Southwest Flight 2332 from Reno (RNO) to Las Vegas (LAS)

After returning my 2013 Chevy Impala to the Alamo car return, I breezed through TSA security at the Reno Tahoe International Airport.  I went into the Fly By Lane, but didn't really need to since there wasnt even one other passenger.

Southwest Flight was leaving from Gate B3, so I made my way there.  At 9:56am they had the A Group line up.  I had not checked in until that morning, so my Business Select boarding position was only A6.  I boarded at 10:02am and sat myself in the aisle seat, 4C.  The doors closed at 10:12am.  We pulled away from the gate at 10:16am.

Southwest Flight 2332 Reno to Las Vegas

Thankfully, unlike my flight two days before, this Boeing 737-700 was wifi equipped, so I logged into the wifi while the other passengers were boarding.  The pilot came on the intercom at 10:26am to say that there was a delay due to traffic in Las Vegas.  We were already six minutes late for our 10:20am departure at that time.  We ended up taking off at 10:30am.

The two ladies sitting next to me in seats 4A and 4B were headed to a meeting at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  When the flight attendant, Tasha, took our drink orders they ordered ginger ale and tomato juice.  I requested a can of cran-apple juice.  I tried to pawn off my Business Select free drink coupon on them, but they, like me, were headed directly to a meeting after we landed.

Just before they passed out the packets of pretzels and lightly salted peanuts, Tasha brought our drinks and included a cup of ice and some napkins for my cranberry apple cocktail.  She chuckled when she gave me the napkin, since my neighbor's tomato juice had slightly spilled on it.  She wanted to assure me the the red liquid was not blood.

We started our initial descent at 11:05am and landed at 11:28am.  We taxied into gate B11 at the McCarran International Airport at 11:35 and I was able to deplane at 11:37.

Southwest Flight 745 LAS to RNO Trip Report

Since the cost to upgrade to Business Select was minimal (less than
$60), I decided to upgrade to a Business Select ticket for my round
trip flight between Las Vegas and Reno.  Since I did not check in
until the day of my trip, I was only given a boarding position of A4.
I did get a coupon for a "free" drink, as well.

Southwest Flight 745 LAS to RNO

After my flight on Delta from Minneapolis arrived in Las Vegas at gate D37, I deplaned and headed over to the C Terminal to Gate C25 to board my Southwest flight to Reno on Monday, September 22, 2014.

After exiting the tram from the D gates, I started following the signs to the A, B and C gates, but noticed one of those ominous signs that notified me that I would need to go through security again if I passed
that point.  I stopped immediately and looked around.  I noticed a
door that was emblazoned with a Do Not Enter sign beyond which I could
see the tram to the C Gates.  I passed through the doors and took the
tram to the C Gates.

The gate agent made her first pre-boarding announcement at 7:34pm and
had us line up at 7:38pm.  We boarded the plane at 7:43pm.

As I boarded the plane, a 737-700, I noticed about 10 passengers that
must have been throughs, so I sat myself on the aisle in seat 4D.
Even though I received the email about wifi the day before, this plane
did not have wifi capability, like my flight from Newark to Midway the
previous week.

The flight attendant closed the door at 7:54pm .  We pushed back from
the gate at 7:59pm and we took off at 8:07pm.

Since the flight was not full (about 80 passengers), the middle seat
next to me remained empty.   In the window seat sat a young woman from
the southern edge of Lake Tahoe.  I asked her if she might have an
issue getting there from Reno due tontine wild fires, but she seemed
to think that the fires were on the western side of the lake and would
not hinder the drive.

When the flight attendant came by, I ordered a can of Coke Zero and
with my coupon that I received with my Business Select ticket
purchase, I ordered a Fat Tire Amber Ale.  The flight attendant seemed
a bit put off that I ordered two drinks and questioned me to see if I
thought I would have time to drink both.  I answered in the
affirmative.

She brought my Fat Tire Amber Ale to me right away, even before she
started to prepare drinks for the other passengers.  The Fat Tire came
to me very cold with a bit of ice formed, so it was quite good.
Shortly thereafter she brought my can of Coke Zero with a glass of
ice. For a snack, they handed me two packets of lightly salted
peanuts.

We started making our initial descent at 8:51pm and landed at RNO at
9:07pm and arrived at gate B3 at 9:11pm.  I deplaned at 9:13pm.

Southwest Flight 2496 Newark to Chicago Trip Report

Southwest Flight 2496 Newark to Chicago

We flew out of Gate A15 at EWR, which is the same gate at which we deplaned the day before.  Our boarding assignments were A17 and B13, respectively.  As I did the day before, we boarded at the end of the A30-A60 line without a problem.

As we made our way down the jet bridge, I noticed that the plane was an older model 737-300, which made me worry about wifi availability.  We found a spot in row 10 in seats 10A and 10B.  After getting situated, I noticed that the seats do not recline.  Luckily, I don't normally recline my seat and the person in front of me did not recline theirs.

We pulled away from the gate at 8:48pm, 7 minutes prior to our scheduled time of departure and took at at 8:59pm.  As we were ascending, a flight attendant announced that there was no wifi on the flight - surprise!  I had received an email the day before from Southwest touting the ability to use wifi and watch Dish, but no one must have told the email marketing folks that not all of the planes are wifi equipped.

When they came by for drinks, I ordered a can of Coke Zero with ice and my daughter ordered some apple juice.  When they came around with snacks, they only offered pretzels.

We landed at 10:45pm in Chicago after a pretty uneventful flight, except for an interesting nose dive during the descent.  As we were descending the pilot maneuvered the plane at a steeper nose angle than usual, so much so that everyone on the plane noticed.  There were quite a few gasps for the second or two it took for the pilot to make the correction. We deplaned at gate B18, having reached the gate at 10:52pm.  Since I was with my daughter, it would have been nice to deplane at B1, like I had done that Friday.

My daughter's foils had already arrived at baggage claim, but we had to wait briefly for our two other pieces of luggage, but they came out on to the conveyer within a few minutes.

Southwest Flight 1815 Chicago to Newark Trip Report

The horror - I forgot to check in at exactly 24 hours before the flight.  It wouldn't be such a big deal normally, since I am an A List member, but on this trip I have my youngest daughter with me on my Companion Pass.  I am usually really diligent, when she travels with me, but I was tired from my flight from San Diego to Chicago earlier in the day.  I am too cheap to buy the Early Bird Check In, but I was thinking that I might have made a mistake this time.

When I clicked "Check In" at 8pm, almost 2 hours past, when I should have done so, I thought that she would get a boarding pass in the B50 range.  Imagine my surprise, when I saw that she received B4.  I received an A16, so I can board with her without worrying about trying to sneak her on with me.  We got in line after A60 and boarded without a problem, something I had read about on Flyertalk.

Southwest Flight 1815 Chicago To Newark

We had to check two bags, since her foils cannot be taken on to the plane.  we were able to use the Priority Line, since I am A List Preferred.  Someone tried to cut in front of us from the regular line, but the agent, Fran, quickly rectified the situation and let us get our bags checked.  Going through TSA was easy, since we were picked to go through the PreCheck line, just like I had been able to do the previous Monday, when I was on my way to San Diego.

Our flight, Southwest Flight 1815, was taking off from gate A17, which is at the end of the A terminal, so it was a bit of a hike, but nothing like O'Hare or any other large airport.  As we were sitting by the gate, we noticed passengers deplaning at Gate A18.  It was the flight to Philadelphia that had already been 45 minutes late pulling back from the gate.  The plane had a valve issue and return to a gate to turn off the engines to get the issue fixed.  When they called our flight to line up, they were still sitting in the gate area.

When we got on the plane, a 737-800, all the way to row 10 was close to full, except for middle seats, so we made our way to seats 18E and 18F, the window and middle seat, since my daughter likes to look out the window - the window seats from row 10 to 17 are obstructed by the wings. The flight was not full, so I moved to seat 18D, leaving 18E empty between the two of us.  It was nice to have so much space!  The only issue I found was that the light over 18D did not work.

The doors to the plane were closed at 5:02 and pulled from the gate at 5:06pm, 4 minutes earlier than our scheduled departure.  We took off at 5:15pm, only 5 minutes after our scheduled departure.  Checking the Flight Tracker, I noticed that our estimated arrival time would be 7:42pm, 33 minutes earlier than our scheduled arrival.

The WiFi on the plane initially worked, when we boarded, but as soon as we backed out of the gate, the WiFi reset.  It was a pain, since I was typing this blog post in the plane at the time.  The WiFi returned at 5:14pm.  The WiFi is a must, when I travel with my 10 year old daughter.  Thankfully, it is free for me, because of my A List Preferred status.

When the flight attendant came by, I ordered a can of Coke Zero (with ice) and my daughter ordered a cup of apple juice.  We were given lightly salted peanuts and pretzels as a snack.

The flight was very smooth with only a few bumps as we descended through the rain clouds.  We landed with a bit of slipping on the wet tarmac at EWR at 7:44 and arrived at the gate at 7:52.

We only had to wait about 5 minutes for our suitcase at baggage claim and only a couple more minutes for my daughter's foils at the oversize baggage area.

Southwest Flight 4567 From San Diego to Chicago Trip Report

I took the very early morning direct flight (Southwest Flight 4567) direct from San Diego to Chicago Midway, due to depart at 6:35am, so that I could get home at a decent time.  You lose so much time every time you go from West to East.  On this flight I received a boarding assignment of A19, one better than my flight to San Diego on Monday on Southwest Flight 449.

I arrived at the airport on the Alamo shuttle at 5:15am  after returning my Chevy Cruze.  There was a line of about 20 people in the TSA line, which I was able to bypass due to the A List Fly By Lane.  I got through TSA in less than 5 minutes, since there was only one person that I needed to wait on to put my belongings through the scanner.

Southwest Flight 4567 San Diego to Chicago

Boarding was a breeze on this newer 737-800.  I ended up in aisle seat 5D, since A1-A15 was full for this flight.  Amazingly I didn't see any preboards on this flight and I can't imagine that there were any "through" passengers as it was a 6:35am flight.  We backed out of the gate at 6:45am and took off at 6:51am, since we were the first in line to take off.  Take off was a little more difficult, as the plane leaned left a bit just after take off.  The pilot easily corrected it.

While in-flight I chose Ritz cheese crackers and the Chips Ahoy 100 calorie pack for my snacks.  To drink I chose a can of Coke Zero.  I always ask for a cup of ice, as well, since I have not received ice on occasion when I have not specified as such.

In seat 6D, the row behind me, sat an older gentleman, who was a chair puller.  He would use my seat as an aid to get out of his seat and to sit down as well.  Luckily, he did not get up and down too often during the flight, or it would have gotten very annoying.

The whole flight was turbulence free, except with bumps during the descent and we landed at Midway airport in Chicago at 12:10pm with a very rough landing.  The plane landed roughly and then reversed engines really quickly, which caused a large jerk.  We arrived at the gate, B1,  at 12:12pm , 28 minutes early!  It made up for my 30 minute late arrival in San Diego on Monday night.

Southwest Flight 449 Chicago to San Diego Trip Report

Southwest Flight 449 Chicago to San Diego

My drive to Midway airport was uneventful, thankfully.  I took my normal route from Mishawaka, so that I did not have to pay any tolls - State Road 2 to US 94 to 59th Street.  Per usual, I parked at Midway Park Saver, which is conveniently situated across from the CTA.  As luck would have it, I found a parking space very close to the entrance.  In fact, it was the 2nd space on the exit side, which will be great for my return.

As I walked to the TSA line, the iPad guy had me go through the PreCheck line - hooray for me!  After having someone cut me off before getting my identification checked, it was smooth sailing.  I got through TSA by 6:05pm and my 7:25pm flight (Southwest Flight #449 to San Diego) was to board at 6:55pm.  I checked the monitor to verify that I would be taking off from Gate B19 and off I went.  After being seated, the gate was changed to B1, though an almost inaudible announcement was made to let us know of the change.  I never received a text from Southwest to notify me of the switch.

Of course, my flight was delayed by 30 minutes, though no reason was given.  We finally were asked to form the boarding line.  I had A20 this time due to my A List Preferred status and the wonky Southwest algorithm for assigning my place in line.  There were 5 "throughs", so they boarded first.  There were some "preboards", or "blue sleeves", as well.  Regrettably, the gate agent allowed several family members board with some of them.

They called for A1-A15, then A16-A30 and off we went.  When I got on the newer 737-800, the first 5 rows were pretty much full, so I made my way to row 6.  After waiting for a guy to put his carryon above my seat, then proceed to row 7, take a few things out of his backpack and then place the backpack in the overhead above his seat, I settled into seat 6C on the left side of the aisle facing forward.

I ordered two Fat Tires, while on board, but, when I paid with my Southwest Premier Visa, I was told that her machine was broken and could not print a receipt.  She said that she would check with another flight attendant to see if they could print a receipt for me.  She never came back around to give me a receipt.  I will need to find another way to get reimbursed.  For my snacks, I picked the Wheat Thins 100 calorie pack and Ritz cheese crackers.

Unsurprisingly, we landed in San Diego 30 minutes past our scheduled arrival time.  I deplaned and made my way to the shuttle bus to take me to Alamo so that I could procure my rental car.