Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class review: old and ugly (and smelly) no more!

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class was something that I generally tried to avoid up until recently.

It looked old. It smelled old. It made me feel old.

But things have changed. Not only do the seats look stylish and clean now, they feature modern amenities such as USB-C charging ports and retractable leg rests.

The fact that I can vividly remember what things used to be like still makes me feel old however. Can’t win ‘em all I guess.

AS1618
Denver, CO (DEN) – San Diego, CA (SAN)
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Aircraft: 737-890
Registration: N590AS
Duration: 1 hour 56 minutes
Seat: 4F (First Class)

Alaska Airlines 737-800 side view illustration by NorebboStock.com

AS1618 route map — Our route from Denver to San Diego this morning as AS618

My full review of Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class from Denver to San Diego

To fully appreciate what I’m about to show you, take a look at what first class on the 737-800 was like back in 2018. Can you believe we used to live like that?

Checking in at DEN

Hallelujah for reasonable departure times! This flight to San Diego was scheduled to depart at 11:32 AM, so there was no need to arrive blurry eyed and disoriented at the crack of dawn. I think I arrived at 8:26 AM. I was too distracted by the sight of a freshly manicured lawn to even notice.

Standing outside of the main terminal of the Denver International Airport in the grass covered Plaza next to the Westin hotel — Welcome to the Denver International Airport! As you can see, they take lawn care very (very) seriously here.

Standing in the grass covered plaza at the Denver International Airport next to the Westin hotel — ***looks down to make sure that I’m not standing in a giant pile of dog poo***

Scott Leazenby standing outside of the Denver International Airport in the grass covered plaza next to the Westin hotel — Believe or not, this is not the first time that I’ve touched grass (and maybe stepped in dog poo) just moments before walking into an airport. The other time was when I flew Alaska E175 first class out of Santa Rosa, so the only logical thing to conclude from this is that you’re very likely to experience grass (and maybe dog poo) whenever flying Alaska Airlines first class.

Denver International Airport main terminal canvas roof looking at it from the inside — A roof built of canvas is strictly a Denver thing however. They ain’t got the budget for that up in Santa Rosa.

Baggage drop and check in area for Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Aer Lingus, and JetBlue at the Denver international airport — Speaking of limited budgets, here is the entirety of the Alaska Airlines / Allegiant Air / Aer Lingus / JetBlue baggage drop and check-in area.

Train track sculpture in the central terminal of the A concourse Denver International Airport

Moving walkways inside of the A concourse Denver International Airport

Alaska Airlines gate A44 Denver International Airport — OMG! Gate 844! (Just trying to inject some excitement to otherwise routine Alaska Airlines review).

What about lounge access? Good question. Alaska Airlines does offer lounge access to domestic first class customers – but only on flights longer than 2000 miles. Denver San Diego doesn’t qualify, buckaroo.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 pulling up to gate A44 Denver International Airport — The 737-800 which will be taking me to San Diego this morning has arrived. The ramp worker seems skeptical. *“Let’s see if this MF’r can hit the mark today….”*

Passengers lining up to board in Alaska Airlines flight to San Diego flight at gate A44 at the Denver International Airport — Here in the terminal, it was more of a feeling of hope than skepticism. *“I really hope these MF’rs can get this flight off on time.”*

The boarding process

Boarding was called 6 minutes late at 10:58 AM. It went so quickly and smoothly as a matter of fact, that I wasn’t even ready to board when they called for first class. I was still midstream in the men’s room when I heard the announcement.

Alaska Airlines Denver to San Diego first class mobile boarding pass — DEN to SAN on Alaska Airlines? Just think how crazy that would’ve seemed just after their first flight back in 1932. The mobile boarding pass thing probably would’ve made total sense, but Denver? To San Diego? Inconceivable!

Inside gate A44 jet Bridge Denver International Airport

Scott Leazenby walking down gate A44 jet bridge Denver International Airport

Getting a close-up look at the Alaska Airlines 737-800 just moments before stepping inside the forward boarding door — “ALASKA”. Not sure how this is any different than me walking around with a shirt that says “SCOTT”, but whatever. It’s a good lookin’ airplane.

Alaska airlines 737-800 forward boarding door — Will my life be forever changed once I cross the threshold of this boarding door? No skipping ahead!

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class seats and cabin overview

There are 4 rows of first class seats arranged in a 3-3 layout on the 737-800 (Just like it always used to be). However, unlike recent past, these seats actually look clean ‘n modern now.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class cabin — *“Welcome to Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class!”* It’s worth noting that nobody actually said this to me, because (as you can see), the flight attendant turned around and walked away as soon as he saw me coming.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class row 4 — *“Here we have row 4, featuring extra wide seats, generous legroom (with extendable light rests), premium textures, and integrated cupholders. Enjoy!”* The voices in my head sure are welcoming, aren’t they?

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class seatback without video screens — Funny how the voices in my head forgot to mention the lack of video screens.

These seats are nearly identical to the seats that you saw in my Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 first class review. Interestingly enough, they’re different than the ones in 737-900 first class. Not only different, but better.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class legroom and seat width — Who needs video screens? You’ll be spending all your time taking pictures of the generous legroom (and extra seat width) anyway.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class under seat storage space — Under seat storage space is pretty good. Even with the retractable foot rests, I was able to place my backpack under there without much fuss. Kicking (and cussing) was minimal.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class retractable foot rests — And FWIW, the texture and hard edges of those retractable foot rests will wipe poo off the bottom of your shoes like it’s nothin’. Don’t be afraid to touch a little grass before your next Alaska Airlines flight.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class knee room and space between the seats — You’re kind of out of luck if there’s poo on your knees however. Not only are the seatbacks smooth and untextured, the legroom is that good.

USB-C charging port in the seatback of Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — USB-C for both me *and* thee. I think it’s safe to say that I’m ready to move onto the next section…

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class cabin looking forward from row 4

Scott Leazenby looking out the window of seat 4F Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class

Departure from Denver

They were able to get us pushed off the gate one minute early at 11:31 AM. The satisfaction of an early departure was short-lived however, as it took us nearly 30 minutes to reach the runway. DEN life, I guess.

Alaska Airlines Aircraft parked at concourse A Denver International Airport — *“Have a good flight bro.” “Thanks bro. You too.”* (Typically cordial conversation between the Eskimos here at Concourse A)

Alaska Airlines 737-800 wing and winglet passing by Concourse A Denver International Airport

United Airlines and Frontier Airlines aircraft taxiing out for departure Denver International Airport

Turning onto runway 25 for departure at the Denver International Airport — One last opportunity to wipe a little dog poo off the forward landing gear as we make the turn onto runway 25.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 rolling down runway 25 at the Denver International Airport for departure — Good news: whatever wasn’t scrubbed off during that turn will surely be flung off once we’re in the air.

View of Alaska Airlines 737-800 wing and winglet just moments after taking off from runway 25 at DEN — There must’ve been a lot of it, because they left the landing year down a little bit longer than normal. *“Alaska 1618, contact departure on 126.8. And that was really gross.”*

We departed runway 25 at exactly 12 PM, which was 18 minutes behind schedule. Congestion around the taxiways was thick this morning so it could’ve been worse I guess.

In-flight entertainment

As you’ve already seen, there are no screens in these seats. Instead, Alaska Airlines offers a really good streaming in-flight entertainment product that you can access from your personal device.

This streaming in flight entertainment system contains a wide variety of movies and TV shows, and the connection is solid as a rock. No buffering. No crashing. No complaints.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class in-flight entertainment movie detail screen

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class inflate entertainment movies menu

Personal device holder in the seatback of Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — Thanks for the personal device holder. Those of you who actually want to be able to see what you’re watching should probably fly Delta A320 first class instead.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class in flight entertainment destination weather screen — Quick San Diego weather check. “Same ‘ol same ‘ol I see.”

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class in flight entertainment interactive map screen showing our exact position — There’s also this handy screen showing our exact position on an interactive map. My apologies for the blurriness, but it was the best I could do with all that dog poo smeared on the lens.

The meal service

Alaska Airlines is the only US airline that will serve meals to first class passengers on flights shorter than 2 1/2 hours. Heck yeah! Maybe the food isn’t the greatest (or most substantial), but it’s always flavorful and unique.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class in flight drink and snack menu — Cookies and hooch. Welcome to Alaska Airlines first class!

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class tree table with device holder — And by “hooch” I mean apple juice (of course). And check out that handy device holder built into the tray table, will ya?

I didn’t even get my drink until an hour into the flight. By the time I got my meal, there was only 50 minutes of flying time remaining. There was no urgency at all from the cabin crew. None. Zilch. Nada.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class chicken enchilada meal — Wait wut? Something *other* than the Signature Alaska Airlines Fruit and Cheese Plate this time? When chicken enchiladas are on the menu, hell yes.

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class chicken enchiladas entrée — You ain’t lived until you’ve eaten Mexican food on an Alaskan airline.

Close-up of my chicken enchiladas served in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first clas — Chicken enchiladas, Anchorage style. They were pretty good. I wonder if Mexico knows about this?

Fresh chocolate chip cookie served in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — Hot. Steamy. Gooey. This is my kind of chocolate chip cookie!

Scott Leazenby eating the hot fresh chocolate chip cookies served in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — Messy too. Very daring of Alaska Airlines to hand out melty chocolate chip cookies to idiots like me (who will no doubt get chocolate all over everything).

Seat recline and comfort

Honestly? There’s nothing much to say about seat recline. It is what it is (and it ain’t much better than what you saw in my old Alaska Airlines 737-800 economy review from 2017).

The extendable leg rest is by far the best feature of this seat. That’s ~~somewhat~~ extravagant for domestic US first class these days, so props to Alaska Airlines for including it here on these tired old 737-800s.

Seat recline and extendable leg rest buttons in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — Nevermind that the seat recline button looks like a fart button at first glance. There’s a freakin’ leg rest button right next to it!

Extendable leg rest in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — *“Oh yeah. That’s the stuff.”*

Crossing my legs in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — The leg rest was comfortable and all, but I couldn’t help to default back to my standard position. Thankfully there’s enough wiggle room in these seats to be indecisive like that.

Scott Leazenby adjusting his headrest in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — This probably looks like I’m adjusting the headrest (which was highly adjustable and quite comfy IMHO). Fair assumption, but I was actually wiping chocolate off of it. I told you that cookie was messy!

The descent and arrival into San Diego

I was too busy trying to scarf down my meal to notice that we had made up a lot of lost time in the air. We were only one minute behind schedule by the time we started the descent into San Diego.

Looking out the window of an Alaska Airlines 737-800 while on approach into San Diego — Alaska sure does look dry this time of year, doesn’t it? Weird.

Looking out the window of an Alaska Airlines 737-800 overlying the air and space Museum while on approach into San Diego

Looking out the window of an Alaska Airlines 737-800 over flying little Italy while on approach into San Diego

Looking out the window of an Alaska Airlines 737-800 just moments after touching down on runway 27 at SAN — Welcome to San Diego! Surprised I can even see anything with all that chocolate smeared on the window.

Looking out the window of an Alaska Airlines 737-800 while pulling up to terminal 2 East at the San Diego International Airport — Better than dog poo I guess. *“Welcome to San Diego bro.” “Thanks bro. You too.”*

We touched down on runway 27 one minute late at 12:56 PM. We exited the runway pretty much right where our gate was located in T2E, which resulted in a scant 3 minute taxi time.

Unbuckling my seatbelt in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — A moment of regret as I realized that I didn’t even get the chance to use that big honkin’ cupholder in the center armrest. Oh what could have been.

Retrieving my backpack from under the seat in front of me at the end of the flight in Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class — *“Don’t touch the dog poo. Don’t touch the dog poo. Don’t touch the dog poo.”*

Pros and cons of Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class

I love it when I’m able to scratch off an aircraft from my “yeah I’d rather not fly that” list. Alaska Airlines has done a fantastic job updating these old 737-800s, and now it’s really hard to tell that they are some of the oldest aircraft in the entire fleet.

Pros

The seats are every bit as good as we are on the 737 MAX aircraft (the newest and most up-to-date aircraft in the fleet).
Extendable leg rests! Extendable leg rests!
Not only are there personal device holders in the seatbacks, but they exist on the tray tables as well.

Cons

No video screens? Come on, man. Even American Airlines is bringing them back.
I’ll never complain about free meals, but RIP to your grumbling stomach if you’re seated in the last row of first class on a short flight. You’ll barely have any time to eat.

2 Comments

Christopher Norris says:

September 2, 2026 at 6:03 pm

Are you sure that wasn’t a fart button??

1. Scott Leazenby (SANspotter) says:
  
  September 2, 2026 at 7:08 pm
  
  If it looks like a fart button, I’m not pressing it!

Alaska Airlines 737-800 first class review: old and ugly (and smelly) no more!