Atlanta to Alaska: Travels to the Last Frontier

For this trip, we needed to drop off our fur baby at my parents’ house and we needed to catch an Uber to the airport.  We decided to leave our car at my parents’ house and Uber from there.  This turned out to be a much cheaper option, as we were coming from the Sandy Springs/Buckhead area, and it allowed us to be able to pick up our puppy and car as soon as we arrived back from our trip.  We have parked at Hartsfield- Jackson airport in the past but do not try to do this as they are currently building a parking deck, so there is very little parking available. The project should be done in 2026.

Once we made it to the airport, we did curbside check-in for our bags downstairs, which took about 15 minutes, definitely quicker than doing it inside, which looked to be closer to a 30+ minute wait.  If you have global entry or you pay for pre-check, then you would have access to Digital ID, which is an even quicker way to check your bags and is also located down with Delta’s curbside check-in.  In case you are curious, the current cost at publication of TSA Pre-check is $78 and it is $100 for Global Entry (Global Entry has a much longer application processing time but is good for frequent international travelers).

I have clear but not pre-check so to go through security I had to wind around through the other terminal and go downstairs. Once I found it, I had almost no wait which was great because I actually got through it quicker than my husband who did have pre-check but as a fluke security took an extra 20 minutes for him.  We met up in the Delta sky club (which I had access to thanks to my American Express card) where we relaxed for about an hour.  We had a variety of drinks, like  sparkling wine, beer, and cocktails, and some yummy snacks, like bbq chicken, chips, brownies and cookies, to choose from.  We met up with our friends at the terminal and boarded the plane.  We sat in Comfort+ so we were able to enjoy plussed snacks and complimentary alcoholic beverages.  On our 4 hour flight, along with our friend, I watched the Barbie movie and enjoyed a few other shorter shows and clips.  When we arrived in Seattle we had a rather lengthy layover.  With my American Express card and because our friend is an executive with the company, the four of us were able to gain access to the Centurion club, which seems to be a glorified sky club where everything is included, even ice cream with toppings and fancy cocktails.

We then boarded a rather nice and large plane to Seward and spent the entire flight attempting to get some rest.  I was not super successful but I did enjoy some in-flight entertainment.  I started the new Aquaman movie, which was not great, and I watched most of Crazy, Stupid, Love, which turned out to be a good choice (and fits in with the Gosling theme that was started on the earlier flight). Chris, who travels frequently, declared the plane that we were on to be one of the nicest he had been on in years. Once we arrived in the small airport of Fairbanks we waited quite awhile at baggage claim.  The hotel arranged for a Lyft to pick us up, which was a long wait, but gave us the chance to be amazed by the eternal sunshine found during the spring/summer in Alaska.  We stayed at the Fairbanks Spring Hill Suites, which provided a nice bed for the few hours we were there and had a decent breakfast before heading out early to the train depot.

The bottom line, that we already knew but was confirmed, was that traveling from Georgia to Alaska was an adventure in and of itself.  There are a lot of logistics to consider and work out.  And, even if you think that you have the perfect plan, that plan can change.  Our flights changed 2 or 3 times and there was very little that we could do about that, just roll with it.  Having access to the Delta Sky Club and the Centurion club was really nice and being in Comfort+ made our experience much more enjoyable.  My advice for your trip to Alaska: be flexible, be prepared for a long day, and be resigned to the fact that a more luxurious experience is totally worth it.