer service number and my phone is now logged as stolen so anyone that tries to activate it will be flagged.

However, they won't do anything about it when someone tries to activate it such as report the person, retain the phone or contact me or the police with the perp's name and address. They just won't activate it for the person trying.

August 30 - Since they won't take a report over the phone, I went to the DFW police department to complete a theft report. I spoke to three individuals who all told me they would get an officer to come take my report. An officer had not shown up after 25 minutes of waiting. I had to go to work so I left without completing the theft report.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- I just returned from a Mexico trip flying on Alaska Air and I must inform you that at least two aspects of your recent drive to improve on-time departure ratings are turning into a fiasco. I flew from Seattle to Manzanillo, Mexico via Los Angeles on 13 February. The Seattle plane AK #210 landed as scheduled at 10:33 in LAX. The Manzanillo plane AK #256, the only one that day and the only one for two more days, was scheduled to leave at 11:10 am. **This is less than 40 minutes between flights on the ticket schedule.**

I and other Seattle passengers dashed to the plane and barely made it. It was chaos at the gate because they just announced boarding all rows all at once. Of course the first people on blocked the aisle for 10 minutes shoving themselves into the front seats on the plane. The plane took off about 10 minutes late. When we arrived in Manzanillo we learned that our baggage did NOT make it. We were told they did not have time to load it.

At least 8 people were left standing there with no luggage and no chance of getting it for 2 more days, when the next AK flight from LAX came in. They had no clothes, no medicines, and in my case my guitar was left behind on my 5 day trip to play it with a band in Manzanillo. I told the AK rep to leave the bag in LAX baggage office and I would get it on return.

I spoke to two flight attendants who asked to remain anonymous. They said they hate the "€œall rows boarding"€ policy, it is simply dysfunctional and slows boarding down. I saw it on all four flights I took. They said it is AK policy now to somehow improve on time departures. Let me remind you: All-rows boarding slows down departure, it does not speed it up. And, the attendants said that it is not LEGAL to have less than 40 minutes scheduled between international flights. How is this happening then?

And does on-time departure mean leaving large amounts of baggage behind?? We were on our way to a simple round-trip destination for the plane, the only flight there for 2 days, and there was no harm in simply waiting 15 minutes more to get all the bags on board. We know the extra time could be made up in flight. The pilots knew all the bags were not on board and left anyway. Was this because AK management is insisting on such behavior?

I would appreciate an answer to the following questions: Does AK Air actually have an ongoing effort to improve on time departures? Does this policy include permitting departures that leave behind luggage when the passengers are already on board, and not telling them their luggage won't make it so they don'€™t have the choice whether to fly or not? (Many people would not go if their bags can'€™t go.)

For how long has this "all rows boarding"€ policy been in effect, and what evidence do you have that it is working? It does not work. Your own staff hate it. Is it legal to schedule arrivals and departure between domestic and international flights less than 40 minutes apart? I was told by your FA that this is forbidden by the FAA. If so why did it happen?

My long-awaited vacation was seriously compromised because I did not have my instrument to play in the band I was invited to join. That was one of the best reasons for the trip. AK left my luggage behind and could not deliver it until halfway through my vacation. At least I had carried on my clothes bag, unlike the 7 other people in same situation. Please inform me if there is some consideration AK Air can give to make up for this rather amazingly bad decision making, which if my information is correct is partly due to the flights being scheduled too tightly together, against regulations.

These are all serious issues for your airline and indicate systemic concerns, especially rescheduling and gate management. I am looking forward to hearing from you in response to the questions above.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- @AlaskAir STOLE from my luggage … do NOT place anything of value in outside non-lockable pockets of your checked-in luggage.

Now they employ criminals.

ANCHORAGE -- We bought a used Cadillac for 16 K and got extended warranty. We found a document in the owner's book that indicated the car had been wrecked and had damage to frame, and that the transmission had been replaced but we were not told about this. We drove it for less than 6 months and it started using oil. I made 3 trips a week for 6 weeks to the dealer to have them check the oil; they always either said it was fine or they would add a quart and send me on my way. I asked for documentation on the repeated oil checks, and it seems they didn't log it in their computer all those times I brought it in. However, I did have my own written log for verification. Finally my husband took time off work to take it in and asked them to do a pressure check--they refused. He asked a few weeks later when it was still using oil--they refused. Finally when the extended warranty was almost up, he accused them of running a scam and they finally did a pressure check. Bingo-two toasted cylinders and a third ready to go. They replaced the engine. On run-up to test it, that engine blew a cylinder right through the engine and wiped out the fan, battery, radiator and a bunch of other stuff in the engine compartment. So they put in another engine. (If you are counting this is the third one.) To top it off, that was when GM was laying off a lot of workers, and the car was repossessed on the same day we made the monthly payment! And then they told us it was not worth anything at auction and we ended up paying 3K MORE on it. Plus we had to replace the catalytic converter at the very beginning before Alaska Sales and Service would even look at the car, and that was another thousand bucks. The trunk leaked. The trunk latch did not stay shut. The gas cap had to be opened with a stiff card as it routinely stuck. The windows didn't work properly. We will NEVER buy or drive another GM product. From now on we are Ford people.

I feel it is warranted to investigate Alaska Airlines for price gouging their Alaska markets. Fares on flights in and out of Alaska continue to go up unproportionately to fares in the lower 48. One might say that because they basically have a captive market in Alaska with very little competition, these higher fares might be based on supply and demand. However, since Alaska Airlines has also made decisions to cut back on flights in and out of the Anchorage (specifically) market, it seems like the airline is "creating" a higher demand and thus creating reason for higher fares.

High peak travel periods in and out of the state of Alaska include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring break, major holidays and the end of October and March (due to school conference breaks). This November I found it impossible to get a fare to anywhere in the lower 48 for under $1000. Flights are continuously oversold and passengers are offered very little consolation for the inconvenience of being bumped.

Recent policy changes award $250 credit for a bump ticket and yet an Alaskan resident cannot fly out of the state for anything close to that. The latest policy changes include changes to the award plan with regards to using mileage towards a 1/2 price ticket.

The new policy reads "Beginning February 1, 2010: Money & Miles Award Starting at 10,000 Miles One Way and 20,000 Miles Round Trip. Valid on itineraries with flights operated only by Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Receive up to a 50% discount on most fares. Maximum discount is $200 (USD) off of the base fare for 20,000 Miles and $100 (USD) off of the base fare for 10,000 Miles. You earn 100% of the miles flown when traveling on this award. Complimentary upgrades not allowed."

These awards state that they are to be used to receive discounts up to 50% off "most" fares and yet the maximum discount has been again lowered. There is nowhere we can go where a $200 discount is equal to anything close to a 50% discount. And all the while Alaska Airlines continues to increase rates and cut flights to Alaska markets, they also continue to expand their service and offer more flights to lower 48 cities and deeply discount those lower 48 fares.

In conclusion, I think it is more than fair to scrutinize these business practices as it has become apparent to Alaskans that we are being price gauged so that Alaska Airlines can broaden their wings of discount services outside of Alaska. A more fair business practice would be to add flights where the market demand is highest. We already pay some of the highest travel expenses in the nation, they could at least show some appreciation for our business by not raping us.

LOS ANGELES -- On June 6, 2013 my sister arrived at Alaska Counter @ about 05:20 for her flight to Mexico City and after checking in got in line at far end left where employee said we were to check in the luggage. @ 06:55 another Alaska employee said we could not board because we had no time to check bags & board. We got referred to the manager ** who said there was no compensation because we were late. I referred the lack of personnel at the gates to check in the luggage and to provide information as well as the parking ticket.

She said to call phone number for compensation @ CONSUMER NOTICES - turned out to be reservations and offered to put her on the next flight at 17:45 HRS or on the next day's flight at 08:00 HRS. She said there was no compensation for being denied boarding.

I looked up internet under involuntary Denied Boarding Comp and talked to agent in Phoenix (**) who said they only handled reservations and to go back the next day and try to explain the problem. Incidentally there were about 20+ people involved in this problem and quite a few of them took seats on the 17:35 HRS flight that day.

Next day talked with supervisor (**) and she said to call customer care. Which doesn't work on weekends. When my sister got to Mexico City, she was told she needs to pursue problem and that in Mexico they would have issued her a free ticket as compensation plus the meals she would get waiting for the next plane and the inconvenience.