So this flight was quite a pleasant surprise! had only booked this flight a couple weeks prior too and was lucky to have a relatively empty flight.

I originally was booked and was flying in economy. However I found out a little before the flight that I had been upgraded. I was a bit shocked since I only have MVP status with Alaska, however when I went to select my new seat, the seat map was completely empty!!

Now onto the report itself.

SFO-SNA
Embraer 175
12/15/18

Now, after boarding the plane from the first door, I turned right into the cabin and I was in seat 1A so it was the first seat on the left.

The configuration on this aircraft was a 1-2 configuration and the left side has 4 rows of solo seats which I think are the best seats. 1A has the most legroom of all, however, it also cannot take under seat storage but that’s not a big deal.

The seat back was pretty hard but alright for a one hour flight. The seat cushion was slightly hard, but manageable. The legroom in this seat, unlike the others, was excellent.

The seat has a couple other features. Out of the left armrest slides out a drink holder.

Along the left leg of the seat, there was a universal power port which would be good and important.

There were also 2 individual air nozzles for my single seat which was excellent.

In first class, typically airlines also give a choice of drink, however because of the nature of the short flight most likely, water bottles were distributed prior to departing the gate.

We were at a remote gate near the G gates, so generally, there was decent traffic.

Soon enough, we were lined up for departure and had a nice takeoff and climb out of SFO.

A couple minutes after, the crew came around to take our drink orders. I, of course, went with sparkling water with lemon.

Shortly after that, the crew also came around with hot scented towels which were refreshing.

Most of the time on this flight we were pretty much riding the coast, so the views were awesome!

Then the crew came around with a snack basket. This basket had bananas, pop chips, bark thins, and some other snacks. I went with the bark thins which were tasty!

Eventually, the crew prepped the cabin for arrival into Santa Ana.

We had a smooth touchdown on Runway 20R and a quick taxi to the gate.

Overall, this was a pretty uneventful flight. But it’s certainly a great way to fly down from the Bay Area to the LA area. It’s even better that Alaska gives lounge access with its flights, but a shame that SFO doesn’t have an Alaska lounge despite being a hub, though they’ll have one by 2020!