Questions about flights...

[Sandy R]

We'll be flying out of Anchorage after a cruise that ends in Whittier. We know about the Whittier tunnel and the need to leave enough time. We'll be flying Alaska Air, which pretty much seem like the only show in town. I'm thinking an 11:30 am flight out of ANC is too early... yes?

 

We'll be stopping in Seattle (SEA) airport before our next flight to LAX. The layovers seems very short... 40 minutes. Is that enough time to deplane, find the next terminal and get on the plane? Alaska Air says yes but their on-time history tells me no. We could do a layover of 1 hr. 40 min., getting us into LAX at 11:32 pm. Some years ago, we flew into SEA airport, but I don't remember whether how easy it is to maneuver. Do you think we should opt for the longer layover?

 

Thanks for any help... Sandy

[anchorage1977]

Take the 1 hour 40 min layover. While the Alaska airlines section of the airport is mostly compact (C, D and N gates), you are right about their general on time performance. A few extra minutes will cut down on your stress level if the flight is running 20 min late.

 

For things to do in the airport, there is a lovely little restaurant called Dish D'lish south of the main food court. It's owned by a famous local chef and serves fresh juice, fruit, sandwiches made to order and home cooked pastries. It's not cheap, but beats Wendy's.

 

Also, in Terminal C there is a half decent little Sushi restaurant by C12 called Waji's. If you like Saki, it's nice to sit and have a bottle to yourself before you connect :) It takes all the pain out of the day!

 

Good luck.

[Sandy R]

Just wanted to try again with my question. Anyone actually do a 40 minute layover on Alaska Air from Seattle airport? Did you make it okay? How was your experience with Alaska Air... were they on time?

 

Thanks, Sandy

[kenish]

Yes, 40 minutes is barely enough time to get between the farthest AS gates at SEA. It's more than enough time if connecting gates are near each other.

 

But if the first leg is more than a few minutes late, you will probably miss the second leg. Since your earliest flight out of ANC is constrained by ground travel time from Whittier, look into later flights down to SoCal. Check alternate airports (LGB, SNA, BUR, ONT or even SBA and PSP) for later flight times. AS has many flights to all 5 airports in the LA metro area.