For the past year or two, Alaska Airlines allowed you to pre-order meals from 21 days to 20 hours prior to departure. The only problem was that the ordering system only worked on the Alaska Airlines app for iPhone and Android devices. Alaska has promised for a long time to make meal pre-ordering available on the full alaskaair.com website.
Without much fanfare, it looks like the full version of the Alaska Airlines website is finally open for business – may I take your order, please? The ordering system works for both meals in first class and “buy on board” meals (BOB). Shelly and I are flying from Seattle to Phoenix on Wednesday so I tried ordering lunch for this short-haul flight in first class.
Ordering A First Class Meal
The full website allows you to order your meal in four easy steps. Here is how it works:
What About “BOB” Flying In Economy?
If you are flying in economy, use can use food ordering for Buy On Board (BOB) purchases. Flying in economy can be stressful so it is great that you can fly in the back of the plane and you still get your first choice of BOB meal. No more hearing the flight attendant say: “I’m sorry, we ran out of your first choice”. Ordering BOB meals follow the same steps that are shown above. Alaska Airlines does offer a variety of BOB options and they change seasonally so that you are offered a variety of choices. Here are some of the current BOB choices:
“BOB” For 20% Off
If you have an Alaska Airlines Visa credit card, you will receive a 20% credit on your inflight “BOB” purchases. Another credit perk from this credit card is that you can purchase a $50.00 Alaska Lounge day pass for half-off at just $25.00. When you purchase your airfare with the Alaska Airlines Visa card at www.alaskaair.com, you and up to six additional passengers on the same reservation get to check one bag for free. If that isn’t good enough, there is the Alaska Airlines annual companion voucher where your companion flys for just $99.00 plus taxes.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes the biggest drawback is dealing with an airline is the IT department. The mobile app food ordering has worked for over a year and finally, the desktop version has finally caught up and it works well. Pre-ordering a meal on Alaska Airlines works for both first class and Buy On Board (BOB) meals in economy. The days of hearing your flight attendant tell you: “I’m sorry, we just ran out of your first choice” are gone. Meal ordering is available from 21 days to 20 hours prior to departure.
Don’t forget, you will receive a 20% credit on your “BOB” purchases with the Alaska Airlines visa credit card.