I live in Seattle so Alaska is my default airline for domestic travel. They are punctual. I can’t remember the last time I was delayed more than 30 minutes. They offer one of the best frequent flier programs with flexibility for domestic and international travel. And they have great customer service. For the past 8 years they have ranked as the #1 North American airline by JD Power.
The Alaska Airlines Price Guarantee is a unique program that allows you to get a credit for a future flight if your ticket price drops any time up until you actually board the plane. The only other domestic carrier that does this is AirTran. Other airlines have programs that will give you a credit if the price drops more than a certain dollar amount ($75-$200 depending on the airline). But Alaska will give you a credit even if it drops $1.
The catch is that YOU have to track the price yourself. This can be tedious (having to check every week or so), but I use Yapta which will track the price for you and alert you if the price falls.
I started tracking my ticket prices with Alaska about two years ago. In that time, I have had 7 round trip flights that dropped in price.
One flight, a positioning flight for my upcoming trip to Istanbul, has dropped 4 times (that I know of). Each time I have used the Alaska Airlines Price Guarantee to receive a refund. I have received a total of $124 back on the flight.
For these 7 flights that have dropped in price, I have received a total of $424.11 in credits for future Alaska flights.
Sure, I could have just “waited” until the flights dropped to those prices. But that is risky as prices often increase. In that same two years I have had 13 round trip flights that have stayed the same or increased after my purchase.
It is this type of customer focused business that makes me stick with Alaska. Have you used the Alaska Airlines Price Guarantee?