WN1983 MSY-TPA 1 APR 13 (ECONOMY)
Posted: 10 May 2013, 11:30We paid $10 each for automatic check in, which took the hassle out of having to find a place to do OLCI the day before. This is important on Southwest as they have no seat allocations and board passengers in the order they check in.
We arrived at Louis Armstrong airport about 1h 15m before our 3.20pm departure. Check in was very easy, a short queue, BP's printed yourself at a kiosk and bags taken away by one of the friendly agents lurking behind the counter.
Security was quiet at this time of the afternoon, and we had plenty of time for a bit of food and use the free airport wi-fi.
We had an 'A' zone BP thanks to automatic check in, so among the first onboard. The aircraft was the customary 737, and was absolutely pristine inside. I believe Southwest are refitting the cabins of their aircraft, and this one looked very new.
I'd guestimate that the flight was 80% full, flying time was about 1h 15m and smooth all the way over the Gulf of Mexico. After take off the cabin crew served drinks and nibbles. Wi-Fi was $8 for this short sector, and although I didn't bother it did look to be working well.
Landing at Tampa was smooth and slightly ahead of schedule at around 5.30pm. After a short delay in allocating a carousel, bags were out promptly and it was off into the warm Florida evening for 10 days of R&R!
Southwest are another airline which 'does exactly what it says on the tin'. Staff are usually friendly, free checked bags, nice aircraft and I find them perfectly adequate for short hops around the US.