I’m just a pilot from the San Francisco area that enjoys traveling. I started posting my videos just as a way to reminisce on trips that I had taken, but eventually decided to make the videos a bit more official.
I hope you enjoy the videos, lmk if there’s something else you’d like to see and I’ll try to make it happen. I enjoy seeing new parts and cultures of the world and seeing new airlines or new travel experiences in the meantime.
@ 20:38, a note on the purser calling the captain the commander, the Xhosa word for the two is the same, Umphathi. if he isn’t Xhosa, then he’s probably just a joker.
thank you so much for this video, patrick. i haven’t been home in three years, and god i miss it so much. seeing OR Tambo airport always makes me feel like im home. on another note, last time i flew on SAA was in 2013 on one of their -600s. good to see nothings changed ❤🇿🇦
I've been thinking about this and would like to see the result. My preference is not to lie down but to stand up regularly. I'd like a nice standing/leaning area, where we can have a drink, maybe mix with others.
The claim emirates making profits is quite misleading, in their last years they showed profits mainly through selling of srilankans wide body a340 aircrafts, basically they used srilankan to steal their landing rights while making it a small regional feeder carrier to their middle eastern hub while running in to losses(it was profitable when they took over)
20:55 Commander - The term commander (or Pilot In Command) is a simpler term for whoever’s in charge of the aircraft at that time. Although it’s often the Captain, if the Captain is on rest, one of the First Officers becomes the commander for that period.
You have to preorder your meals days before your flight if you’re doing long haul flights. I’ve done 3 trips on them and you’d either get a notification from the app that you can preorder. My trips were from EWR-LAX. I live in NJ AND Alaska Airlines is my go to for westbound, long haul flights.
I was considering business class on Philippine Airlines, but at $3700 round trip I don't know if it's worth it. It looks like I imagine economy premium would be, but that's around $2000. It also looks like Manila should be avoided, much like I've read and heard many many times. Excellent review.
We've flown almost exclusively on Alaska Airlines, using miles to fly first class or premium economy and have had nothing but great experiences on the airline. I wish they had more non-stop flights from Tucson AZ though.
Dunno, but the Alaska First kinda reminds me of a slightly updated version of the American Airlines domestic First Class(not the Transcon), nothing really to write home about tbh.
One of my favorite perks that Alaska Airlines offers is called Club 49. It’s available to people who have an Alaska address (when they apply) and allows for two free checked bags when flying to or from Alaska. And very little if any extra fees. I’ve found this makes the complete cost of my ticket usually less than with other airlines. And if you purchase your ticket with an AKAirlines Visa you get one free luggage regardless of where you fly. Having had to fly with other airlines periodically, I’ve found the customer service and flight attendants with AKAirlines to be substantially better. Especially at the Anchorage airport. So friendly, respectful and helpful.
One of my favorite perks that Alaska Airlines offers is called Club 49. It’s available to people who have an Alaska address (when they apply) and allows for two free checked bags when flying to or from Alaska. And very little if any extra fees. I’ve found this makes the complete cost of my ticket usually less than with other airlines. And if you purchase your ticket with an AKAirlines Visa you get one free luggage regardless of where you fly. Having had to fly with other airlines periodically, I’ve found the customer service and flight attendants with AKAirlines to be substantially better. Especially at the Anchorage airport. So friendly, respectful and helpful.
I truly love Alaska Airlines, but their first class product is becoming uncompetitive from a hard product standpoint. I have no idea why anyone would chose Alaska on LAX/SFO to JFK when the other large airlines offer lie flat seats. Obviously they have a monopoly on Alaska and the ANC-JFK route is awesome. But a 7-hour redeye in a recliner is… disappointing.
Totally agree... although these work on like 90% of their routes. That's why I kinda feel like a subfleet of premium planes (like AA) would benefit them!
When Alaska got their first jet it was a 4 engine Convair 880 and they would advertise, "4 Daily Jets to Anchorage and Fairbanks" even though they only had one plane! It was quite humorous but they had decorated the inside in the Gay 90's theme and was very popular. The female flight attendants uniform was like the can can dancers of the day with the guys uniform like that of the bar tenders or poker table attendant. Food in those days filled the tray in coach and you could always ask for another one since they always had extra. FC meals had table cloths and food was served in courses. Those were truly the days of not only excellent food but plenty of it!!!!! Thanks for the memories!
Their FC food service is by far the worse it has ever been. The good ole days of a hot meal presented elegantly is no longer. As a matter of fact, I probably would refuse the meal even though I paid a FC fare and to pre order a meal, sorry, that "ain't" for me so I am afraid I just don't go along with the way US carriers offer food and by the way, AA, DL and UA offer poor food service, that is when you get it domestically and watch out for their international offerings. It really is disgusting from what it used to be! Thanks!
Great review. And no thank you, Alaska Airlines. That flight between ANC->JFK in that stiff and stingy seat recline and frugal in-flight service would be torturous on a 7-hour block time. I flew that stretch on numerous occasions on Asian carriers (wide-body) with a tech-stop in ANC, and the segment between JFK and ANC are long enough that a lie-flat seat makes all the difference in spite of it being a domestic flight. How much less $$$ is this among the “Big 3?” Regardless, best of luck to Alaska Airlines.
Lounge situation you were provided is strange. Usually flying out on KAL but the one occasion I went to the smaller lounge was because the main lounge was full and they were using for overflow. May be an airline specific thing.
Now SAS has opened Seattle staring in May 2025, and they opened Atlanta and JFK from Oslo with A321LR. Maybe that’s an option for your next trip? Although Tokyo could be interesting as well. Thanks for your report and the background music was good as well. Happy travel.
Thanks for this excellent content. If the flight's still running, I want to make the Condor flight from Frankfurt to Whitehorse, YT, Canada. That seems remarkable to me because Whitehorse is a small town in the middle of nowhere.
The lounge near D4 is probably the worst lounge that CI has in TPE. It's dreary and not a window in sight as your in the basement. Sorry, food offerings here aren't that great compared to what I would call their best offering in T1. Unless they have recently opened their own lounge in KL, they are using a commercial outfit (?Priority)which is gawd awful and located just after the 1st security check. I entered, did one turn around and left. Definitely not worth it.
Qatar Airways is the best airline in the world for me and i have treated myself to the Al Safwa lounge a few times (on flights between Doha and Abu Dhabi and its heaven). Qatar Airways - i love your brand, your service, your quality
ALASKA is a LCC leisure airline. They are very conservative with their routes and SEA centric. I am a regular on their SFO-JFK and usually pay $1,300 for up front. I shockingly saw in early next year, prices in the 2k to 3K range. As AS no longer require flight segments for their qualifying tiers, I definitely will switch to AA, while crediting AS, for my flights.
