Long time no see, trip reports blog. I've finally had some time to get back to writing (thanks coronavirus!), in between my internship at Frontier Airlines and starting my instrument rating. On this lovely spring day, I felt inspired to get back to writing trip reports. In the time since my internship in Colorado ended in January, I've had quite a few fun trips. In no particular order, I've been able to fly back to Colorado by way of a Silver Airways ATR and a Frontier A321, fly home to Philly for only about 15 hours, and visit to Las Vegas. If you're reading this post, guess what? We're going to Las Vegas on this trip in a very suite way.
Introduction
The planning for this trip started in 2017, when the National Hockey League's newest expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, took to the ice for the very first time. As part of the expansion draft, this team selected my sister's favorite player, NHL All Star goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, to be the face of the franchise. We flew to Las Vegas for their very first home game, with my beloved Virgin America. That trip was unforgettable in so many ways. In the most important of ways, this trip occurred just five days after the tragic mass shooting that claimed 57 innocent lives. It was a sobering moment seeing the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign, turned into a memorial and gathering place to remember the victims of this shooting. It was remarkable seeing the Golden Knights recognize the heroes of the shooting in a pregame event.
Flying to Las Vegas for that game was amazing in another way. The journey to LAS had my sister and I sitting under the lovely purple and pink moodlights of Virgin America. We originally were going to book a nonstop on Southwest from Fort Lauderdale to Las Vegas, but upon seeing my parents (who were traveling from home in Philly) book themselves from Philadelphia to Las Vegas via Los Angeles on Virgin America (it was so much cheaper for them than a nonstop), I was jealous and booked my sister and I on a flight from FLL-LAX, that got us into LAX about ten minutes after our parents flight, which also allowed us to take the same connecting flight as them to Vegas.
Even though we were seated in Main Cabin, we were treated like rockstars the entire way. I had struck up conversation with the captain prior to the early morning flight, and she greeted me at the aircraft's door with a Boston themed amenity kit. A few hours later, we were with our parents in LA, and spent the majority of our 6 hour layover at the In n Out, watching planes.
Flash forward about two years later, Jess and I were itching to get back to Las Vegas for a hockey game. Having seen her team play my Florida Panthers on the East Coast for the past couple years, we decided we wanted to go back and see the teams face off against each other under the Vegas lights.
My friend Christian had rubbed into my face a few years prior, that he got to fly on Virgin America First Class prior to me, so I kept in my mind that I needed to fly the first class product of his favorite airline, jetBlue, before him-simply to be petty!
Booking
I decided that the easiest way to get to Las Vegas for this trip, and to accomplish my goal of pettiness was to recreate my last trip to LAS, by (once again) paying more and stopping in LAX. After months of tracking prices for when jetBlue Mint was cheapest on the FLL-LAX route, I determined that approximately 9 weeks out was the sweet spot. Sure enough, exactly 9 weeks to the preferred date of our outbound trip, a $499 FLL-LAX fare popped up, and within minutes (thanks Mom!), we were booked!
jetBlue's Mint cabin consists of alternating rows of 4 and 2 across, with the seats in each even row being enclosed suites. These are the preferred seats if you are traveling solo, as the suites are the only seats on each side of the cabin in these rows. They are the same price as the seats in odd numbered rows, and you don't have to worry about having a seat mate, along with the insane amount of privacy. Even though my sister and I were travelling together, I booked us each in suites, across from each other so we could take full advantage of our $998 Mint fare.
Our fare only included the FLL-LAX flight. I intended to purchase our connection to LAS at a later time, so I could determine whether we wanted to go straight to Las Vegas or spend some time in Los Angeles.
Within minutes I had a special Mint themed confirmation email which was a nice surprise and increased my excite-mint for this trip (get ready for a lot of Mint puns). One day after booking, I received another email from jetBlue, letting me know of a dedicate phone line for Mint customers, as well as outlining some of the benefits of flying Mint. Straight from booking, it was clear that Mint is a very special experience.
Booking (return)
About a month after booking my FLL-LAX flight and conversing with my sister, I went ahead and booked our flight to LAS. We decided we would prefer to take some time and explore Los Angeles, instead of rushing straight to another flight. After looking at all available options, I was about to book a Frontier A319 from LAX-LAS for about $135, but changed course as I was entering my credit card information, and priced out an LGB-LAS flight with TrueBlue points. Certainly enough, I had just enough TrueBlue points for the otherwise $100 per person flight. All I had to pay was $11.20 for taxes and security fee...until I didn't because I forgot I still had a $15.00 travel voucher from jetBlue for a flight I had in July 2019, on which the FlyFi wasn't working and we arrived about an hour tardy. I was of course a bit sad to not be flying on Frontier (exacerbated by the fact I was booking this flight on a Frontier computer during my internship), but was happy to be saving money at least on this flight.
My sadness about booking not booking Frontier only lasted a few days however, as I booked our return with Frontier from LAS-PHL, on February 28th, 2020 (one week after arriving in Vegas [more on that to come later]), and TTN-PBI on March 2nd!
The day before my trip, jetBlue sent me an email apologizing for the inconvenience, but that the privacy door and/or my armrest was damaged and offering me $100 in travel credit. I was very disappointed that I wouldn't be able to use my privacy door.
Flight Information
Date: February 21, 2020
jetBlue Flight 2801
Airbus A321-200 N944JT "I was Mint for Loving Blue"
FLL Gate: G9
Departure Time: 05:54 (06:00 sched.)
Takeoff: 06:06
Landing: 08:35
Arrival Time: 08:45 (08:55 sched.)
LAX Gate: 55A
Seat: 2A (Mint Suite)
Departure
On the morning of February 21st, we woke up at 02:00am local time. After only getting about three hours of sleep (mostly due to excitement), I tiredly prepared for a 23 hour day. We hopped into a Lyft from our home in Palm Beach at 3:08am for the 40 minute ride to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Also, scheduled Lyfts are the best idea ever, especially for early morning flights like this because you're guaranteed a driver the night before.
After trying to rest my eyes, we arrived at FLL around 3:50am. Our Lyft driver dropped us off outside of Terminal 3, and we proceeded directly inside towards the jetBlue Mint check in desk. For the longest time I would walk by this same check in desk and envy the people in line.
On this morning, however, there was no one in line for Mint, unlike the other check in areas for international and main cabin passengers. Bags dropped, boarding passes printed, we were on our way mo-mints later!
Flying with jetBlue Mint includes Even More Speed security. However, since I have TSA PreCheck, was expecting to use that lane. However, that was closed (it opened 30 minutes later at 04:30), so I got to use a hybrid of Even More Speed and PreCheck, by being able to go to a shorter line, and being given a card to show the agents that I'm allowed to use PreCheck benefits.
We were through the concourse F security checkpoint in about five minutes, and proceeded to our gate in concourse G. jetBlue mostly uses concourses E and F at Fort Lauderdale, but they occasionally park at the much nicer concourse G, which is home to Spirit's FLL hub. Our gate for this morning's transcontinental flight was G9, and upon arriving at it, our A321 was waiting for us under the night sky.
At 4:15am, there's nothing open at FLL. Our gate area already had a few dozen passengers struggling to remain awake. Even with the minimal sleep I got, I could not stop taking pictures or contain my excitement.
We began boarding at 5:10am for passengers requiring extra assistance, and then 5:15am for Mint guests. We were greeted onboard our aircraft by Myrna, who would be the dedicated Mint flight attendant for today's flight.
I reached my Mint suite, seat 2A, and could not believe the amount of space I had. My sister, even though I hyped her up in the preceding weeks, couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her seat. She and I are used to flying Frontier, Spirit, and jetBlue, but we also had a taste of First Class when we flew on Virgin America's First Class from FLL-JFK a few years prior. This seat was unlike anything she and I had ever seen before.
Waiting for us at our seats were an amenity kit, pillow and blanket sets, as well as a note from our crew welcoming us to Mint, and a water bottle inside a nice little compartment. After settling in, it was clear how much space there is at these seats. I had flown Delta One from ATL-FLL in June 2019, and the comfort and space of that seat, while incredible, was exceeded by the Mint Suite.
About five minutes after boarding, Myrna came by to introduced herself and congratulated me on being able to get a Mint Suite (which was a really nice touch), and explained to me the features of the seat since it was my first time. She also took my pre departure beverage order (I had the house speciality cocktail with a tiny bit of vodka). Having a PDB meant a lot to me, since Delta annoyingly didn't offer one on my trip with them in June.
I enjoyed exploring the features of the seat, and watching the main cabin passengers walk by us. The TV was not working for some reason, and wouldn't be activated until after we reached 10,000ft.
I noticed that my armrest was really scratched up and clearly had been abused, but fortunately, my privacy door was working!
Our flight attendants took our meal orders shortly before the door was closed for departure. You can find the breakfast options in the image below.
[INSERT MENU PIC HERE]
I decided to order the Fresh Fruit bowl, Coconut Chia Seed Pudding, and Croissant French Toast. Having tried coconut chia seed pudding a few days prior to this flight (I went to a restaurant just to try it because I knew it would be an option), I was particularly excited for it.
I am a big lover of breakfast food. Breakfast is part of the reason I chose this particular flight in the first place, in addition to the timing. I was excited to try Mint breakfast, after previously enjoying breakfast in Virgin America First.
We pushed back from the gate six minutes early at 05:54, and taxied to Runway 28L. At 06:06, our A321 roared down the runway and into South Florida skies. As the amber lights of civilization faded beneath the clouds, rays of sun slowly started taking its place.
Inflight
I sipped on my delicious drink as we climbed ever higher into the sky. Shortly after departure, the dark cabin was illuminated by all of our TV screens being turned on. Most passengers kept their TVs off and window shades shut for the majority of the flight. In fact, only one other passenger in Mint had their shade open at all during the flight, and that passenger was my sister, who only looked outside during takeoff, landing, and a few brief moments during the flight. It was clear that most passengers were taking advantage of the lie flat seat and catching up on sleep.
About twenty minutes into the flight, we were offered a warm refreshing towel which I took advantage of. It had a lovely mint scent to it and felt very nice. I reclined my seat and started enjoying some of the content on the inflight entertainment screen.
We were offered a chocolate croissant, as well as a refill of our beverages shortly after. The croissant tasted extremely delicious, and was crispy on the outside but very soft on the inside.
Throughout most of this flight, I enjoyed the massage function on the seat, and laying flat. Due to the design of the seat, there is a rather narrow footwell that may be cramped. However, I am 6'3, and was able to rest comfortably even in the lay flat position. I was able to alleviate the cramped effect of the footwell by removing my shoes. It felt extremely comfortable, and I wouldn't hesitate to fly a Mint red eye while laying flat. The Mint Suite's privacy door adds a high level of comfort because it really makes it feel like you're in your own little room on a plane, and gives it a big advantage over the regular Mint seats.
As I waited for my breakfast, I started watching The Great Gatsby (the newer one with DiCaprio), while looking occasionally out the window. Another important note, is that the Mint Suite seat is positioned generally where a middle seat would be in an economy class configuration. This makes it a bit troublesome to view the land down below and you have to really lean over the side table if you want to see the ground.
My breakfast was served about 1hr 10 minutes into our flight. My first impression was WOW. I loved the clean presentation of the meal and the Mint logo shaped bowls.
[INSERT BREAKFAST PIC HERE]
Left to right: Croissant French Toast, Smoked Applewood Bacon, Fresh Fruit Bowl, Coconut Chia Seed Pudding
I am not exaggerating when I say that this was one of the most delicious and satisfying meals I have ever had. This breakfast rivaled the best breakfast I've enjoyed on the ground, which was surprising since it was prepared on the aircraft.
The Croissant French Toast was probably the most satisfying portion of the meal. It was so soft and warm that it practically melted in my mouth. The berries inside it added a delicious kick to the vanilla taste of the bread.
The fruit bowl was delicious as well, although not my favorite. I'd never had grapefruit nor pomegranate before, and I enjoyed the sour tastes for the most part, but didn't like the harder texture which was hard to chew.
The Coconut Chia Seed Pudding though...WOW. It tasted similar to the one I had on the ground a few days prior, but the raspberry compote it came with added an interesting twist to the pudding and I thoroughly enjoyed it with the coconut shavings.
The maple glazed bacon (only available upon request) was also delicious. It wasn't anything out of this world like the french toast and chia seed pudding, but it complemented the meal very nicely. By this point I had switched to orange juice (after 3 light cocktails), which I enjoyed with the meal.
On a scale from 1-10, with 1 being a Waffle House off of I-95, and 10 being my mom's cooking, I would rate this breakfast a 9.95. It was that good.
My sister, who's picky eating habits hasn't improved since the last time we sat up front together, ordered the same thing as me so I could have the food because she didn't like anything on the menu! She had no idea what she was missing out on, and I had just enough appetite left to eat some of her leftovers.
After my feast, I checked out the jetBlue Pantry, which is a snack bar that separates the Mint and Core classes. It has a selections of chips, cookies, and non-alcoholic beverages for all passengers to freely take. I gathered some chips to feed my sister who didn't feel like coming out of her suite.
I returned to my suite and started flipping through the music channels, and found a station playing my favorite artist, Tycho, and enjoyed relaxing to that was we cruised steadily towards California. I tried some of the headphones that jetBlue offers Mint guests the option to rent. They were okay but really flimsy. I recommend just sticking to your own pair when flying Mint.
Arrival
As the land below us started changing to a desert gold below a sapphire blue sky, I ordered a cappucino, which of course tasted amazing. It was so good, that I requested another with just 45 minutes to go. My coffee was returned to me, along with a MilkBar cookie, and I was thanked for flying jetBlue Mint.
Our descent brought us within view of Palm Springs and Mount San Jacinto and into Los Angeles. I woke up my sister as she was one of the other 15 Mint guests who were sleeping through our arrival. She enjoyed a lovely view of downtown LA as we continued our way down to Earth.
We landed on Los Angeles International Airport's Runway 25L at approximately 08:35 local time, and arrived at our gate about 10 minutes later, parked next to a beautiful Pualani in her new livery on an A330-200.
Jess and I let a few passengers disembark behind us as we enjoyed our last moments in these $499 seats. After we disembarked, we used the facilities, and I took a few photos of the terminal. It was my first time using LAX and not being in the Virgin America/Alaska Airlines terminal. jetBlue's terminal is similar to it. Nothing incredible, but it is very functional and clean.
The Layover
It was nice arriving about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. My checked bag arrived at the carousel moments after we arrived. I was shocked by how fast it got there. I also really liked the Mint bag tag on it. jetBlue doesn't mess around when they guarantee that Mint bags come off first! With retrieval of my bag, my long awaited Mint experience was officially over. I was sad it was over, but looked forward to the day ahead.
We had roughly 9 hours to kill in Los Angeles before jetting off to Sin City. This time, we were certain we weren't going to let it go to waste! I booked an economy rental car through the LAX Enterprise location, and had it set to be dropped off at LGB. Remarkably, the fee to do this was 1 penny. I'm used to facing $50 fees for drop offs at different locations, so I certainly didn't mind paying only a penny, and it being much more convenient.
It was somewhat easy finding the location to the rental car shuttle pick up locations (they are all off site) and we were on our way to the Enterprise about 20 minutes after arrival. As an Enterprise Plus member, I was able to cut the snaking line and get my keys faster. Total rental was $84, and that includes the young renter fee of $20.
Jess and I decided to first go to the Santa Monica Pier. It was a favorite attraction of ours when we last visited Los Angeles proper (and not LAX), where we enjoyed the views and I even dipped my feet in the rather chilly Pacific Ocean.
We couldn't have asked for lovelier weather. It was about 65 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny the entire day.
After about an hour, we continued to Hollywood where we checked out the Walk of Fame- another favorite attraction from our last trip-. It was cool, but it's one of those things where you only have to visit once like every five years. Nothing had changed, but it was still nice to be out and about.
We enjoyed seeing the stars again for an hour, before deciding on starting to head south. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 17:22, and it was about 12:40. We didn't want to risk getting stuck in traffic and missing our flight. We decided we would stop at the In n Out to get a quick lunch and enjoy the weather by watching the planes.
That was a GREAT decision. We got there at 13:30, somehow had no trouble finding parking, and had just enough time to get food, and come outside and see three A380s land over us! My sister who doesn't care about planes thought it was so cool. It was a very lovely day and made me really appreciate that we didn't take a nonstop.
35 minutes after we got there, we decided it was safer to start going back down to the Long Beach Airport. It was indeed a very safe decision because traffic was starting to increase. It took about 60 minutes to drive to Long Beach, refuel the car, and drop it off.
Fortunately, the Enterprise location at LGB is onsite at a parking only a stone's throw from the airline terminal. It was very easy returning the car, and soaking up our last rays of California sunshine as we made our way to the terminal. It would definitely suck though, walking to the rental car lot in the rain.
Flight Information
Date: February 21, 2020
jetBlue Flight 180
Airbus A320-200 "True Blue"
LGB Gate: 8
Departure Time: 17:12 (17:22 sched.)
Takeoff: 17:23
Landing: 18:00
Arrival Time: 18:09 (18:30 sched.)
LAS Gate: E9
Seat: 17A (Core)
Departure
After arriving at the iconic art-deco Long Beach Airport terminal, we refreshed at the facilities, and then proceeded to check my bag for our flight to Las Vegas. This was the first time I was flying economy with a checked bag and didn't have to wait in a line! The terminal was deserted, minus the jetBlue, Southwest, and American employees working.
By the time we entered the terminal it was 15:21 local time- over 12 hours since our A321 had departed Fort Lauderdale!
After checking the bag, we were directed outside to another building to go through security. Because I had PreCheck and my sister was on the same reservation as me, she also received the PreCheck benefit. There was literally nobody in line at either of the TSA lines. I was stopped because I had forgotten my water bottle from my Mint flight was still in my book bag- I had intended to put it in the checked bag but completely forgot. The TSA agent's face when I proceeded to chug the entire water bottle was worth a million bucks.
After you go through TSA at LGB, you once again exit outside to this beautiful courtyard, with Southwest, Delta, and American gates to the left, and jetBlue and Hawaiian gates in the building to the right. I love the modern terminal buildings at LGB. It's a very beautiful airport for airline passengers and is so easy to use. This was only my second time using it (the first time was nearly three years ago, when I arrived from LAS), and it was just as wonderful as I remembered it.
Once we were airside, we had about an hour until boarding. I spent most of that time walking around and enjoying the open air spaces. There were a dozen other people also enjoying the outdoor areas. Our aircraft arrived from San Francisco at 16:21, and boarding for our flight to Las Vegas began at 16:47.
Long Beach Airport uses air stairs for their boarding/deboarding procedures. Seated in row 17, I was able to take my sweet time and walk around our A320 to the rear air stairs. Even though I frequently fly through Trenton, it's always incredible walking on the apron and around the mammoth airliners that soar through the air.
Once we boarded, we descended back into reality, as we saw the old interior with tiny TV screens. It was a softer return to reality than flying on Frontier, but it was still a shocker! We also boarded at the right time, because shortly after settling into our seats, it started to lightly drizzle outside. Passengers near us were soaked from the rain.
We pushed back 10 minutes early, just as the rain started to ease up. We taxied to Runway 30 and were airborne shortly later. About 14 hours after seeing the sun slowly rise over the Atlantic, I was treated to a beautiful sunset over the Pacific for a few minutes, before we turned East towards Vegas.
Inflight
It was a lightly turbulent ride to the desert. I was quite annoyed that the crew did not offer a refreshment service. I hadn't bought any snacks in the terminal, anticipating we would get a quick snack. On our Virgin America flight from LAX-LAS they offered snacks and even free alcohol (for Main Cabin passengers!), and when we flew jetBlue from SJU-PUJ a year and a half ago (similar stage length), they offered snacks and drinks then. The lack of a service was the only negative part of this trip.
Arrival
As quickly as we were up, we were beginning our descent down to Sin City, touching down on Runway 1L exactly at 18:00. Our approach was extremely beautiful, and we could see the Las Vegas Strip just beyond our wingtip fence. Seeing our home for the next week, the Luxor hotel, was particularly exciting!
We arrived at the gate 21 minutes ahead of schedule, and upon disembarking our A320, were greeted to the sight of slot machines everywhere. Even though I'd been in this terminal a few times before, it was still cool to see the slot machines everywhere and to instantly feel like we were in Vegas.
We made our way to baggage claim, where my bag was one of the last to arrive, and proceeded to the Lyft pick up area. The Lyft pick up area for this terminal at McCarran International Airport is such a hassle to find and very complicated.
Thirty minutes after touch down, we were on our way to the hotel, and arrived at the iconic Luxor pyramid fifteen short minutes later.
Visiting Fabulous Las Vegas
We enjoyed a great week in Las Vegas. We went originally for the hockey game, but we learned about a month before our trip that there was an education convention taking place that week that my sister could attend. It meant a nice week long vacation in Las Vegas for myself, while my sister and mother (who flew in the following night by way of Southwest, PHL-BNA-LAS) attended the convention!
The following night after we arrived in Las Vegas, we would see the hometown team crush my Florida Panthers and my heart. We spent that Sunday renting a car and driving to the Hoover Dam- which was surprisingly not a far drive at all. It was a very scenic and beautiful ride to get there.
In the following 5 days, I also visited the Airplane Shop, where I met proprietor Todd, and bought a SkyMarks 1:150 Hawaiian Airlines A321neo, and a GeminiJets 1:400 American Airlines 737-800. I then continued to the planespotting area and enjoyed taking shots of the planes with the Las Vegas strip background.
We also visited the Neon Museum, which is home to vintage neon signs of hotels that Las Vegas left in the past. It was a quirky place, but not worth the admission cost to be honest. We would later in the trip also see a show by mentalist Frederic Da Silva, and I was even called up to participate. It was certainly a fun experience.
We ate pretty decently during our stay. It's hard to find affordable but quality dining on the strip. We splurged on a churrasco steak dinner at a restaurant inside the Tropicana, but also were (humoruously) berated while eating at Dick's Last Resort in the Excalibur- also a decent steak.
For breakfast, we mostly ate at the America diner restaurant inside New York New York. This was our third time visiting Las Vegas, and we had always come to this restaurant for an affordable and extremely satisfying meal. I think we came here a total of 3-4 times during our 7 day stay.
The eve of our final day in Vegas found us once again at the T-Mobile Arena, this time with me rooting for the Golden Knights against the Edmonton Oilers. It was an impromptu last minute decision to go, and my sister and I had a blast.
The Luxor Hotel & Casino
We enjoyed our stay for the most part at the iconic pyramid hotel. Due to a clerical error at check in, we received a single king sized bed room on the 16th floor. I like rooms on high floors, but I don't like sharing a bed with my mom and sister. The hotel agents were very friendly in switching us to two queen sized beds, but on the second floor.
The room's location was near where they dispose of waste, so there was constantly a garbage smell in the hallway. That was probably the biggest issue we faced.
The room itself was average size for two queen sized beds. The Egyptian theme of the hotel found it's way into our room, which was interesting. The room itself was always clean. Furniture was clearly dated however with some dings and scratches.
The bathroom wasn't large, and featured only a standing shower-no bath tub- which was quite annoying but I dealt with it. The room was situated on the East side of the pyramid, so I would occasionally see airliners taking off from McCarran, and even some of the Janet 737s!
The Pyramid Cafe restaurant is the main breakfast restaurant in the Luxor. We ate there on the first morning, and the food was overpriced and extremely bland. I had to drown my pancakes in syrup just to get a semi-decent taste.
The Aurora Bar was really cool however. The prices are average for alcohol but I enjoyed the ambiance with the color changing lights above the bar.
There's also a food court that features traditional American eats. There's a chicken tender restaurant, a hot dog stand, a Johnny Rocket's, and a sub sandwich place. We frequented the chicken tender place because, while a little pricy for chicken, it tasted really good, and was conveniently inside the Luxor. My only gripe is that several of these restaurants close early by Vegas standards (most of them are shut by 10pm).
This hotel somehow features not one, not two, but three Starbucks locations! If you're a coffe-holic like myself, you don't have to wander too far to get your fixing.
I didn't gamble that much at all during my week-long Vegas stay, but I did observe others. The gambling areas at the Luxor were arguably cleaner than those found at the nearby Excalibur and Mandalay Bay casinos. I tried a horse racing game that reminded me of bubble hockey, which was extremely fun even though I lost a couple bucks. I also tried a James Bond 007 themed slot machine, and of course lost $5 because I didn't know how to play.
We also visited the Titanic exhibition inside the Luxor. Also kind of pricy, but this was worth the cost. There are some scenes inside the exhibit where you can almost fool yourself into thinking you're on the real ship. The coolest part of the exhibit was seeing an actual piece of the ship recovered from the wreck.
Overall, I would say that I was glad I stayed at the Luxor. It's obviously right on the strip, so it's location is more or less convenient compared to other hotels. It offered great value, since it was one of the cheapest hotels on the strip. There were decent food options inside the hotel, the staff was very friendly. Besides the fact, it's completely boss being able to stay inside a pyramid.
The only bummer was paying the mandatory $35.00 a day for "resort fees", which include WiFi, airline boarding pass printing, and access to the gym. Of those benefits, I used exactly zero of them. I wish this fee was optional and we could pick and choose what we wanted to pay for or not pay for, which is why airlines such as Frontier have a better business model for me. That brings me to the last portion of this trip report...
Flight Information
Date: February 28, 2020
Frontier Airlines Flight 2142
Airbus A320neo "Ed, Edwin, & Eddie the Penguins"
LAS Gate: D19
Departure Time: 09:32 (09:41 sched.)
Takeoff: 09:56
Landing: 16:52
Arrival Time: 16:57 (17:27 sched.)
PHL Gate: E10
Seat: 24F (Economy)
Departure
Our way home found us sitting in another A321, but one with animals greeting us by the boarding door, and chasing us all the way to Philadelphia. For a total of less than the price of one Mint seat, the three of us were able to fly back home.
We headed for McCarran at 07:30 via Lyft. It was of course bittersweet bidding adieu to our home away from home for the past week, but there's only so much Vegas one can handle!
We arrived at the very nice Terminal 3 at LAS about 15 minutes later. I'd previously used this terminal a few times when flying in on my beloved Virgin America. After checking in our bags, we proceeded through a line-less TSA, and then to the underground monorail to the midfield concourse.
A nice selection of animal tails greeted us at the D concourse as we grabbed breakfast. I also noticed a lovely mural in the gate area. Marshall the Ring Tailed Cat, an A320neo arrived from Miami next door at D20. Marshall would later on take me to Miami in July 2020!
Our ride, Ed, Edwin and Eddie the Penguins showed up at our gate to take us to Philly. This would be my third ride with this adorable trio within just over a year! Our flight was lightly loaded and we departed 9 minutes early to the City of Brotherly love. I was able to relocate from my assigned seat of 25A with my family to 24F, so I could have a row to myself and see the Strip upon departure.
At 9:56, the normally flightless birds, once again found a way to climb into the sky, carrying me and just over 150 people with them. The Strip flew past my window as I bid adieu to Sin City.
Inflight
Our flight was a usual standard ULCC flight. This would end up being my longest so far, but the time quite literally flew by. We soared past Lake Mead, with Hoover Dam clearly visible. As the flight progressed, the scenery down below had that same incredible change from desert gold, to white snow capped peaks of Colorado, to the light browns of the plains, to the emerald greens of the Appalachians, before we descended into Pennsylvania.
I briefly was excited as we flew directly over Pikes Peak, Colorado, and the Springs. I could easily see COS down below, and I scrambled to get my family's attention so they could see beautiful Denver on their side.
Arrival
We enjoyed an uneventful, very smooth ride across the country. We performed an unusual approach into PHL, landing on Runway 17, instead of the usual 9/27s. It was once again a great journey with my penguin friends, as our trip finally concluded.
Our checked luggage arrived promptly, and we hopped into my dad's truck coming back from what would be our last vacation pre-Covid.
If you somehow managed to read through this entire trip report, then thank you for joining along with me on this journey. I realize it was a longer report but I wanted to be able to give a vicarious sense while reading it!