For most rational people, flight diversions are a terrible inconvenience that can jeopardize an entire business trip or vacation.  On the contrary, a strange few including myself actually enjoy flight diversions because they often create unique routes that would never make a real flight schedule.  This morning I was unfortunate fortunate enough to be on a diverted flight that allowed Southwest to experiment with a new “Avoid the Beltway Traffic” commuter flight in the Washington DC metro area. This flight covered a whopping 44.9 miles and at 17 minutes would hypothetically rank as one of the shortest commercial flights in the world.

I make this drive on Washington DC’s I-495 or the “Capital Parking Lot” about once a month so I can confidently say this morning’s flight was my most pleasant experience traversing the route.