Alaska Airlines introduces new mileage program called "Atmos"

Carol now retired, we are in SoCal. As very loyal twice a year travelers to Hawaii; and loyal to Hawaiian and Alaska airlines what we are seeing is a monopoly in pricing and horrible new routings. The Alaska nonstop is now about triple the price; Hawaiian Air to Honolulu with an hour layover to other islands also triple in price. An average priced route is now an overnight flight with 8 hour Honolulu layover to get to a different island the next morning or trying to route us from SD>SEA>HNL. We never thought twice about heading over because you'd catch a flight sometime between 7am and 10am and arrive afternoon in Hawaii. Now the prices for those flights are comparable to flights to Europe. So jealous of everyone in Seattle, because you'll be living the dream with all the great routes coming out of Seattle!

Hmmm, not sure this is a good thing. Since we’re both retired we won’t be racking up the business travel anymore. I might just stop chasing points and status.

I also fly Alaska Air regularly (though not as regularly as I once did, essentially "commuting" up and down the west coast way too often). I've got a good chunk of Alaska miles and am invested in their success - for an upcoming trip, we're using Alaska miles to fly to Easter Island in November. I've been watching Alaska with interest for a long time.

As luck would have it, I was on the Alaska Airlines website last night just after midnight and was there when all this new Alaska-related stuff was unleashed - I was there booking a return flight from Reykjavik to Seattle on Icelandair for next July (done!), when I saw all the glossy new stuff they just dropped. There's a lot there to digest. Some of what I saw looked positive and encouraging, but it's gonna take some time to get a solid sense of how much better/worse all of it will be once the dust has settled. As a pretty big Alaska Airlines fan (like the Mariners, I am inclined to like the home team, despite a long record of disappointment and occasional heartbreak), my initial impression of al the new stuff is positive overall (though I'm not crazy about the new name for the program). I'm cautiously optimistic about it all at this point, will reserve judgement for a bit and see how details shake out. As with any major change, it's going to be a mixed bag (at best), with winners and losers. We will see.

On a side note: While perusing all the new stuff on Alaska website in the wee small hours this morning, I couldn't help noticing gauzy-soft photos of various European and Asian places not currently served by Alaska Airlines, including Rome (not served yet, but a new flight there has been announced), London and Reykjavik (likewise) - but also (and AFAICT for the first time) photos of Paris, Barcelona, and buried somewhere I can't remember, Budapest and someplace in Indonesia (Bali, I think). Now, it has always been technically possible to reach those places on Alaska's partners, the photo placement make me wonder if they are starting to tease some of the new destinations they are planning (they've committed to adding at least another 6 new international destinations from Seattle in the next few years). I guess we'll see but nonstops from Seattle to Bali (or Barcelona or Budapest) on the hometown airline? Yeah, I think that would be pretty nice.

Also of great interest (at least to me), we get a look at what kind of international business class cabins that Alaska's new 787s are (probably?) going to look like - and I'm liking what I see. Here's a new link to what Alaska is referring to as new Hawaiian Airlines' 787 cabins...for those not following developments closely, Hawaiian Airlines (which Alaska acquired in a "merger") has a few 787s, but I don't believe they have had an upgraded new business class cabin...until today (inaugural flight for what I think is the new cabin is today, August 20, a new 787 flying between Seattle and Honolulu). Alaska Airlines has said that their new 787s will have a business class cabin with "lay flat beds and fully enclosed suites with doors" and that describes what they're flying between SEA and HNL starting, well, today. If the new business class cabins on Alaska's 787s turn out to be the same or similar to these being shown as Hawaiian's new cabins...flying nonstop from Seattle to Rome in that? Yeah, I think that's going to be pretty popular.

Lots of things here still TBD but so far, I'm liking it. We will see.

Also potentially interesting: Alaska Airlines is hosting a private, "invitation-only" event today in the Seattle area. No doubt there will be some show-and-tell, presumably we will learn some more stuff which will almost certainly be shared tonight.

Also - One interesting wrinkle I saw last night: the new loyalty program asserts they want to do some things "different", including allow members to redeem points for "experiences", not just flights. This is not completely unprecedented, other programs let you do this (it's debatable and highly subjective whether or not that's a good way to use your points, but having options is not a bad thing).

The first "experience" Alaska has offered: Step into a real, Alaska Airlines 737 flight simulator, take the controls and virtually fly the plane for up to 40 minutes. (These are not toys, they're v-e-r-y complex and expensive setups, and the same thing Alaska Airlines flight crews use to train and log time.)

https://unlocked.atmosrewards.com/listings/9b5c77ac-9939-4950-84c9-88caa51a6829

55K points. Hmmm. I don't know, I'm slightly tempted (I'm a licensed pilot, though I usually log time in much smaller aircraft than a 737!). I wonder if I can actually log that SIM time and if it counts towards a 737 "type" rating. Hmmm. 55K...

It had always been possible to use/earn Alaska miles to Budapest and Bali. Several of their partners will get you there. I actually flew Singapore Air to Bali a couple of years ago and banked it to Alaska.

I got the new card, the benefits and earnings fit my needs. AS was behind their competitors in terms of an elite offering.