If you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, you probably know that I normally fly with Delta Airlines. In an effort to broaden my experience, I’ll be changing things up and using some different airlines. Today, I’m sharing an Alaska Airlines by SkyWest Embraer 175 flight from Boise to Seattle. SkyWest operates this flight for Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines Boarding Experience

Alaska Airlines uses a tag your own bag in the check-in & baggage drop off area. When booking, I selected a self-tag pouch for use at check-in. I’m a regular Delta flyer so I am unsure how to use this Alaska Airlines pouch.

When I checked in, I learned the pouch was not necessary. The self-tag printed from the check-in kiosk is actually a peel off sticker! I’m not sure what the pouch would be used for as a result? If you’ve used one, I’d be curious to know how you used the pouch.

Regardless of the pouch use, check-in was a simple process of finding my booking (I used my confirmation code), printing the boarding pass and bag tag, and dropping the bag with the Alaska check-in agent. Since this was an international flight ending in Canada, passport verification by the gate agent was also required.

Gate and Boarding

Alaska Airlines board their flights out of a ground floor boarding area at the Boise Airport. Horizon Airlines, an Alaska subsidiary, operated the majority of Alaska flights out of Boise for many years with their fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Only recently, has SkyWest started flights for Alaska, operating the Embraer 175. My flight home from Seattle will be on a Horizon Q400. Stay tuned in future weeks for that trip report!

The bonus provided by ground floor boarding is air-side boarding. Any chance to be outside on the ramp with any aircraft is a bonus for an airplane lover (avgeek) such as myself!

I had booked my flight in the Premium Class section of the aircraft. Premium Class on this Embraer 175 includes a seat pitch of 36 inches! A similar Delta Embraer 175 includes a seat pitch of 34 inches. While both provide a comfortable experience, the extra two inches on the Alaska Embraer is approaching the pitch in many first class cabins. For comparison, Delta’s Embraer first class seat pitch is 37 inches.

On-board the Alaska SkyWest Embraer 175

Once on-board and settled, the experience provided by SkyWest is essentially the same for Alaska or Delta flights. These Embraer 175 aircraft do no have seat-back in-flight entertainment screens. Passengers can connect to the aircraft’s wife network by GoGo and stream from multiple selections on Alaska Beyond.

Shortly after departure, the flight attendants came by with a selection of drinks and snacks. I chose a gluten-free Kind bar and ginger-ale. Snack and a movie, what could be better?

Wrap-Up

I must say that the differences, while small, weigh in favor of future Premium Class flights with Alaska Airlines. Alaska SkyWest seats provide sightly more room than the Delta SkyWest. Delta and Alaska configure their cabins differently on these SkyWest aircraft. According to SeatGuru.com, both configure with 4 rows and 12 seats in First Class but that’s the only similarity. Delta installs 20 Comfort Plus seats while Alaska installs 12 Premium Class seats. In regular economy, Delta installs 44 economy seats while Alaska installs 52 economy seats. Each airlines nets 76 seats.

I prefer more room on a flight such as on this Alaska Airlines SkyWest Embraer 175. My favorite seating experience was the Delta One flat bed, you can read and watch that here!

Happy Travels!

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