Are you going to buy airline tickets with your Permanent Fund dividend check? This is a good year to do it, since both Delta and Alaska Airlines are offering up some excellent fares from Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks to the Lower 48. Alaska Airlines is also offering big fare cuts for rural Alaska travelers to popular destinations like Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver and San Diego.
As usual, there are rules, blackout dates, exceptions and more than a few surprises once you get into the details of planning your trip. Both Alaska and Delta requires a 21-day advance purchase for the PFD fares.
First, it's a good idea to plan ahead for travel between now and mid-May. Alaska Airlines mandates that travelers purchase all of their PFD tickets by Oct. 7, while Delta offers its sale fares through Oct. 19.
Second, Alaska only offers the PFD fares on certain days (southbound Monday, Tuesday and Saturday only), while Delta allows PFD travel on any day of the week. Alaska has more blackout dates: Thanksgiving (Nov. 20-Dec. 1), Christmas (Dec. 14-29) and spring break (Feb. 29-March 19). Delta's blackout dates for PFD fares are Dec. 19-Jan. 5. Delta and Alaska both have additional blackout dates for specific destinations.
Remember: Even if the dates you're looking for aren't excluded from the sale, it doesn't mean you're guaranteed to find a cheap seat. Also, both airlines are publicizing specific fares, but that hasn't kept them from adjusting the prices. Many fares have already dropped further since the PFD deals were announced.
Let's review some of the most popular destinations and the best fares.
Seattle: Between Anchorage and Seattle, Delta is offering fares of $157 round-trip. Alaska Airlines is advertising the route at $98 each way, or $196 round-trip. But if you hunt around at alaskaair.com, you can find a few $79 tickets on Alaska. I predict Alaska Airlines will add more $79 Anchorage-Seattle seats on more days to combat Delta's price advantage on this important route.
Between Juneau and Seattle and between Fairbanks and Seattle, both Alaska and Delta are offering $190 round-trip tickets.
Los Angeles: Delta is offering Anchorage-Los Angeles/LAX tickets for $238 round-trip. Alaska is charging more: $299 round-trip. That said, Alaska offers a nonstop flight.
From Fairbanks to LA, Delta is charging $239 round-trip, while Alaska charges $318 round-trip. From Juneau to LA, Delta is charging $240 round-trip, while Alaska is asking $332 round-trip.
Boston: From Juneau to Boston, Delta is charging $380 round-trip, while Alaska wants $480. From Fairbanks to Boston, Delta charges $376 round-trip, versus $476 on Alaska. From Anchorage, Delta is charging $370 round-trip, while Alaska wants $458.
Pick any city pair: Anchorage-San Diego, Anchorage-Las Vegas or Fairbanks-Phoenix. Most, but not all, will show Delta priced lower than Alaska Airlines.
Price is just one consideration when buying your ticket. Bag fees are another issue. Just ask anyone who is enrolled in Alaska's Club 49 plan: You get two free checked bags! Delta has a similar plan for Alaskans so they can get two free checked bags. But there's a catch: You have to sign up for their SkyMiles mileage plan.
Mileage plans are another consideration for travelers. Alaska Airlines has a great plan. In fact, it just got better this week, when Alaska announced that Icelandair will again be a mileage partner. That means Alaskans can earn mileage credit when they fly over-the-top to Iceland and Europe during the summer with Icelandair. Although Alaska Airlines is not part of an airline alliance (like Delta's SkyTeam or United's Star Alliance), Alaska offers mileage-earning deals on many other carriers, including Hainan Airlines, British Airways, Air France, KLM, Emirates, Qantas and Aeromexico.
Delta's mileage plan, SkyMiles, recently changed from a mileage-based offer to a revenue-based scheme. Non-elite travelers earn five miles for every dollar they spend on a ticket. So if you spend $200 on a Delta ticket to Seattle, you'll earn 1,000 miles. Contrast that with Alaska's mileage-based plan, where you would earn 2,896 miles.
Delta and United were the latest mega-carriers to hop on the revenue-based loyalty plan bandwagon, along with Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin America. Alaska Airlines is a holdout, along with American Airlines. Frequent-flier mileage hounds (like me) and "travel hackers" love the mileage-based plans and hate the revenue-based plans. On the other hand, people who spend lots of money on airline tickets prefer to be rewarded for their expensive loyalty through revenue-based plans.
Alaska Airlines appears to be asking frequent fliers to weigh their loyalty carefully: Is it worth saving $50 or $100 with Delta in exchange for miles that are less valuable? It's a fair question. The answer is not black and white, though. Travelers still can get 50 percent of actual miles flown on Delta credited to their Alaska Airlines mileage account. However, you won't get the free bags on Delta if you opt to receive the Alaska Airlines miles.
Alaska Airlines is pouring a little gas on the mileage-junkie bonfire, too. Travelers who purchase qualifying PFD fares get an additional 1,000 bonus miles.
Delta is planting its flag with one year-round nonstop flight from both Juneau and Fairbanks to Seattle. And the airline has indicated both Ketchikan and Sitka are slated to once again receive seasonal service to Seattle. But Delta has no plans to offer intra-Alaska service. Nor does it have plans to serve the other far-flung, off-road destinations around the state. Alaska Airlines still is the only choice for jet service to places like Nome, Bethel, Kodiak and a host of other communities. This year's crop of Alaska Airlines PFD fares for Bush Alaska is great. Here are some examples:
- Nome-Seattle for $360 round-trip
- Bethel-Los Angeles for $431 round-trip
- Kodiak-San Diego for $498 round-trip
- Cordova-Denver for $491 round-trip
These rates from Bush Alaska are lower than previous fares to/from Anchorage to these popular destinations. There's no question that the competition between Alaska and Delta has brought fares down.
When you're planning your trips for the winter and spring, it's a good idea to check both Delta and Alaska to compare prices. Then, you can compare the benefits of the respective mileage programs, the free bag offers and even the credit card offers from both airlines. After that, you can make an informed choice about which airline works best for you.
Before you hit the "buy" button, be thankful that you have a choice about which airline to fly. That fact, all by itself, has led to fares dropping by more than 50 percent in many markets this year.
Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty-destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.