Lesson learned: don’t wait till two days before to book travel for the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Yes friends, this is going to be a first for me. Wish me luck and learn from my mistakes. ;)

  1. November 26th, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    eponymous coward said,

    Cheer up, you could be stuck in E- on UA. ;)

  2. November 26th, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    gomike said,

    oops, have fun!

  3. November 26th, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    gluedtothewindow said,

    Expecting a full, multi-part trip report :)

  4. November 26th, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    mowogo said,

    Or you could get stuck in the last row of whY on a DL 763 on a transcon.

  5. November 26th, 2011 at 9:34 pm

    lucky said,

    @ gluedtothewindow — Working on it already. Can you guys help me out?

    Part One: The Lounge
    Part Two: Pre-departure Service
    Part Three: Onboard meal service
    Part Four: Arrivals service

    Am I missing anything?

  6. November 26th, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    Alex said,

    Ummm lucky, does southwest have lounges??? Think your expectations need to be lowered haha

  7. November 26th, 2011 at 9:38 pm

    AdamH said,

    I am always very pleasantly surprised by WN. Can’t go wrong with some good ole fashioned peanuts in Y and some upbeat FAs. Just try not to get in the last boarding group ;)

  8. November 26th, 2011 at 9:54 pm

    James said,

    *Rolls eyes*. I really hate the Internet-Flying-People condescension about Southwest. They fill a different niche from the legacies, and they fill it quite well. I would much rather fly my preferred legacy, but Southwest comes in third on my Flightmemory this year and I’m fine with that. They are not Greyhound.

  9. November 26th, 2011 at 9:56 pm

    Colleen said,

    Problem? Do they not have Diet Coke? How about limes? :)

  10. November 26th, 2011 at 10:04 pm

    Carl said,

    Southwest is terrific. Great crews, efficient operations, very customer friendly. A very good carrier.

  11. November 26th, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    Kevin T said,

    Cattle call time for lucky

  12. November 26th, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    youreadyfreddie said,

    Weren’t you once going to book a mileage run without using your FF numbers and sit in middle seats waaaay in the back of the plane(s)? This can be like that was supposed to be. Have fun! ;)

  13. November 26th, 2011 at 11:12 pm

    Delta747 said,

    Just think, you will not have to pay to check your bag!;)

  14. November 27th, 2011 at 12:23 am

    lucky said,

    @ James — Cheer up, I’m being mildly tongue in cheek. It’s an hour-long flight and I’ve flown tons of regional jets on much longer flight, so I’m hardly “scared.” Though I thought it was funny nonetheless.

    @ youreadyfreddie — Hah, unfortunately that’ll have to sit on the backburner this time around, cause I’m on a Business Select fare.

  15. November 27th, 2011 at 1:06 am

    Antonio said,

    You’ll be like George Cloony checking in to the Matterhorn Chalet. Try flashing them your 1K and EP cards to see if they’ll let you board first. ;-)

  16. November 27th, 2011 at 1:42 am

    UAPhil said,

    Lucky, don’t forget to pay the extra $10 to get into the “A” boarding group…..oops, guess you don’t need to do that on a Business Select fare :-) .

    If your plans change, be sure to offer to pay a $150 change fee……

  17. November 27th, 2011 at 3:28 am

    FriendlySkies said,

    Were there no flights available for purchase with your miles?

  18. November 27th, 2011 at 8:11 am

    Michael said,

    Leg room might actually be better on SWA than Euro business class. The seats are pretty comfortable, honestly, unless you get a really old 737-300.

  19. November 27th, 2011 at 8:45 am

    ron said,

    Sometimes the snobbiness in the blogosphere can be asphixiating.

    While I’m not a fan of Southwest’s boarding process, it’s much, much better than it used to be. Their seats are comfortable, their planes are clean, and their staff is friendly, professional, and efficient. They are are good, safe carrier.

    OK. So their FF program might not offer “aspirational” rewards. But, I guess that depends upon one one finds to be important when traveling and what one aspires to.

    Try to keep some perspective about what’s really important (even at your young age) and have a safe journey.

  20. November 27th, 2011 at 9:14 am

    Mike said,

    I’ve never flown southwest. I expect a TR!! haha

  21. November 27th, 2011 at 9:38 am

    lucky said,

    @ FriendlySkies — Yes, but only at the standard level. I’d rather pay a reasonable(ish) amount than redeem 50,000 miles for a domestic ticket.

    @ ron — I’m being humorous, c’mon now. The only aspect of flying Southwest that bothers me is not earning “real” miles. The travel experience I’m sure will be just as good (if not better) than coach on other US airlines.

  22. November 27th, 2011 at 9:42 am

    Jeff said,

    Make sure you go to the right security line WN has their own over by the agriculture inspection area

  23. November 27th, 2011 at 10:34 am

    Erich said,

    I always thought airlines were pretty tight on overbooking during this period.

    You could book a tue CO ticket and gamble on 24 hour confirmed change or standby…

  24. November 27th, 2011 at 10:45 am

    Boilermaker said,

    Best of luck sir… Had my first WN experience two years ago and told myself “never again….”

  25. November 27th, 2011 at 10:46 am

    Paul said,

    Just get used to saying…..”Moo….moo”………….

  26. November 27th, 2011 at 11:55 am

    stef said,

    OMG … say it isn’t so! So where are you flying to? I am working on Monday but I am MSY-PHX-BWI so I am quite sure I won’t have the opportunity to be your FA.

  27. November 27th, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    UAPremierGuy said,

    Ouch, meanwhile, I just booked a saver award to Maui for tomorrow…so there are still apparently some seats out there!

  28. November 27th, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    toomanybooks said,

    Lucky:

    You’ll be getting 20% return on your purchase price (earning 12 WN points per dollar for BS, can redeem at 6 for WGA). Double that if you get to A-List+ as we call it.

    Don’t bother with Early Bird.

    Once folks have someone to serve as a Companion, they may look upon WN with more favor. WN Companion Pass is the best FF deal domestically, IMO, saving possibly thousands a year.

    For me, 100% free beats upgrades, but of course YMMV.

    Must have a TR. Take pictures of the peanuts.

  29. November 27th, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    DiscoPapa said,

    I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Pay attention to how efficient their entire operation is, from the gate design, boarding, drink service, and disembarking. I understand why WN has such a loyal following.

  30. November 28th, 2011 at 10:30 am

    dmodemd said,

    You got me wondering where Southwest flies non-stop from SEA so I checked their interactive flight map, clicked the NON-STOP only button and was amazed at all the destinations and at the same time in denial knowing that they must be “DIRECT” flights with stops. So I checked the booking and sure enough their definition of “non-stop” on the flight map is the same as “direct”. That’s a new low…

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