Alaska Airlines App: Complete Travel Guide for 2026

Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Daniel Globe

Flying Alaska Airlines is easier when you understand the app, fare rules, airport deadlines, baggage limits, and security options before leaving home. The Alaska Airlines app is now part of the unified Alaska Hawaiian mobile app, where you can check in, retrieve a boarding pass, monitor flight changes, pay for bags, manage seats, and handle many reservation changes from your phone.

Download and Set Up the Alaska Airlines App

The former Alaska Airlines app became the unified Alaska Hawaiian mobile app in 2026. It supports trips operated by either airline and lets you choose an Alaska- or Hawaiian-themed display.

You can use the app without an Atmos Rewards account, but signing in makes it easier to save passenger information, access future trips, track points, and store your Known Traveler Number for TSA PreCheck. Core features include:

• Booking and managing Alaska or Hawaiian flights
• Checking in and retrieving a mobile boarding pass
• Receiving gate, delay, cancellation, and boarding updates
• Adding and paying for checked bags
• Changing seats or purchasing an eligible upgrade
• Preordering food on eligible flights
• Changing or canceling eligible reservations
• Sharing boarding passes with travel companions

Before travel day, update the app, enable notifications, and confirm that your name, birth date, Known Traveler Number, passport details, and contact information match your reservation.

Choose the Right Fare Before Booking

The lowest advertised Alaska fare may be a Saver fare. It includes one carry-on bag and one personal item, but it has more restrictions than Main Cabin. Read the fare label before paying, especially when traveling with another person or when your plans may change.

Main Cabin Fares

Main Cabin tickets generally let you choose an available standard seat, change your flight without a standard change fee, and earn Atmos Rewards points under the applicable earning rules. You still pay any increase in fare when changing flights.

Saver Fare Restrictions

Under Alaska’s current Saver fare policy:

• Seats are normally assigned at check-in or at the gate.
• Groups are not guaranteed seats together, although Alaska’s family-seating commitment still applies to eligible children.
• Most advance changes are not allowed.
• An eligible same-day confirmed change may be available for a fee.
• A Saver ticket may qualify for a 50% travel credit when canceled at least 14 days before the first flight.
• The standard 24-hour cancellation policy still applies to eligible bookings.
• Missing one flight can cancel the remaining itinerary and forfeit the fare.
• Saver passengers normally board in the final boarding group unless another benefit applies.

Check In and Arrive on Time

You can generally check in online or through the app from 1 to 24 hours before scheduled departure. During check-in, confirm your passenger details, review the seat assignment, add eligible bags, and save the boarding pass.

Some international itineraries, document checks, pet reservations, unaccompanied-minor trips, and special-service requests may still require help from an airport agent.

Recommended Airport Arrival

• Domestic flights: Plan to reach the airport about two hours before departure.
• International flights: Plan to reach the airport about three hours before departure.
• Busy travel periods: Add time for traffic, parking, construction, long security lines, or oversized baggage.

These recommendations are separate from Alaska’s mandatory check-in and baggage-processing cutoffs. For many itineraries, passengers and checked bags must be processed at least 50 minutes before a domestic U.S. departure and 60 minutes before an international departure. Hawaiʻi interisland flights may use a shorter cutoff, and certain airports have special rules.

The 50- and 60-minute figures are minimum processing deadlines—not recommended airport arrival times.

Turn on flight notifications after checking in. The app can alert you to gate changes, delays, cancellations, and updated boarding times, but continue watching airport displays and listening for announcements.

Preorder Meals and Pack Smart

Alaska allows food preorders on eligible flights through the app or website, generally from two weeks until 20 hours before departure. Availability depends on the flight length, cabin, route, and catering schedule, so the preorder option will not appear for every trip.

Preorder Your Meal

Open your trip in the app and look for the food-preorder option. Review the menu, select an item, and store an accepted payment method when required. Fresh meals and popular platters may sell out, so ordering early provides the best selection.

Preordering reserves the item but does not always mean it is prepaid. Review the checkout message and keep a payment method available onboard.

Carry-On and Checked Baggage

Alaska’s standard carry-on limit is 22 × 14 × 9 inches, including wheels, handles, and expandable pockets. Each passenger may also bring one smaller personal item that fits under the seat.

Standard checked baggage is generally limited to 50 pounds and 62 total linear inches before overweight or oversized charges apply. For eligible North American tickets issued on or after April 10, 2026, Alaska’s published standard fees are:

• First checked bag: $45
• Second checked bag: $55
• Third and additional checked bags: $200 each

Different prices and allowances can apply to travel wholly within Hawaiʻi, First Class tickets, active-duty military passengers, Club 49 or Huakaʻi members, Atmos Rewards status members, eligible credit-card holders, and partner-airline itineraries.

Place medication, identification, keys, electronics, valuables, and essential documents in your personal item rather than checked baggage. Add contact information both outside and inside each checked bag.

Get Through Security Faster

Travelers age 18 or older need a REAL ID-compliant state license or another form of identification accepted by the Transportation Security Administration for domestic air travel. Keep the physical ID accessible even when using a mobile boarding pass.

For carry-on liquids, follow the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule: containers must normally hold 3.4 ounces or less and fit in one quart-sized bag. Medication, infant nourishment, and certain other necessary liquids may qualify for exceptions but must be declared for screening.

TSA ended its general shoes-off policy at domestic checkpoints in July 2025. However, screening procedures can still vary by airport, lane, equipment, and security need. Wait for the officer’s directions before removing electronics, liquids, jackets, belts, or footwear.

TSA PreCheck and Global Entry

TSA PreCheck passengers using an eligible lane can usually leave compliant liquids and laptops in their bags and keep on belts, light jackets, and shoes. Add your Known Traveler Number to your Atmos Rewards profile and confirm that the TSA PreCheck indicator appears on your boarding pass.

Global Entry is mainly an expedited U.S. customs program for eligible international arrivals, but approved members also receive TSA PreCheck eligibility when their membership information is entered correctly.

Use SEA Spot Saver in Seattle

If you are departing from Seattle and will use general screening, SEA Spot Saver lets you reserve a free screening appointment up to five days before departure or request an available time after arriving at the terminal.

Appointments are normally offered from 240 to 60 minutes before departure during published program hours. SEA Spot Saver does not provide TSA PreCheck benefits; PreCheck passengers generally receive a better experience by using a dedicated PreCheck lane.

Travel With Kids, Pets, and Assistance

Traveling With Kids

Alaska and Hawaiian guarantee that an eligible child age 13 or younger will be seated next to at least one accompanying adult without an extra seat fee, subject to the conditions in the airline’s family-seating policy.

Book the family on one reservation, choose seats as early as possible, and avoid changing seats after booking. If the app does not show suitable seats, contact the airline before the travel date rather than waiting until boarding.

Car seats and strollers may be checked free at the ticket counter or gate. Attach a durable identification tag and consider using a protective bag because these items will move through the baggage-handling system.

1. Pack snacks, medication, diapers, and one change of clothes in the personal item.
2. Download entertainment before leaving home in case onboard connectivity is unavailable.
3. Keep birth certificates, passports, consent letters, and other required documents together.
4. Ask the gate agent about family preboarding when additional time is needed.

Unaccompanied Minors

Alaska’s Junior Jetsetters service has age, route, connection, escort, and fee rules. Review the official policy before booking an unaccompanied minor, provide accurate contact information for both responsible adults, and arrive early enough to complete the required forms and obtain an escort pass when available.

International trips can require additional consent documents or destination-specific paperwork. Check government entry rules as well as airline requirements.

Pet Travel Rules

Alaska offers more than one pet-travel option. Small dogs and cats may travel in the cabin in an approved under-seat carrier when space is reserved. The standard in-cabin pet fee is generally $100 each way per carrier, with different pricing for travel wholly within Hawaiʻi.

Eligible pets may also travel in Alaska’s climate-controlled baggage compartment. Species, breed, aircraft, temperature, route, kennel, health-document, and destination restrictions apply. Space is limited in both the cabin and baggage compartment, so contact Alaska before purchasing a nonrefundable kennel or finalizing the itinerary.

Only trained service dogs qualify under Alaska’s service-animal policy. Emotional-support animals are not accepted as service animals but may be eligible to travel under the standard pet rules. Required U.S. Department of Transportation service-animal forms should be completed within the airline’s deadline.

Request Accessibility Assistance

Passengers can request wheelchair help, boarding assistance, seating accommodations, or support for a mobility device through Alaska’s accessible travel services. Add the request to the reservation as early as possible and confirm it again at check-in.

For help understanding security screening with a disability or medical condition, contact TSA Cares at least 72 hours before departure when possible.

Use Atmos Rewards to Earn Points

Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines combined Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles into Atmos Rewards in August 2025. Existing balances converted at one point for each former mile, and eligible members retained their account history and status.

Atmos Rewards uses two important measures:

• Redeemable points: Points that can be used for eligible flights and other rewards.
• Status points: Points that count toward Atmos Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Titanium status but cannot be redeemed as currency.

How Flight Earning Works

Eligible Alaska, Hawaiian, oneworld, and global-partner flights can earn points under the fare and partner rules. Atmos Rewards introduced more earning choice in 2026, including options based on distance, ticket price, or flight segments.

Saver fares require special attention:

• Eligible Saver travel through July 31, 2026, earns 30% of flown distance under the transitional rule.
• Saver travel booked before June 11, 2026, can retain transitional earning even when flown later, although posting may take additional time.
• Saver fares booked after June 11, 2026, for travel on or after August 1, 2026, do not earn redeemable points or status points.
• Eligible Alaska or Hawaiian flight distance can still count toward lifetime Million Miler credit under the published rules.

Boost Points With Partners

Atmos Rewards members can earn beyond airline tickets through eligible partners. Enrollment, booking channels, minimum spending, and promotional rules vary.

Handle Changes, Delays, and Cancellations

When plans change, open the trip in the app or use Alaska’s online reservation-management tool. Eligible Main Cabin, Premium Class, and First Class tickets generally have no standard change fee, but a fare increase may apply.

1. Read the alert in the app, email, or text message.
2. Open the reservation and review the replacement-flight options.
3. Confirm whether the change affects seats, upgrades, meals, bags, or connections.
4. Save the revised boarding pass after accepting a new itinerary.
5. Contact Alaska if the app cannot handle an international document issue, partner flight, pet booking, unaccompanied minor, or special-service request.

If Alaska cancels or significantly changes a flight, the available rebooking or refund choices depend on the circumstances and the airline’s current customer-service commitments. A Saver passenger affected by an airline-controlled cancellation or schedule change receives the same disruption options offered to a Main Cabin passenger.

Check In-Flight Amenities Before Departure

Alaska offers free streaming entertainment with more than 1,000 movies and television programs on supported aircraft. Bring a charged phone, tablet, or laptop and headphones because many flights use your own device rather than a seatback screen.

Free Starlink Wi-Fi is available to Atmos Rewards members on select equipped flights, with additional aircraft being upgraded through 2027. Many aircraft that have not yet received Starlink offer paid satellite Wi-Fi, commonly advertised at $8. Free messaging may also be available.

Power, food, beverage service, Wi-Fi, and entertainment vary by aircraft, route, flight length, turbulence, and operational conditions. Check the trip details in the app and download essential work or entertainment before boarding.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Alaska Airlines’ checked-bag fees?

For eligible North American tickets issued on or after April 10, 2026, the standard fees are generally $45 for the first checked bag, $55 for the second, and $200 for each additional bag. Route, cabin, status, cardholder, military, Club 49, Huakaʻi, and partner-airline exceptions may apply.

How early can I check in, and when should I arrive?

Online and mobile check-in generally opens 24 hours and closes one hour before departure. Plan to arrive about two hours before a domestic flight or three hours before an international flight. Check your departure airport because mandatory baggage and passenger-processing cutoffs vary.

How can I change or cancel an Alaska Airlines reservation?

Use the unified app or Alaska’s website to manage an eligible reservation. Main Cabin, Premium Class, and First Class tickets generally have no standard change fee, although you pay any fare increase. Refund eligibility depends on the ticket type and timing.

Can I change or cancel a Saver fare?

Most advance changes are not allowed. An eligible same-day confirmed change may be available for a fee, and cancellation at least 14 days before departure may qualify for a 50% credit. The 24-hour cancellation policy also applies to eligible bookings.

Does Alaska Airlines offer Premium Class or First Class upgrades?

Yes. Eligible passengers can purchase Premium Class or First Class seats during booking, through reservation management, during check-in, or at the airport when space is available. Atmos Rewards status members may qualify for complimentary upgrades under the current status and fare rules.

How do I redeem Atmos Rewards points for flights?

Sign in to Atmos Rewards, search for eligible flights, and choose the option to view or pay with points. Compare schedules, cabins, partner availability, taxes, and cancellation rules before confirming the award ticket.

Can pets travel in the cabin or baggage compartment?

Yes, when eligible. Small dogs and cats can travel in approved under-seat carriers in the cabin, while eligible animals can travel in Alaska’s climate-controlled baggage compartment. Space, fees, kennel rules, breed restrictions, temperatures, aircraft, routes, and destination requirements apply.

What in-flight amenities are available on Alaska Airlines?

Amenities can include free streaming entertainment, free messaging, paid satellite Wi-Fi, free Starlink Wi-Fi for Atmos Rewards members on equipped flights, power outlets, beverages, snacks, and preorder food. Availability varies by aircraft, cabin, route, flight length, and operating conditions.

Conclusion

The unified Alaska Hawaiian app can handle much of an Alaska Airlines trip, including check-in, boarding passes, baggage payment, alerts, seats, food preorders, and eligible reservation changes. The most important step is to distinguish convenient app features from firm airline and airport deadlines.

Arrive well before the minimum cutoff, verify the baggage rules attached to your ticket, and read Saver restrictions before choosing the lowest fare. Travelers with children, pets, service animals, or accessibility needs should make arrangements early because space and documentation requirements can limit same-day options. Finally, use current Atmos Rewards rules—not the former Mileage Plan assumptions—when comparing fares and expected points.

Sources

1. Alaska Airlines: Unified Alaska Hawaiian App — app transition dates, supported airlines, boarding passes, baggage payment, check-in, and trip-management features
2. Alaska Airlines: 2026 Bag Fee Update — April 10, 2026 fee changes, geographic scope, and major waiver categories
3. Alaska Airlines: Check-In and Boarding Cutoff Times — domestic, international, Hawaiʻi interisland, and airport-specific processing deadlines
4. Transportation Security Administration: Acceptable Identification — REAL ID enforcement and alternative identification accepted at checkpoints
5. Port of Seattle: SEA Spot Saver — reservation window, program hours, checkpoint use, and eligibility
6. Alaska Airlines: Atmos Rewards 2026 Updates — current points, status, benefits, and earning options