Alaska Airlines is introducing a subscription plan for flights, through which you’ll be able to prepay for a certain number of flights at a discounted rate. This so-called Flight Pass is valid only for flights on the West Coast, predominantly in Southern and Central California.
Let’s take a look at all the details of this interesting new program from Alaska Airlines.
What Is Alaska Airlines’ Flight Pass?
Flight Pass allows you to pay monthly for a certain number of flights per year. Essentially, you commit to flying Alaska on a frequent basis in exchange for discounted flight prices. Depending on the timing and routing of the specific flights you take, you’ll need to pay between $0.01 and $14.60 in various taxes and fees for each flight.
Each pass requires a 12-month commitment. You’ll be charged monthly and are required to pay the fee for all 12 months.
There are 2 buckets of Flight Pass offerings — here’s a brief overview of each:
Flight Pass
Flight Pass, the most basic of the 2 options on offer, starts at $49 per month. This pass requires you to book flights at least 14, but no more than 90, days in advance. Here are the options:
- 1 round-trip flight every 2 months (6 round-trip flights per year): $49 per month ($588 per year)
- 1 round-trip flight every month (12 round-trip flights per year): $99 per month ($1,188 per year)
- 2 round-trip flights every month (24 round-trip flights per year): $189 per month ($2,268 per year)
Flight Pass Pro
Flight Pass Pro is designed for ultra-frequent travelers, especially those who like to fly at the last minute. These passes start at $199 per month and allow for more flexible bookings with passengers only needing to book 2 hours prior to departure. Here are the options:
- 1 round-trip flight every 2 months (6 round-trip flights per year): $199 per month ($2,388 per year)
- 1 round-trip flight every month (12 round-trip flights per year): $399 per month ($4,788 per year)
- 2 round-trip flights every month (24 round-trip flights per year): $749 a month ($8,988 per year)
Bottom Line: While the “regular” Flight Pass requires a 14-day advanced purchase, sometimes you may want to take a last-minute flight, in which case the Flight Pass Pro option is the much better option.
Airports
The new Flight Pass program allows you to fly throughout California and other West Coast cities for a great price. Image Credit: Alaska AirlinesThis Flight Pass is not available in all of Alaska’s destinations — only the following cities are eligible for Flight Pass:
- Burbank (BUR)
- Fresno (FAT)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Monterey (MRY)
- Orange County (SNA)
- Palm Springs (PSP)
- Sacramento (SMF)
- San Diego (SAN)
- San Fransisco (SFO)
- San Jose (SJC)
- San Luis Obispo (SBP)
- Santa Barbara (SBA)
- Sonoma County (STS)
As you can see, the passes are really only useful for passengers based on the West Coast or those who frequent the area. If you’re based in other parts of the county, you’ll likely find these passes to have very little use to you.
Other Details
- You can cancel a trip (or “credit” as it’s known in this program) and then rebook that travel within that credit month. If the credit expires, you can pay a difference in fare.
- You can upgrade your plan after signing up if you find you’re taking more flights (though you can’t downgrade it).
- You can take advantage of all MileagePlan benefits on your flights, and you’re eligible to earn MileagePlan miles for each flight you take.
Final Thoughts
A flight subscription plan is a great idea for travelers. Not only can you lock in lower fares upfront, but there’s a lot of flexibility when it comes to booking tickets and choosing the destination without having to worry too much about price fluctuations. While Alaska’s Flight Pass is only available for West Coast flying, it provides a great way to fly often and inexpensively among a number of popular destinations.
Featured Image Credit:
Alaska Airlines
