Round The World and other travel

Flight Log 3: AS494

Seattle (SEA) - San Diego (SAN)

The first class cabin consisted of three rows in 2+2 format. Although I had reserved 3A, I swapped to 2F (a little reluctantly, if truth be told) to allow a couple to sit together. The annoying thing was that they were almost certainly upgrades, while I had a genuine booking in F. The aircraft certainly looked its age, the overhead signs and other fittings almost deserving a 'vintage' tag, but the cabin seemed clean enough. I was offered some water in a plastic cup while we awaited departure. The captain gave the expected flight time as 2hrs 25mins and mentioned that the current temperature in San Diego was 70F (21C). In damp, chilly Seattle, it sounded wonderful.

We pushed back just a couple of minutes adrift of the schedule and orders were taken while still in the gate area for post-take off drinks and for lunch. A quick taxi out to 16L meant that we managed to get airborne by six minutes past the hour. As various electronic devices started to appear, I noticed that this was a wi-fi enabled aircraft: I should have had my iPhone ready in flight-safe mode! The captain announced that it was expected to be a bumpy ride for a while, so he was leaving the seat belt signs on for longer than usual. In fact, they were destined to stay on for most of the flight and as such, eventually to be widely ignored.

My post-take off drinks arrived in form of a small individual bottle of "California Champagne" and a glass of ice water, accompanied by a bag of mixed savoury snacks. The lunch tray was quite a simple affair: just a chicken curry croissant with some salad, a little pot of dressing for the salad and a chocolate-covered mint. However the most remarkable item on the tray, which I'd not previously heard about, was a prayer card bearing a quote from the bible! Apparently it's an Alaska Airlines tradition. I'll resist the temptation to comment on the appropriateness or otherwise of this practice, but will make one observation: the greater surprise for me was not that there existed in the USA an airline which liked to hand out prayer cards to its passengers, but rather that the airline in question should be based in the Pacific Northwest.

As a follow-up to lunch, I had a coffee and a second bottle of the sparkling wine, just as a further bout of turbulence ensued. When things settled down a bit, the lead flight attendant read out details of a credit card promotion over the PA system before handing out brochures. There did seem to be an impressive list of benefits attached to the card and it was pushed quite strongly. I understand that the crews earn commission on successful applications.

As of 1545, our ETA was given as a well-ahead-of-schedule 1617. Our initial approach into Lindbergh Field seemed to be from the coast, but this quickly changed as we headed towards the hills. We were soon following the same approach path that I'd taken just a few months previously, passing low over the Air & Space Museum for a 1620 touchdown, followed by the usual heavy braking. A poorly positioned fuel truck at the gate led to a short delay before we could pull forward into our final parking position.