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We (my fiance and I) arrived at LAX for a round trip to Phoenix on Friday Oct 23, and we arrived at 4:15 or so (yeah, rush hour!). The line for the ticket counter was loooooooooong! (conversely, America West, who had the next counter over, had about 6 ticket agents and probably 3 customers in the 10 minutes we were waiting), but the agents were fast and efficient. There was a little gimmick in the ticket line that let you find out if your bag was the right size to fit under the seat (something that is sorely needed with most other airlines, and especially international flights!). When we were at the back of the line, I could have sworn that Southwest didn't mandate a dress code, as all of the agents were dressed differently. Turned out there were different uniforms that each person could choose from. Nice touch. While the America West agents were tugging at their ties, the Southwest agents were cool and comfortable, allowing them to be more efficient.
They gave us the option of trying for an earlier flight (we were booked on a 5:30 flight, there were also flights at 4:30 and 5:00 [something *else* about Southwest, they fly *often*!]) but we declined, as our ride wouldn't have been able to pick us up any earlier anyways. We went through security, and down to the gate. We saw what Southwest was *really* like. No plane was on the ground more than 25 minutes. Planes came in very often, people got off quickly, and they started boarding immediately! Then the planes went back out. We were very early and got boarding cards #1 and #2. They were pretty strict with people who had cards over 30 not boarding in the first batch, both on our flight and all the preceding ones.
About the only complaint I had for sitting in the terminal for so long was that it was very smoky. I know this isn't Southwest's fault, but it made the wait a bit more tedious than it would have been at a non-smoking terminal.
We finally boarded, about 10 minutes before our flight was due to take off. There were lots of families with small children travelling, which took a little bit of time to haul the strollers, baby seats, diaper bags, etc. The agent taking our ticket turned out to be a flight attendant on the flight. Yet more casual wear (comfortable looking shirts and either shorts or pants) here, too. One thing I noticed about clothing was that the agents and attendants were wearing comfortable shoes, as opposed to those high heel things that other airlines force their agents into wearing. It made the attendants alot quicker in moving, probably because their feet weren't killing them.
The plane outbound was a 737-5HT... just over a year old! It was new and pretty clean (a little smudgy around the edges, but nothing that made me uncomfortable). It was filled to the brim, though I didn't find it uncomfortable (for an hour ro so I can endure just about anything :-). The flight was uneventful. We flew around a storm, which made for nice watching (lightning) and some scared fliers who didn't know that this was a semi-common occurence.
The Southwest terminal in Phoenix Sky Harbor was *really* nice. It was terminal 4, the new one. There were also plans laid out for Southwest's new maintenance base to be built in Phoenix. Again, the America West gates were deserted.
The plane on the way back was a 737-3HT, a little bit older, 2.5 years. Southwest has a pair of garment-bag closets seperating the fore and back ends of the cabin, producing the same effect that Boeing did with the 757 (it doesn't look long and narrow). We saw the Southwest "Lone Star" plane (painted in red, white & blue).
All in all, I'd *willingly* fly Southwest again, and I encourage anyone else who is thinking about it to do the same.
(disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Southwest in any way, I'm not even a member of their frequent flyer program!)
Helen Rose /
hrose-web@ckdhr.com
Last modified: Sun Jan 21 12:11:57 EST 2001