Tag Archives: Southwest

Southwest Flight 154

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Depart Los Angeles (LAX) at 10:55 AM
Arrive in Denver (DEN) at 02:10 PM

Having too much too drink the night before a flight makes for a rough morning. Luckily, flying Southwest out of LAX on a Saturday morning is quite different then a Monday morning, making things a lot less stressful. The area outside of the terminal was not overflowing with cars dropping off travelers, the baggage check line was short, and the security line didn’t even flow off the second level. The best part though is the flight is not full and, as a result, I have free access to spread my legs a little bit into the unmanned middle seat.

This trip to Colorado has multiple purposes, work and play. Today I’m going to check-in at Dakota Lodge at Keystone Resort, where my condo has been stranded without me for over 2 years. I may have to do some research to figure out the last time I stayed there. I’ll add that info later. I’m hoping to relax tonight after I arrive, then get some outdoor time on the mountain tomorrow before stopping to enjoy Sunday night football (featuring the NY Jets). I’m thinking the outdoor time tomorrow will be in the form of a hike, but we’ll see, maybe I’ll rent a bike or get a round of golf in. All options are open for discussion after I wake up and get some coffee at Starbucks. However, the discussion will be one sided as only I’ll be the only one involved in the discussion.

The remaining part of the trip starting Monday morning will be spent working in Broomfield, CO. This is the first of 2 consecutive trips to Colorado, with the second trip occurring next week. Rumor has it I might find myself here again in January. Ah, the life and time of a business traveller, finding time to fit in a pseudo get-a-way in between trips.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend.

UPDATE: Turns out I was close, the last time I made it to Keystone was August 2009.

Southwest 1543

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Depart Los Angeles (LAX) at 08:40 AM
Arrive in Sacramento (SMF) at 09:55 AM

This is one of the few occasions where I purchased a ticket with the same depart/arrival times to a destination in consecutive weeks. With that in mind and little else to discuss about this uneventful morning, I’m able to do a little comparison between this week and last regarding the security line. Last week the length of the line almost reached the second terminal. Today wasn’t as bad, but the line still had me starting outside. I did get here about 10 minutes earlier today and was also able to get through security faster with little stress. That’s it for today, enjoy the week ahead.

Southwest 1596

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Depart SACRAMENTO CA (SMF) at 5:40 PM
Arrive in LOS ANGELES INTL (LAX) at 7:00 PM

The last time I travelled to Sacramento for more than a day trip was over 10 years ago. At the time I worked for the Office of Personnel Management, lived in the DC area, and had bundles of energy to enjoy it. Problem is, other than a day trip to Lake Tahoe and the extreme heat, I don’t really remember much from that trip. There was no day trip to the lake this time around, but the heat was still alive and kicking.

I spent the majority of my time this week on the south east side of Sacramento in the Rancho Cordova area. There were two things I noticed about the area. First, they’ve done what they can to make their roads biker friendly. There are bicycle lanes all over the place. Second, the economy has hit the area hard. There wasn’t a strip mall I passed that didn’t have a major space open for rent. Also, other than a single Chili’s, there was a lack of casual sit down restaurants for a decent dinner. And Hooters doesn’t count as an option. After work dining turned into more of a fast food affair, with Chipotle being my favorite.

I liked the Fairfield Inn. It looked like the hotel was relatively new, which also means is was still relatively clean. They offered after work snacks and beer. I took a break from the usual Captain and Coke for a free beer a couple of times.

The car rental was through National, who I’ve been using the past few times for travel. The Mazda 6 was a nice option. I was surprised when they gave me a $15 discount after making a comment about the key holder getting stuck. The comment was not made in frustration, just in general so they can switch it out for a working key before they rent it out again. The discount was not in my thought process and was totally unexpected. Kudos to National for giving their employees that leeway.

Oh, and I almost forgot, the Sacramento Southwest terminal (#1) is about as opposite as you can get from LAX airport. Considering the time I’m leaving Sacramento, you would thing getting through security would be a pain, but I made it through in less than 10 minutes.

Well, it’s time for me to make my way to the gate for boarding. It looks like the flight is going to take off about 25 minutes late as of right now. Hopefully that won’t get any worse.

Southwest 1543

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View from the back of the LAX Southwest security line.


Depart Los Angeles, CA at 08:40 AM
Arrive in Sacramento, CA at 09:55 AM

Flying with Southwest out of LAX on a Monday morning is not for the faint of heart. It’s not uncommon for the security line to reach the outdoors. This morning the line almost reached Terminal 2. Arriving at the airport 1 hr. 40 minutes before the scheduled departure time I was at the gate with about 40 minutes to spare.

Southwest Flight 398/989

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Southwest Airlines Flight #398
Depart Birmingham (BHM) at 01:55 PM
Arrive in Las Vegas (LAS) at 03:55 PM

Southwest Airlines Flight #989
Depart Las Vegas (LAS) at 05:35 PM
Arrive in Los Angeles (LAX) at 06:40 PM

Apparently I arrived in Birmingham for what is an unusually hot spring. This past week the temps were in the mid-90′s and, as anyone that’s been to the east coast can tell you, quite humid. I have a feeling by the time I get back home to high 60′s weather in Venice I’ll think it’s cold… or just perfect. There isn’t much to say about Birmingham airport, food options are quite limited both outside and inside of the security area. I will give the airport kudos for one thing though… it is relatively stress free if you arrive at the airport early. Unlike my experience with Birmingham airport 2 weeks ago, I arrived at the airport about 1 hour 45 minutes before departure time, did my usual change of clothes, checked-in, and was thru security with over an hour left to relax. Food options included a Quizno’s, some sort of bar and grill, and a Pizza Hut Express. There’s also a Starbucks in the terminal, but I stayed away from there and decided to go with a small pizza from Pizza Hut.

What can I say about Southwest that most people don’t already know already? The airline isn’t for everyone. I checked-in online late – about 6 hours before departure – got boarding number B-40 and was still able to get an aisle seat. I probably could have had a window seat, but instead chose the aisle seat in row 2. As I’ve said before though, I like how you pay a price and only pay more for upgrades. No baggage fees! That’s the not-so-secret way other airlines are able to make extra money. I did have the option for Wi-Fi on this flight, and it might have been worth it for a 4 hour flight, but decided against it.

I’m now on the second leg of my trip back home. However, there’s one big difference. After getting off the first flight, the flight status screens noted the 5:35 PM flight was delayed more than 2 hours. Right across from the screens was the gate for the 4 PM flight to Los Angeles, which was also delayed approximately half an hour. I went to the gate, got standby #12, and somehow was able to get on the earlier flight. This is one of those occasions where delayed flights worked to my advantage. And Southwest made the process as smooth as possible. I can’t even tell you the flight number I’m on because the whole process happened so quick.

We’ve now come to the end of the road for the big travel season. It’s been almost 4 full months of travel with only a few breaks in between. Other than a quick day trip this Tuesday to Salt Lake City, Utah, I will be sleeping in my own bed for at least 2 months… I hope. That doesn’t include a planned road trip / vacation at the end of June to the Grand Canyon.

Enjoy the weekend.

Southwest Flight 2279/23

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Southwest Airlines Flight #2279
Depart Los Angeles (LAX) at 07:35 AM
Arrive in Houston (Hobby) (HOU) at 12:50 PM

Southwest Airlines Flight #23
Depart Houston (Hobby) (HOU) at 01:25 PM
Arrive in Birmingham (BHM) at 04:05 PM

Flying Southwest on a Monday morning can result in one of the most stressful days of traveling. The security line at the Southwest terminal at LAX on Monday mornings flows outside, literally. The weather in SoCal is nice enough that it usually isn’t a problem, but it can be scary if you get to the airport a bit late. Sometimes a Facebook “friend” will upload a picture of a long security line at the airport, 9 times out of 10 it’s the Southwest terminal security line. Anyway, today the line wasn’t so bad. So getting to the airport a full 2 hours before departure resulted in plenty of time to relax at the airport. I’ll take a stress free check baggage / security line any day, even if it would have been nice to sleep in just a few minutes longer.

For the first time in many years I’m on what I will refer to as the “Southwest” layover. My first flight is from Los Angeles to Houston. After a 35 minute layover I’ll board a flight from Houston to Birmingham, with a stop in New Orleans. However, because it’s a “Southwest” layover, I won’t actually get off the plane. Travelers going to New Orleans will get off the plane, travelers going to Birmingham will get on, and then we’ll depart once again. From what I remember this usually happens pretty fast and I’ll have a chance to stretch my legs on the plane.

This is now my 3rd straight spring season with lots of travel, usually in the 8-10 weeks of travel category, this year included a few extra weeks though. The first one I enjoyed as it was new and exciting. Last year was in between as I went to the same places, but also one new destination. This year was tough and tiring. What made the flights a bit more bearable was the occasional purchase of an item to make the flying part of traveling less uncomfortable. First came the iPad last spring. Then came the Bose noise-cancelling headphones earlier this year. A few add-ons were mixed in, like the iPad case and stand, which has made typing these posts enjoyable. Today I added a new travel gadget to by bag. Well, it’s not so much a gadget, doesn’t actually fit in my bag, and is easily the cheapest of the items I’ve purchased at just $25. It’s a neck pillow from Brookstone. I’m not sure if it’ll make flying more bearable but am willing to give it a try.