Trip Report: Alaska Airlines (E175) Domestic First SAN-SFO

The Details

Flight: AS3461
Aircraft: E175
Class: Domestic First
Seat: 1D
Route: San Diego International (SAN)-San Francisco International (SFO)
Distance: 458miles
Flight Time: 1hr 4min
Departure: 6:29AM
Landed: 7:46AM

The Preflight

After spending a few awesome days in San Diego, it was time for me to fly home to Chicago via San Francisco with Alaska Airlines. I got dropped off at Terminal 2 East at 5:20 in the morning to find a relatively busy check-in area. I was lucky enough to get upgraded on this short intra-California flight to First Class upon checking in.

TSA Pre-check took just five minutes and I quickly made my way to the Airspace Lounge which I have visited over a dozen times.

There were a few passengers in the lounge but it remained peaceful and quiet during my short visit.

Thanks to my American Express Platinum Card, I had a $10 voucher to use for food and drinks in the lounge. I went with the usual express breakfast sandwich with bacon.

Boarding began at 5:54AM and was hectic due to the dual boarding for flights to both San Jose and San Francisco from the same gate.

We had to wait on the tarmac since the aircraft was not yet ready for passengers.

Our E175, registration N174SY, was operated by SkyWest on behalf of Alaska Airlines. She was delivered brand new in 2015 and was one of 32 E175s operated by SkyWest for AS.

The Flight

The Alaska E175s feature 12 First Class seats arranged in a 1-2 configuration across four rows in the forward cabin. Unfortunately, all of the solo seats on the left-hand side of the aircraft had been taken.

I managed to get the last window seat 1D. Due to COVID-19, seat 1C was blocked for flight attendant social distancing which meant I got the whole row to myself.

Each first-class seat offered a standard 37 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width. Despite being a bulkhead seat, the legroom was still comfortable.

There was a small literature pocket in the bulkhead.

The center armrest was well padded.

Each seat featured a 110V outlet below the center console.

The tray table was stored in the right-hand armrest. There was also a recline button.

I felt the bi-fold tray table to be fairly sturdy although there was a noticeable lack of a personal device mount.

Upon taking my seat, the flight attendant came through the cabin and offered each passenger a small water bottle.

Boarding was completed at 6:23AM and seven minutes later we pushed back. There was a gorgeous sunrise view of the San Diego skyline as we taxied to runway 27.