It was time for my annual baseball spring training trip with friends and former colleagues. I missed it last year, so I was determined not to let that happen again. Then I checked airfare. It was not cheap. This is, after all, a day trip so I really want to stick to Long Beach which now means flying Southwest or… Southwest. I waited, and it eventually came down a bit, but at the end of January I still had to plunk down $246.95 for the roundtrip. Good on Southwest for being able to fill those planes with that kind of fare, I guess.
I did not pay for EarlyBird, so my morning and afternoon was bookended by check-ins on the day before travel. I got B13 going out, but there was some kind of glitch on the return and it said I had to see an agent. I tried again and it worked that time, but I had slipped to B25. These were both 737-700s, so I figured I would be ok to get my window seat, but I would have to wait and see.
A low marine layer greeted me when I woke up. I hopped in my car at 7 and parked on the street outside the airport, which you can do for free as long as you don’t stay overnight.
As I walked in, I saw the roadway improvements in the terminal area starting to take shape.
Work on the historic terminal continues to make progress, and the back is now more open to the courtyard area. I can’t wait to see this finished.
The security line was short, and by the time I got to the gate, people had just started lining up in the A group. Once they boarded, I took my spot in the B group, and it wasn’t long before we were moving. The front door had a long line, so I went to the back so I could grab a seat. It’s always the right move in Long Beach.
Southwest 4085March 22, 2024
From Long Beach➤ Scheduled Departure: 755a➤ Actual Departure: 756a➤ From Gate: 7➤ Wheels Up: 803a➤ From Runway: 30
To Phoenix➤ Wheels Down: 853a➤ On Runway: 7R➤ Scheduled Arrival: 915a➤ Actual Arrival: 901a➤ At Gate: C9
Aircraft➤ Type: Boeing 737-7H4➤ Delivered: April 30, 2004➤ Registered: N459WN, msn 32497➤ Livery: Hot Dog on a Stick
Flight➤ Cabin: Coach in Seat 13A➤ Load: ~99% Full➤ Flight Time: 50m
Onboard, I grabbed seat 13A right behind the exit row. The flight attendants seemed to be a more serious bunch, which doesn’t bother me on a morning flight. We finished boarding, but sat a couple of minutes before pushing back.
The captain sounded like a radio DJ, and he was great at keeping us informed. We expected a quick flight, but it was going to be bumpy. The flight attendants said they hoped to be able to get up at altitude to do a quick service.
We got up in the air and through the marine layer in no time. It was actually a smooth climb out. Once we got near our cruising altitude, the bumps picked up. The captain came back on and said that he was sorry, but he wasn’t going to let the flight attendants get up to do a service.
The funny thing is, it smoothed out once we got to cruise, and the expected bumps on descent didn’t really materialize either. That’s the problem with a forecast… you never know how accurate it will be.
After landing, we taxied over to the gate. On the way out, I said congratulations to one of the flight attendants on the new contract. Her response was something like “well, we have to see it and read it first.” Alrighty.
I walked off only to realize that the hat I had hooked on my laptop bag had fallen off. Damnit. I went back to the gate, and the agent didn’t hesitate to go back and found it under the seat for me. Whew, thank you. With that, it was time to head off to a day of fun and…
The view doesn’t get better than that.
After the game, we went to the usual haunt, Four Peaks, for a beer and to hang out. I would have liked to stay longer, but I decided at 5 that it was time to head to the airport for my 6:20pm flight. I called a Lyft and was dropped off in a relatively quiet airport for a Friday night.
The TSA agent was asking everyone a question as he checked IDs. He asked the woman in front of me where she was going, and she said she was heading home to Long Beach. I said “me too!” and I think it threw him. He had to come up with another question for me. (He asked where I stayed while in town, so my answer that this was a day trip didn’t really help.)
This was my first time flying out of the new high D gates. Since the last time I visited, the big food court area at the top of the concourse had opened and was absolutely bustling. The Chase lounge is still not open yet.
I was at the last gate at the end, so I made my way down and grabbed a seat. Our airplane was late getting in, so they only had half hour to turn it.
Then, they announced that a flight attendant had called in sick so they had to find a new one. Ugh. Fortunately, they must have had somebody on ready reserve, because it didn’t take that long before we had our full crew.
In the meantime, I decided to use the restroom, and that’s when I realized that it’s kind of a hike. There is only one restroom, and it’s a massive one at the beginning of the concourse. It’s a different setup than the other concourses, but I suppose it just creates more room for vendors in the concourse itself.
Once back in the gate area, they started boarding a little after the original departure time. By the time I boarded, the jet bridge was backed all the way up. I have no idea what was happening with people on this flight, but it was boarding way, way slower than it should have been. That was odd, and I have no idea why it was so slow.
Southwest 4164March 22, 2024
From Phoenix➤ Scheduled Departure: 620p➤ Actual Departure: 646p➤ From Gate: D18➤ Wheels Up: 654p➤ From Runway: 25R
To Long Beach➤ Wheels Down: 751p➤ On Runway: 30➤ Scheduled Arrival: 740p➤ Actual Arrival: 755p➤ At Gate: 11
Aircraft➤ Type: Boeing 737-7H4➤ Delivered: October 17, 2005➤ Registered: N224WN, msn 32493➤ Livery: Hot Dog on a Stick
Flight➤ Cabin: Coach in Seat 14A➤ Load: ~95% Full➤ Flight Time: 57m
I ended up taking seat 14A on this flight, and somehow we ended up with one of the few empty middles. Huzzah.
The mid-cabin flight attendant was a middle-aged guy who had just the right temperament for this jovial evening crowd. I believe he said his name was Jeff, so that’s what I’m going with. Jeff was talking to everyone and his nature was infectious. At one point, he stood at the exit and said “Is anyone hot?”
It wasn’t hot on the airplane, so nobody responded, just kind of looked around wondering why he was asking this. Then he followed up with “Is anyone just average looking?”
That got a huge laugh, and one guy toward the back raised his hand. The flight attendant thanked him for being honest and said he had a free drink waiting for him. Well played.
We finally did push back 26 minutes late, and as is usually the case in the afternoons, it was a quick taxi to the end of the runway.
On this flight, the pilots came on and said that it had been turbulent all day on this route, but they thought they had found an altitude that would be smooth, emphasizing that they wouldn’t know for sure until we got up there. They hoped the flight attendants would be able to do a service, but they wouldn’t let them up until we reached altitude.
We took off into the sunset and had a delightful view as we chased the fading light. I had flipped on some March Madness using Southwest’s live TV connection, and it was a nice way to pass the time since I hadn’t kept up on anything that happened that day.
We reached our cruising altitude awfully fast. I looked in the flight tracker and sure enough we had leveled at 22,000 feet. This was just below a wispy partial layer of clouds, so it must have been ugly up there for us to fly so low.
It stayed mostly smooth and the flight attendants came through to do the service, only having to sit for about 5 minutes somewhere near the border when it got bumpy.
When Jeff came by, I told him I didn’t need anything. He pronounced loudly that I was now his favorite passenger. I loved this guy.
They had such little time to do the service that we were already well into descent by the time the woman on the aisle in my row got her drink. Shortly after, a flight attendant up front announced that they were sorry, but everyone needed to chug because they had to collect the cups.
As we got lower, the view got better. So I couldn’t believe when the person in front of me shut the window shade on our shared window. I still had one open next to me, but who does that when there is no sun or light shining in your face? I mean, come on. Don’t sit in the window.
It was a nice ride in as we passed along the coast as the last rays of light faded.
After touching down, it was a fast taxi in so we only ended up being 15 minutes late. The back door wasn’t used on this flight, so when it was my turn to get off, I stopped briefly to again tell the flight attendants congratulations on the new contract. Unlike that morning, my new best friend Jeff put out his fist for a fist bump and said thank you.
I was off for a brisk walk back to my car and then a short drive home.
