Flight Info
| Date Traveled | June 21, 2024 |
| Flight No. | AS #51 ANC-DFW |
| Aircraft / Tail | B737-800 / Tail: N569AS |
| Flight Time / Distance | 1 hour, 30 minutes / 725 miles |
| Departure / Arrival | 2:35PM AKDT / 4:26PM AKDT |
| Class / Seat | Economy / 23A (window) |
| Type / Cost | PAID / $614.20 RT Economy + $39.98 upgrade to First for return flight = $654.18 |
| Loyalty Status | Mileage Plan member (but miles credited to AAdvantage) |
Summary
Flying Alaska Airlines B737-800 from Anchorage to Utqiagvik is a short, decently comfortable flight. The flight is primarily for Utqiagvik residents returning from visiting Anchorage to buy supplies and things. Either way, it is an expensive route to fly because Alaska Airlines is the only airline that flies to Utqiagvik. For the tourist or avid traveler, it’s a great flight knowing you’re flying to the top of the world!
Rating: 4.2/5
- Booking Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class
- Check In At Anchorage
- Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Boarding and Departure from Anchorage
- Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Cabin and Seats
- Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Service and Food
- Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Lavatories
- Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Entertainment and WiFi
- What I Did During Flight
- Arrival at Utqiagvik
- Bottom Line
Booking Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class
When I was doing research for this Alaska trip up to Utqiagvik (airport code: BRW), I learned that there’s only one flight a day from Anchorage (ANC) (except on Mondays, which wasn’t useful to me). After weighing my options, I decided to pay for round trip tickets so that I didn’t have to mess with flying as a nonrev since I wasn’t sure how full this flight would be.
I ended up booking this flight pretty quickly because the prices were already high. $614 like 2-3 months out? Sheesh! But it makes sense because Alaska Airlines is the only airline to fly commercial passengers to Utqiagvik. Once I booked this flight, I did further research for the American Airlines flights between DFW and Anchorage. You can check out my review of Main Cabin Extra on that AA flight here.
When I booked this ANC-BRW flight, I also signed up for Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan program. I figured that I’ll likely fly Alaska Airlines again in the future, especially up to the Pacific Northwest. However, for this flight I attached my AAdvantage number to get credit for that program since Alaska and American are oneworld alliance partners. Additionally, I downloaded the app.
About a month out from departure, the app sent me notifications to pre-order meals for both legs of my flight.
I didn’t pre-order anything for ANC-BRW. None seemed appealing enough for me to spend $8 on …
Oh fun fact—I didn’t realize when I booked this that my cousin and her family, who I planned on visiting up in Utqiagvik, were also on this flight!
Another fun fact—this was my first time flying Alaska Airlines!
Check In At Anchorage
Checking in was a doozy! And not because of me. When I landed in Anchorage, I stayed with my cousins and helped them get ready for the airport in preparation for this flight to BRW.
Why was it a doozy? My cousins had 12 things to check in! 11 totes and 1 large luggage!
I learned from my cousins that Alaska Airlines has a special program/membership wherein Alaska residents can enroll to get three free checked bags. Because Utqiagvik is pretty remote, a lot of Utqiagvik residents fly down to Anchorage to do shopping and bring all that back up with them.
My cousins and I got to the airport like 3 hours before boarding. It was a whole ordeal that included weighing and taping each tote, parking the car back at the house, and getting in the bag drop line in a stressful manner. I didn’t do much of these other than keep my cousin’s kids entertained and watching after them.
For some reason, Alaska Airlines only had one bag drop line open for a long while, and many people were queued up. Luckily, they opened up another station and that helped us move along.
When we were done checking in everything, I returned the carts we rented to help transport everything.
When I went through TSA PreCheck, I got randomly selected for enhanced screening. TSA swabbed my phone, but they were short-handed so it took a while for another free agent to swab my phone. My cousins passed through PreCheck with ease, even with the kids.
Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Boarding and Departure from Anchorage
After finishing up with security, I caught up with my cousin and her family in line at McDonald’s. Despite the struggles of the morning with checking in, we had enough time to grab something quick to eat before getting on the plane. After some orders of fries, nuggies, and burgers, we headed over to gate C5.
We were lucky to find a group of seats by the window so we had great views of the plane we were about to board.
Boarding was supposed to start at 1:58PM, but it got started at 2:05PM. Somehow my cousin, her family, and I were Group D, and we boarded once that group was called.
Once on board, I appreciated that Alaska Airlines has boarding music with lyrics! Right now American Airlines, which I frequent, only has one meh instrumental track for boarding/deplaning.
Boarding finished pretty quickly right around 2:27PM. We waited around a few minutes before pushing back at 2:38PM.
While taxiing, the flight attendants did their safety demonstration with one of them on the PA giving instructions. That also intrigued me because most flights I’m on these days have a recording that plays for the safety demonstration.
Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Cabin and Seats
Alaska Airlines B737-800 aircraft have two configurations—one with 3 lavatories in the back, and one with two lavatories in the back. I’m not sure which config I was on, but according to AeroLOPA, I was probably on the one with 3 lavs. I never used the lavatories so I’m not certain. With that said, this B737-800 configuration has 12 seats in First Class and 147 seats in Economy with 30 of those designated as Premium Class (with extra leg room).
When I booked this flight, I selected seat 23A which is a window seat just behind the left wing. Fortunately, no one sat in the middle seat, but the aisle seat was occupied.
The cabin interiors seemed old and dated. And the bins were the older type wherein you have to lay your luggage like a pancake.
In Economy Class for Alaska Airlines B737-800, the seats are Recaro BL3530’s. According to AeroLOPA, the seat pitch is 31” and seat width is 17.3”. Not the most generous but not the most claustrophobic either.
The seat features mesh pockets and power ports with DC and USB A connections. These seats do not have a phone/tablet holder like more recent economy seats do.
I noticed a lot of wear and tear throughout the cabin, especially on the mesh pockets. Otherwise I found the seat to be decently comfortable for this 1.5 hour flight.
Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Service and Food
Drink service started about 22 minutes after takeoff. The flight attendants were pretty efficient in going down the aisle.
From the menu, a selection of boxes and alcohols were available for purchase. I didn’t see any of the boxes on the menu that the app showed me for pre-order.
I ended up ordering the Straightaway Old Fashioned for $12, and the snack was Simply Stellar pretzel braids. The Old Fashioned was pretty good—smooth. And the pretzels weren’t enough to counteract its high alcohol content so I was feelin’ it once I finished drinking it, lol.
Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Lavatories
I…didn’t get up to use the lav. Mostly because the guy sitting in the aisle seat was asleep most of the flight and also because I didn’t really need to. It was a short flight anyway!
Typing this blog post up…I wish I could have verified the how many lavatories were in the back. Ah well!
And oh, apparently “raw dogging” is a popular trend now, whereby people just…don’t do anything on flights, including drinking/eating, using the lav, being entertained, etc. I did not do this, haha.
Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class Entertainment and WiFi
Like many other domestic airlines, Alaska Airlines has inflight WiFi you can connect to for access to streaming content and Internet access.
For streaming content, I wasn’t really sure how much was available (they didn’t give number totals!), but there seemed to be a wide variety of content and new releases. “Exclusive to Alaska” is a mix of lifestyle channels and shows as well as REI films. One thing I really liked is how the home page has a flight map! It shows about where you are, which was nice!
I didn’t test out the Internet connection because I didn’t want to pay for it this time. But the prices are as follows:
| What | Cost |
| Full Flight | $8 |
| Monthly Plan | $49.95/mo |
| Monthly Plan, 2 Devices | $74.95/mo |
I appreciated that this is cheaper than American Airlines for a flight pass, which normally costs $15. But at the same time AA lets you have 20 minutes for free after watching a sponsored video…
What I Did During Flight
The flight was relatively short, so I didn’t do a whole lot. I did read through some books on my Kindle. I largely did this during the flight when I wasn’t taking notes about this flight, haha. I also put on an episode of The Office to have in the background too. And because we were flying through the middle of Alaska, I frequently looked out the window. Lots of empty spaces but cool landscapes to see!
Arrival at Utqiagvik
At about 1.5 hours into the flight, we started descent. Flight attendants did their final cabin pickup of service items. One thing I found interesting is that they specifically mentioned that the lavs are closed during descent. AA doesn’t do this, which would have been helpful on my DFW-ANC leg because a guy went to the lav when the landing gear deployed causing the flight attendant to tell him to stay in the lav!
Once we landed, I couldn’t help but notice the lay of the land at Utqiagvik. A good handful of buildings, but nowhere near the sprawling cities I’m normally used to seeing.
We deplaned via stairs. The terminal at BRW looks like a converted hangar, and inside was chaos as check-in, TSA, and baggage claim were all happening in a small space as our flight was leaving and the next one getting ready.
Bottom Line
Alaska Airlines B737-800 Economy Class from Anchorage to Utqiagvik started out with a hectic check in process, but it was well worth the hassle to enjoy fantastic views of the Alaskan landscape. With the flight only being only about 1.5 hours long, the service and entertainment were on par for a comfy flight experience.
This was my first time flying Alaska Airlines, and it was a positive experience that I hope to repeat again on future trips!
Have you ever flown Alaska Airlines to Alaska? Lemme know your thoughts in the comments down below!
