Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Dayton International Airport

Well, hold onto your hats, fellow adventurers. Today we’re hopping aboard imaginary Flight 2401, a pleasantly hypothetical journey floating on the far-from-ambitious wings of the Alaskan Airline, from coffee-loving Seattle to the home of the "Birthplace of aviation", Dayton. The subject of today's blog: talking turkey about the finest points of the mystical journey between those two buzzing urbanities. Let's soar into the skies, shall we?

First, a word or two about my meandering subjects: Seattle, our starting point, is as well-known for its mermaid-clad coffee cups as it is for its globe-on-a-needle landmark. Dayton - our final destination - on the other hand, gave birth to the Wright brothers, the inventors of flight, thereby linking our travel subjects indelibly by their contributions to keeping us up in the stratosphere.

What about our flying chariot, the Alaskan Airline? A cheeky inside scoop for you: despite the name, the airline isn't actually based in Alaska. Spoiler alert: the Great Land – (and did you know that Alaska is nicknamed "The Great Land" due to its largeness, spanning two-tenths of the United States?) – apart from its beauty, glory, and majestic bears, hosts only a minor hub for our plane-carrier. Our primary point, Seattle, holds the prestigious title. Quite the swerve, is it not?

I know, I know. You’re thinking, “How am I going to make my way to Dayton?” Fear not, fellow journeymen. Alaskan offers a banquet of "Direct flights," "One-way" or "Round-trip", and even the mercy-seat of a deluxe "First-class". They heard your silent screams for comfort and came riding in on their imaginary white horse, armed with generous "Baggage allowances" and a top-shelf "In-flight service".

For the penny-pinchers, economy martyrs, and students (a category particularly dear to my heart and my wallet), there is the joyous option of "Cheap flights". Yes, you may have to grin and bear a "layover" or two, but such is the brave burden of the budget-bound.

Now, the uncertain and spontaneous amongst us can bask in the glory of "Last-minute flights". Wallop! There you have it, on a silver plated cloud, ready for your unplanned escapes. Enter the crafty world of unpredictable discounts and surprise "Flight deals". Be warned though, this road less traveled by might leave you red-eyed on a "Red-eye flight". But remember, traveller, every cloud has a silver lining. Or in this case, every flight has a complimentary peanuts and a tiny cup of lukewarm coffee.

For those of you who dread the idea of making your own bookings (no judgments here), don't fanny about with guesses. Outsourcing is an Olympic sport, haven’t you heard? Consider the trusty breath of fresh air that is the "Best time to book". It’s modern, it’s magical, it’s algorithmically magnificent.

Bitten by the mile-high bug? Alaskan rewards its loyal "Frequent flyers" with a nifty "Mileage program". It’s carrot and stick, minus the stick, replaced instead by some wonderful air mile carrots cooked to perfection in the roasting oven of loyalty rewards.

Admittedly, it may not be the ultimate joy-inducing activity, but our sky cruise will ensure you get to Dayton from Seattle with a smirk on your face. After all, isn’t all of life just a great big "Connecting flight" to our next marvelous little adventure? You might just find that the journey is as delightful as the destination. Bon voyage, until we meet again in the airport terminal of life.