Flying out of Bellingham on Alaska Air

[luvsmickey1968]

We are looking into flying out of the US this trip as airfares are so much more expensive once you add on all those taxes!
However, all the flights on Alaska Air go to Seattle first.
Our family has only taken non-stop flights and have only ever flown out of Vancouver so I really feel lost.
Is changing planes a big hassle? Is my luggage likely to get lost?
If you book a flight, are you ensured that you have enough time to get on the other plane?
Would it just be easier to fly out of Seattle?
Would appreciate any comments about your experiences, tips etc.

 

[Pesky]

LOL, my brother lives in Bellingham and sometimes ends up flying out of Vancouver! I remember several years ago flying into vancouver because it was so much cheaper than flying to Seattle. Funny how things change.

Anyway, Alaska is one of the better airlines. That said, whenever you have a layover and plane change, the odds for your bags becoming lost increase substantially. That said, I have done so on other airlines and provided your layover is of a decent duration, you are not likely to have a problem (did have a problem when a flight delay led us to nearly missing a connecting flight). You are not automatically ensured a sufficient time to change planes, you will have to do that yourself in booking a flight. I would look for at least 40 minutes to 1 hour as that can give you time to move from where the regional/puddle-jumpers are (which is likely what you will be on from Bellingham) to the gates that service the larger aircraft, plus give you time for a pit stop for a bathroom break, buying water, etc..

No lie, changing planes is a hassle. But if the savings is worth it, well, there you go... It would likely be easier in one sense to fly out of Seattle -- one non-stop flight at what appears to be a good price break. But you need to factor in parking or shuttle service costs. And the time to get to Seattle, which will be longer given the 2+ hr drive from Bellingham to Seattle. I'd probably price out the extras between the 2 to see what makes more sense -- parking, gas or a shuttle service costs plus plane ticket costs. GL!

 

[travelbug08]

Allegiant flies directly to LAX from BLI, but only twice a week. We opted to leave from Seattle on Alaska, rather than change planes in Seattle or Portland even though it mean a longer drive from Vancouver as Allegiant didn't work with our dates.

 

[CSAColl]

We flew Allegiant in September.
We knew what to expect so we weren't disappointed.

$55 each way was fantastic for us. And if you need to park your car, try the Wiki Wiki Park & Shuttle. They were a GREAT service.

 

[It'sKim]

We just faced this same issue for our upcoming trip. In the end, we decided to go from Seattle. The shuttle to the airport isn't a big deal, we just booked a hotel that has a free shuttle to the airport. We also chose one where we can leave our car parked at the hotel for a small fee. Driving to Seattle instead of Bellingham really isn't that big of a deal and probably would take less time than the time it would take to check in for your flight, get on your flight, then get to Seattle for the transfer.

If you have to make a transfer there is always a chance you could miss it too. My understanding is that they don't hold flights for you, so if you get delayed you will have to take a different flight than the one you were supposed to.

For us my total fear of flying was also a factor. Having to land and take off more than necessary was really unappealing lol.

In the end, we just felt like Seattle would be a lot easier for the amount of effort to get there (which really isn't much).

 

[planningjollyholiday]

If you choose to fly out of seattle i would look into jetblue. I cant say enough good things about them and it is so much better flying into long beach compared to lax. Their prices constantly change so if you watch you can get a great deal. We paid $110 roundtrip taxes included and they offer one checked bag free. We bid on a hotel through priceline and got the hilton for $55 and stayed there the night before our flight. There was a park and fly in walking distance from the hotel that we used to keep our car there for the week. I would think twice about flying allegiant out of bellingham, i have had different friends tell me they are horrible.

 

[snesguy]

If you choose to fly out of seattle i would look into jetblue. I cant say enough good things about them and it is so much better flying into long beach compared to lax. Their prices constantly change so if you watch you can get a great deal. We paid $110 roundtrip taxes included and they offer one checked bag free. We bid on a hotel through priceline and got the hilton for $55 and stayed there the night before our flight. There was a park and fly in walking distance from the hotel that we used to keep our car there for the week. I would think twice about flying allegiant out of bellingham, i have had different friends tell me they are horrible.

Ding-Ding-Ding! Yes! I have no experience with SEA but flying into LGB or SNA is 10x better than LAX.

 

[sweethannah]

We are looking into flying out of the US this trip as airfares are so much more expensive once you add on all those taxes!
However, all the flights on Alaska Air go to Seattle first.
Our family has only taken non-stop flights and have only ever flown out of Vancouver so I really feel lost.
Is changing planes a big hassle? Is my luggage likely to get lost?
If you book a flight, are you ensured that you have enough time to get on the other plane?
Would it just be easier to fly out of Seattle?
Would appreciate any comments about your experiences, tips etc.

I'm an ex-travel agent from the Lower Mainland so let me give you my .02...

so long as the flights are put together by the airline - meaning they've made the flight times and connections then you will be fine. This is a 'legal' connection. Your luggage will also be carried through to destination for you. One point to keep in mind, if you are traveling with young children or passengers with special needs then the minimum connection time might feel a little too rushed for your comfort. Book the next set of flights that allows you a bit more time. If you had say, booked a flight from BLI-SEA with Alaska and then SEA-LAX with Northwest and you created your own connection then you do run the risk that your connection time won't be sufficient and your luggage won't be put through for you.

I would take a look at Allegiant Air as they fly non-stop from BLI to LAX.

The last two times we've flown we ended up flying out of YVR with Westjet because the convenience was worth the price difference/hassle. Personally I wouldn't do SEA as while it doesn't seem like a big deal to drive down ( 3hrs?? ) not knowing what the borders will be like and traffic makes things too stressful for me. Plus on the return trip I'm much happier knowing I'll be home in 1 hr compared to 3+. We also flew into SNA ( John Wayne ) the last time down and it was a beautiful change to LAX. 20 minutes is all it took for us to get to our hotel! Really very nice. The price at the time was exactly the same into SNA as LAX as well, considering the difference in the transfer prices. We never booked transfers from SNA to Disney and instead took a cab for our party of 3 adults and one child(8). A car seat was not required, cabs were plentiful outside the airport and the trip was naturally direct.

I would do BLI though as the travel time isn't that much different for us but again, possible border line ups would make me leave uber early to make sure I wasn't late for the flight. Cost for an airport hotel near BLI or SEA eats away at the potential savings imo.

One final word - believe it or not, your luggage not making it to destination can be affected by many things, not just connections.
We once flew out from Bellingham to Reno and one of our suitcases never made it....... this was a non-stop flight! It got left behind by the luggage handlers at BLI but thankfully it was put on the next flight and we had it the next day.

 

[crysmom]

we wanted to fly with allegiant air out of bellingham, but they only fly twice a week to LAX and it didn't work for us.
We are flying Alaska out of seattle to sna

We are coming from the okanagan, so its a long drive for us, we are picking up one child in abbotsford then driving to seattle I"m more worried about road conditions in the winter than the border wait times

 

[Canadianmag]

We are flying from sea to sna it was cheaper than lax. We also noticed AA uses alaska for their flight AND was cheaper to book the same flight with AA Go figure.

 

[Casemily]

We are flying from sea to sna it was cheaper than lax. We also noticed AA uses alaska for their flight AND was cheaper to book the same flight with AA Go figure.

FYI, since you booked thru aa website, you'll have to pay aa's baggage fees instead of alaska's. So $25/$35/$150 for first second and third bag versus $20/$20/$20. For biggest saving try to check one bag per person or less. Also, overweight bags cost more than checking a second bag. Aa's fee is $100 up to 70lbs. Alaska is $50 up to 100lbs. If you have elite status in AA mileage plan you may get a free checked bag on Alaska.

 

[squirrel]

I have to agree that even direct flights can loose a bag. That happened to me on Alaska on a flight from SEA-MCO.

We did the stop over in Seattle last time, but we only had a one-way trip.

I don't mind the layover that much if it's the same cost. It would be about the same amount of time just in the car instead of another plane ride and airport.

Alaska is great, they found the missing bag and it was in my hotel room before we woke up the next morning. We flew in on a red-eye so there was another flight in the evening arriving at MCO. Not sure if Magical Express brought it to the resort (was past their cut off time) or if other arrangements were made.

 

[Canadianmag]

FYI, since you booked thru aa website, you'll have to pay aa's baggage fees instead of alaska's. So $25/$35/$150 for first second and third bag versus $20/$20/$20. For biggest saving try to check one bag per person or less. Also, overweight bags cost more than checking a second bag. Aa's fee is $100 up to 70lbs. Alaska is $50 up to 100lbs. If you have elite status in AA mileage plan you may get a free checked bag on Alaska.

We saved over 100.00, I belive only 5 a bag difference and we pack 2 bags total for the family. Still a great savings. we check in at Alaska counter, so its still aa fees? not sure if I'd evennotice to be honest. Lol

 

[sgrap]

We have always flown Alaska from SEA to SNA, but found some great fares from SEA to Long Beach on Jet Blue (not as good as someone else just posted though, darn!). Long Beach is only a little further from DLR than SNA, and everyone I've heard who has flown into Long Beach loves it.

 

[keltiesmom]

We are on the island and to flu west jet from comox to lax was going to be $1500 more than flying sea-sna. It's still about $1000 less than Vancouver. Our park and fly, gas, and time will still be saving us money. We decided with 3 kids it was worth it to fly direct and drive a little further, if it was just DH and I then we wouldn't care about a layover.

 

[Casemily]

We saved over 100.00, I belive only 5 a bag difference and we pack 2 bags total for the family. Still a great savings. we check in at Alaska counter, so its still aa fees? not sure if I'd evennotice to be honest. Lol

Yeah, not a big difference when only checking one bag per person. Last year government got involved in baggage fees since airlines charge different fees. Basically whomever you purchased the ticket from is the main carrier and their fees are charged. I think the thought was along the lines of "it's not fare to be charged a different price for bags between your outbound and return flights". Most people roll with it, some are annoyed to pay more.

 

[K&A mom]

If your kids are old enough, you can consider doing carry-on luggage for everyone instead of checking your luggage. We've done this the past few years, even for a 2-week cruise and trip to NYC (we were able to do laundry on the ship and buy extra toiletries before boarding)! You don't have to worry about lost luggage, baggage charges or dealing with baggage claim when you reach your destination, and it really makes you think about what's absolutely necessary to pack. Each passenger can also take a small personal bag, which for our kids is a backpack filled with snacks and activities. Going through security doesn't take that much longer. Just remember that if you only use carry-on luggage you'll need to have travel size toiletries and each person can only have one 3-1-1 bag (most hotels supply shampoo and conditioner, so you don't necessarily have to pack that). Lastly, I agree with PP that you'll want at least 45-60 minutes to change planes for a connecting flight, and if you can, get seats as close to the front as possible on your flight into Seattle so that you can get off the plane as quickly as possible.

 

[deanimal]

We've flown Bellingham to SNA twice in the last year with Alaska, doing the transfer with two toddlers. Both times were smooth and easy. Seattle airport has really nice restaurants and a great play area for the layover. We've never paid more than $240 round trip per person. It's the only way we'll go now.

 

[sleepymouse]

We just bought tickets on Jet Blue to fly SEA-LGB. I wanted non-stop only. We considered Virgin America SEA-LAX but the Jet Blue schedule was better. As already mentioned, Jet Blue offers first checked bag free so that is important to factor in when comparing prices.

 

[LoveDisneyMom]

We flew from BLI to SNA last May, with the layover in SEA. Our DS was two and a half then and it was really not a big deal. Yes it would have been nice to have a direct flight but for $217 a ticket, I was willing to deal with it!