My first time flying Alaska Airlines’s long-haul business-class suites was a great value for points and all-around delightful experience. If you can find solid saver award availability in business class for one of their overseas routes, snap it up! Here’s what I loved about my flight.

 

Flight Information

Flight: Alaska Airlines Flight 100 from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London Heathrow

Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 

Flight duration: 9h7m (actual time according to Flighty)

Business-class cabin layout: 1-2-1

 

How I Booked This Flight

I was taking my son to visit and tour a university in the UK and had economy seats booked (using points, of course) on Virgin Atlantic from Seattle to London. But I knew that if a good deal were to materialize, I’d cancel the Virgin Atlantic flight to switch to business class in a heartbeat. (Virgin Atlantic miles don’t expire, so even if I were stuck with refunded points, I’d just use them again sometime in the future without the worry of expiration.) So I set an alert with seats.aero and waited.

And one lucky day, my flight alert came through! I got a text telling me there was business-class availability on the exact date we needed to fly for 57,500 American AAdvantage miles + $5.60 per person on the nonstop from Seattle to London. And I had just enough American miles in my account to make this booking for both of us. So I booked the Alaska flight and canceled our Virgin Atlantic flight (and immediately saw the points and fees refunded).

 

 

Airport Perks

Because we had booked business-class seats, we were able to go through the special Suites and Atmos™ Titanium private security entrance at SEA. An agent escorted us straight through to the security checkpoint and there was absolutely no wait time. It was pretty great—even better than going through our usual (fast) CLEAR+/TSA PreCheck® line.

 

We were able to access the Alaska Airlines lounges because of our business-class award booking, and even though our flight left from Terminal A, I took us over to Terminal N because that’s my preferred Alaska lounge—for now. (It’s huge and has a fabulous view of the northern end of the runways. And a fireplace!) A new flagship Alaska lounge is being constructed in SEA Terminal C and that will be the best lounge option to Atmos business-class passengers once it opens (scheduled for late 2027).

 

Onto the Plane!

Our flight boarded from Terminal A. There was no additional charge to select our seats when we booked the award flight, and my son and I both love a window seat, so we settled into seats 2J and 3J, on the plane’s right side.

Each seat had a bedding package, amenity kit, menu, pillow, and pair of slippers laid out nicely for us. There were also recyclable metal water bottles and over-the-ear headphones in each suite’s mirrored cabinet. 

 

 

The seat and entertainment controls were intuitive and easy to use, and there were wireless, AC, and USB-A options to keep devices juiced up. 

 

Local Touches

The amenity kits and bedding were issued by Filson, a Seattle-based company that originated outfitting people trekking to Alaska during the Gold Rush. The toiletries that came with the amenity kits were from Salt & Stone, another West Coast company. I love it when airlines work local suppliers into their amenities, food, and drink.

 

 

Food & Service

The food on my flight to London was pretty great. I admit to being easily swayed by good ice cream, like the sundaes we were offered from Salt & Straw, but the non-ice-cream offerings were also delicious. And like with their amenity kits, Alaska features local food and drink suppliers heavily in their menus. Service was good throughout the flight, though I didn’t have any special requests or other interactions with the cabin crew.

Shortly after takeoff, dinner service began with Alaska’s signature charcuterie plate.

 

 

Next came soup, salad, and bread, followed by the main course—I picked the chicken cottage pie. There were more main course options available to choose from if you selected your meal up to a few days before departure, but if you don’t preselect, your choices are limited to what is available on the paper menu handed out in flight. (We looked at the additional meal options about a week before our flight and picked something that ended up on the in-flight menu anyway.)

 

 

 

The highlight of the meal service, for me, was the ice cream. I know that several airlines offer ice cream sundaes in the sky, and I’ve had others, but this one was definitely better than most. Salt & Straw’s artisanal ice cream and fun toppings made dessert a great treat. And it made me laugh thinking about how I paid $5.60 out of pocket for my in-air Salt & Straw sundae in a business-class seat, which is cheaper than a single scoop at one of their terrestrial scoop shops. So really, if you think about it, I was saving money. 

 

 

If you’re curious about the other food and drink offerings, here are the menus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bedding in our suites included a decent-sized pillow, a mattress pad, and a substantial blanket—all of which actually did help ensure that I got a few hours of sleep on this nine-hour flight. 

 

 

As I usually do on flights to Europe, I woke up somewhere around the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone to the sounds and smells of the crew readying breakfast. The full English breakfast was a fun start to our first day in the UK. 

 

 

As we descended for landing at LHR, we had some nice views of London. (On the left of the river, you can see the Shard. Tower Bridge is the one closest to the foreground, and Regents Park is off in the distance.)

 

 

Bottom Line

I came away from my first Alaska Airlines long-haul business-class experience pretty happy. The new Alaska 787 Suites experience is up there with United Polaris in terms of U.S.-based airline international business-class food, seat comfort, and service, but with thoughtful West Coast local flair, as well. I think I like it even more than United Polaris, actually. Once Alaska’s new flagship Suites lounge at SEA opens, this experience will be even more worth seeking out if you can find a good points deal for it. I’ll definitely be on the lookout so I can fly it again.

 

Related Posts

Our Favorite Business-Class Flights

Finding Business-Class Seats

Alaska Airlines Announces Its Longest Flight Ever—Plus New Paris Service