Sadly packed our suitcases, loaded them into the car and made our way down to the reception building (we were staying in the Holiday Inn Orange Lake resort - great place) and, instead of spending the last couple of hours lying in the sun as we had planned to do, decided to brave the rain and the wet roads and just head off to the airport.
Traffic was light so we were there fairly quickly. It took a while to find the Southwest bag drop-off point and then had to kill a couple of hours before the gates opened for our flight.
A couple of Boston Lagers later and we got rid of the suitcase and headed off to the queues at Security.
After spending about 10 minutes people watching, we eventually arrived in front of a very cheerful gentleman who checked our boarding passes and asked if we felt lucky going to Vegas. Seems we were and Southwest had given us Pre-screening clearance so out of that queue and into the one next door where there was no-one waiting and another cheerful lady picked us up there and whisked us through in about 30 seconds flat. Quite a result when you consider the normal queues were taking about 20 minutes to clear.
What struck me though was the change in attitude of Security compared to my previous visit.
For those who have not had experience of Southwest, the earlier you check in, the earlier you board the plane. None of this mad scramble of Ryanair and other low-costs. This is far more civilised. I had paid an additional $12.50 for each of us which meant that we had already been allocated a number in the queue by the time I checked in so we were number 25 and 26 in the queue. One to 15 are kept for those who are travelling 'Premier' and for those paying an additional $40 per person at the airport.
We were soon on board and seated just ahead of the wings on one of their newish B738s, complete with the latest Boeing mood lighting.
For a low-cost airline, the freebies are pretty good - 2 suitcases up to 23Kg each, one piece of hand luggage up to 10Kg plus ladies can take their handbag as well. On board, there are free soft drinks, fruit juice, tea and coffee and water as well as 2 small packets of snacks. More were available if you wanted. Seat pitch is a very generous 34 inches, better than most full-service airlines.
The crew were very welcoming and, as seems to be the norm these days, the safety briefing was light-hearted and quite funny in parts.
Pushed back on time and, although the seat belt lights were kept on for some time, the CC were soon coming around with drinks and the snacks.
It turned out that they only had about 10 minutes to do this before the flight started getting a bit gnarly and for virtually the rest of the 5 hours, the seat belt lights stayed on. At times it got quite rough which made it a very tense flight for my other half who is absolutely terrified of flying and at one stage, the tears were flowing freely.
What amazed me was how many people simply ignore the seat belt signs and get up and walk around the cabin. The CC, and eventually the Captain, had to keep using the PA to tell them to sit down.
I have to give the FC up front their due. They kept changing flight levels to try and find smoother air but it did not seem to matter how high or low we flew, we bounced almost all the way.
Eventually, just before ToD, we found some smooth air, just in time for the CC to prepare the cabin for landing. Good way of saving money by not having to give out any more freebies.
The head winds were quite strong en-route which meant we landed about 30 minutes late but that could not be helped.
All in all, apart from the white knuckle ride, it was a good flight and I would have no hesitation in flying Southwest again.
