It’s time for another “day in the life of a travel blogger” story, where I’ll share about a very quick trip to Seattle for the global livery reveal for Alaska Airlines.
My Trip To Seattle For Alaska Airlines Livery Reveal
With so many obligations and only 24 hours in a day, I have to be judicious in the invitations that I accept, but when Alaska Airlines invited me to Seattle for their special livery reveal, I accepted…I’m very excited about what Alaska Airlines is doing as a carrier, both in terms of loyalty and network.
On Tuesday, I worked all day before taking an evening flight to Seattle, a 737 MAX 9 where I enjoyed a cheeseburger (the subject of a future Meal of the Week post).
I slept at the Aloft near SeaTac (there is no Hyatt Place near SeaTac and I did not want to stay at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington this trip since I arrived so late).
Next morning, I woke up early, worked out, and worked until about 8:45 am then Ubered over to the Boeing Test & Delivery Center, where a reception was held prior to the main event…Boeing put on a nice spread.
At around 10:00 am, we were transported by shuttle to an aircraft hangar, where the program shortly began, with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg delivering remarks, followed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, followed by Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. A signing ceremony with Boeing and Alaska followed and folks (a mix of Alaska and Boeing employees, local leaders, and media) were invited to view the new livery up close, though we were not permitted onboard the aircraft (but you can see my pictures from onboard the aircraft here).
Clarifying Conversations
I had conversations with Duffy and Minicucci along with several senior Alaska Airlines leaders. The biggest takeaway is that Minicucci confirmed that Alaska Airlines would install a true premium economy product, though details are scarce. “Premium” class (extra legroom cconomy) will stick around even after premium economy class is installed. The specific seat and number of seats has not yet been decided, but I was told that Alaska recognizes this is a “high-performing” cabin and is bullish about its introductions.
Even more important for me, I do think that Alaska Airlines understands loyalty. The Atmos Rewards program is far from perfect, but it’s a very solid program on both the earning and redemption side and Alaska property realizes that keeping that program valuable is key to its global growth ambitions.
After the event, I returned to the Aloft, grabbed my bag, and returned to SeaTac, where I spent the afternoon working in Alaska’s N Gates Lounges, which is a beautiful space with great barista-made coffee from Umbria.
I then flew back on a retrofitted 737-800…I’ll say more about the flights in future posts.
CONCLUSION
The new Alaska Airlines livery is stunning in person and I find it better than the liveries of American, Delta, and United…it looks sharp (and as much as I like Chester on the tail of each aircraft, this is a gorgeous livery).
I was happy to attend this event and see Alaska Airlines as “The Little Engine That Could” and that will continue to slowly but steadily grow, aided by its biggest aircraft order in company history, strong competition from Delta, and a recognition that is offers a unique value proposition, particularly to West Coast flyers.
Beautiful aircraft and livery. Oof, Duffy.
Glad you got to experience this and share with us, Matt. Thank you!
Matthew,
I’m surprised you didn’t take Duffy aside and hand him printouts of all the comments 1990 has made across yours and other various blogs regarding all his expert opinions about how he should be doing his job.
I’ve got a post on that coming up! 😉
I wonder why Matthew didn’t take the evening LAX-PAE Paine Field Skywest/Alaska flight and then return as SEA-LAX because there is no late afternoon or evening PAE-LAX flight?
Was the flight to Seattle provided by Alaska Airlines?
Agreed … In the interest of full disclosure & transparency, [ A friend ] was curious if any air transportation consideration/courtesy/discount was offered by AS as part of their hospitable invitation to this most auspicious event ? 🙂
“…we were not permitted onboard the aircraft (but you can see my pictures from onboard the aircraft here).”
No, not really.
Your linked post was from March 2024 and was showing off the Hawaiian Airlines 787. While I think it’s a reasonable guess that the Alaska-branded 787s will have a SIMILAR interior (we all hope), I’d expect at minimum some cosmetic changes (eg color scheme, removing all the Hawaiian-inspired touches, the wood trim, etc.) and swapping in (I hope) equivalent but different design elements inspired by Pacific Northwest culture and landscapes – matching the green/blue aurora livery, with Northwest native art in place of the Polynesian, some ocean/mountains/trees elements, etc., while keeping many of the nice things (and of course the structural bits) that we see on the Hawaiian 787 interiors. Maybe even tweak the seats or electronics a tiny bit (eg add USB C charging ports) since the Alaska livery 787s will mostly be (literally) years newer than the Hawaiian ones. No doubt the bones should maintain commonality/consistency, but I expect the look will be different.
Maybe you (like Alaska) are saving that big reveal on THAT for another day (which surely must be coming soon, as they go into service just weeks ahead). They have a lot on their plate currently (and are definitely experiencing some growing pains), they’re probably scrambling to get the interior installed before going into service in March.
Glad you enjoyed your stay in Our Fair City.
Greetings to the beloved Emerald City!
Indeed … Anxiously awaiting that Pacific Northwest twist on those striking ‘Ring of Fire’ accents of burning orange pyroclastic flow throughout the 787’s interior ! …. At least it looks like all the girls & boys were decently attired and hopefully all played nice to the satisfaction of Sean Duffy … And a helpful hint to AS — if they seriously want to compete with that nemesis DL, kindly replace that tacky, dog-eared literature in the First Class seatbacks for a TRUE premium experience ! …lol
That beloved Chester certainly wouldn’t say that the new livery is spectacular, but times are rapidly changing!
“Fly smart. Land happy.” with the astute AS!
And kudos to AS for removing the word “All ” under the Boeing logo on the side of the fuselage. Great savings on paint, labour & fuel efficiency ! Although the ” Proudly Boeing ” phrase seems somewhat redundant, unless. these days it’s for emphasis given poor Boeing’s recent turbulent tumble(s) from grace ….
Congrats to Alaska Airlines! I hope that they succeed in what airline they are making from this. I also wish that they keep one 787 in the Hawaiian livery, or a duo livery.
At least “Pualani” (and her inter-island ‘offspring’ ) will still grace the A330 tails to console you …. 🙂
The livery looks nice enough, I suppose. It’s just a bit odd to be flying from Seattle to Rome on an aircraft painted like the northern lights (which occur in neither Seattle nor Rome), with a Hawaiian-themed interior, the name “Alaska” on the exterior (yet not the standard Alaska fleet livery), and possibly still being legally operated by Hawaiian Airlines until the transfer or AOC consolidation is complete.
Still, I guess it’s not odd enough to really matter—or to warrant fixing.
Huge miss for branding by getting rid of Chester on the tail. The paint job looks boring and generic. Not at all a fan.