Although Alaska Airlines originally started in Anchorage, it is now headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and operates from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) as one of its main hubs.
With flights to over 115 destinations and most of that traffic originating on the West Coast, Alaska Airlines is growing to be a favorite of many U.S. travelers.
From the eastern half of the country, flights with Alaska Airlines only go west, so flying with them is somewhat limited for those of us on the East Coast.
If you happen to live on the West Coast, however, Alaska Airlines can be a great option for you to travel to many locations throughout the U.S., including several flights to Alaska and Hawaii.
It has even added some flights to Mexico and Central America from the Los Angeles (LAX) and San Diego (SAN) hubs, so you can get out of the U.S. as well.
Since its network is ever-expanding, its planes are comfortable, and its service is friendly, it’s reasonable to assume that many of us will end up on an Alaska Airlines flight at some point within the next few years.
When that time comes, we want you to be ready with everything you need to know to start your trip off stress-free.
To make that happen, we’re going over all of the details of the Alaska Airlines boarding process so you can easily get ready to fly.
Alaska Airlines uses a group boarding procedure that is one of the most straightforward of all the airlines.
It starts with pre-boarding for a select group of passengers and then boards first class passengers before following with 5 lettered groups.
Alaska has streamlined its boarding pass, removing unnecessary information and increasing font size for important parts; the pass was reorganized so that finding what you need is easier to do with just a glance.
In addition to the boarding pass enhancements, Alaska Airlines added boarding information to the video monitors at the gate. As you can see above, the boarding video screen clearly shows exactly where in the boarding process the flight is.
Previously, if you walked up to the gate after boarding was started, you would need to ask other passengers which group was boarding or wait and try to hear the next announcement. This solves that in a simple and straightforward way.
The new video notifications are also great in a noisy gate area where it can be hard to hear a gate agent’s announcements.
Now that we’ve seen how easy Alaska Airlines has made it for its passengers to board by groups, let’s take a look at who is eligible for each group so you know just when to get on the plane.
Alaska Airlines states that once boarding begins, groups will board in approximately 5 minute intervals. But in practice, we aren’t sure how accurate this timing will be.
The later groups of general boarding should have many more people than the first groups. If there are only a few elite members on a flight, will they really wait 5 minutes to board Group B? We don’t think so.
So although the planned 5 minutes between groups is a nice outline, you shouldn’t go wandering off to the bathroom if you are in Group D — it may not really be another 15 minutes until you board.
When that time comes, we want you to be ready with everything you need to know to start your trip off stress-free.
In addition to the boarding pass enhancements, Alaska Airlines added boarding information to the video monitors at the gate. As you can see above, the boarding video screen clearly shows exactly where in the boarding process the flight is.
To make that happen, we’re going over all of the details of the Alaska Airlines boarding process so you can easily get ready to fly.
With flights to over 115 destinations and most of that traffic originating on the West Coast, Alaska Airlines is growing to be a favorite of many U.S. travelers.
Alaska has streamlined its boarding pass, removing unnecessary information and increasing font size for important parts; the pass was reorganized so that finding what you need is easier to do with just a glance.
FAQ
What does seat assigned at gate mean Alaska?
What does seat assignment name at gate mean?
How does seat assignment work on Alaska?
Why does Alaska have no seat assignment?