Things in the Sky

Now that I’m semi-recovered from my trip, here’s my trip report on the flights. If you want to read about the cruise I took, then go here.

As much as I love planes, I only get to fly about once a year. This year was different, though, as I was able to fly to Europe in April. But this was the first time I’ve flown out of my local airport, T.F. Green (PVD), since last year. So let’s get to it.

Southwest Flight #2813
June 20, 2008
Depart Providence (PVD): 7:30 AM
Arrive Ft. Lauderdale (FLL): 10:15 AM
Duration: 2:45
Aircraft: Boeing 737-700
Seat: 19F

Online check-in occurred exactly 24 hours before the flight, yielding boarding passes A17, A18, and A19. Score!

My parents and I arrived at the airport a little more than two hours before our flight. Check-in at Providence can be slow, through no fault of the airlines, though. The inspection of checked luggage by TSA takes place at the ticket counters, and passengers have to watch their bags pass through. Luckily, the airport is building extra space so these inspections can take place in the basement, creating more space at the counters and saving time for passengers. One funny thing I noticed was one of the TSA agents was complaining to a Southwest employee that the airline was checking in passengers too fast.

T.F. Green was renovated quite nicely in 1996, and the new security regulations after September 11 took away from these improvements, first with the aforementioned checked luggage inspection, and second with a more complex security checkpoint. Luckily a new, wider checkpoint was just opened, and security took a mere 15 minutes. I didn’t see the different lines based on “skill level” that have been popping up in some airports (link), but maybe they’re not worth it at smaller airports.

Providence has received Southwest’s new boarding areas, and I must say I’m impressed, especially by the new seating. These chairs are comfortable and also include a little table with power outlets. But what really impressed me is that Southwest also decided to included powered USB ports in these chairs, which makes charging certain devices easier.

Boarding began a little after 7:00AM at gate 17 and we took off from runway 23 at 7:30. During climb there was a nice view of nearby Quonset State Airport. Block Island and Long Island we’re easily seen as well. Eventually we climbed up to 40,000 feet. Food service consisted of the normal soda with a bag of peanuts and a breakfast bar.

A bit later in the morning we descended and landed on runway 27R. I love that approach as it goes right over the beach. Our bags came pretty quickly and were soon off to our hotel to spend the afternoon and evening before the cruise.

Southwest Flight #1454
June 28, 2008
Depart Ft. Lauderdale (FLL): 6:50 PM
Arrive Providence (PVD): 9:25 PM
Duration: 2:35
Aircraft: Boeing 737-700
Seat: 19F

The concierge on the ship did the online check-in for us, and due to the incredibly slow internet on cruise ships, we received boarding passes A58, A59, and A60, the last of the A group. Oh well.

We got off the ship early, and arrived at the airport over six hours before departure. Sadly, Southwest only accepts bags four hours before departure or later. Luckily, Ft. Lauderdale has a relatively inexpensive bag storage service that we used. After putting the bags away, my parents and I met up with some friends who live in the area for lunch, and we were back at the airport a little before four.

Checking bags was quite easy as the line at the Southwest counter was incredibly short. The agent informed us that right now our flight would be delayed 10 minutes, and was to leave at 6:25 instead of 6:15. No big deal. Security was also fairly easy, though we went through during a fairly slow period. Soon enough we were sitting at the boarding area for gate B2. Sadly, Southwest hasn’t redone their boarding areas there.

The running joke in Rhode Island is that everyone here is related or connected in some way because our state is so small. This flight was no exception. A girl from my high school and one of my best friends’ cousins were passengers.

Our delay got a little bit longer, but at least Southwest kept us informed and with a bit of humor: “If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask me for help. My name is Manny and I approve this message.” The plane eventually reached the gate around 6:15 PM.

Southwest worked their quick-turnaround magic and the entire flight was boarded around 6:45PM. That’s not bad considering the flight was almost full. We took off at 6:52 PM from runway 9L and climbed to 39,000 feet. Soon the flight attendants passed out beverages along with Cheese Nips and peanuts.

Later on in the evening we began our descent and eventually landed on runway 23 and parked at the gate around 9:25 PM. Not bad considering our scheduled arrival time was 9:20 PM.

As we got off the plane we were able to take advantage of another new feature of the T.F. Green renovations. In the past, arriving passengers had to walk back to the security checkpoint and through the ticketing area and down an escalator to get to the baggage claim. Now there are ramps that lead directly to the baggage area, which gives more space for security and improves traffic flow.

Soon we had our bags and were back on our way home. Oh well, all vacations have to end! It was nice flying out of Green again, and I will be very happy when all of the improvements are made, like the new restaurants, especially Johnny Rockets (mmmmm).