Hello, and welcome to my trip report, titled Home for Christmas with Southwest where, you guessed it, I fly home for the holiday break with Southwest Airlines! I got to fly Southwest for the first time in over six years on this trip. I was also only fifteen the last time I flew them, so for me, it felt more like a first time because I was actually documenting everything from booking to arrival. How did Southwest match my expectations? Read on to find out!
Please note, for your convenience, this trip report is also available in video format. The video trip report is quite long, so I've included a table of contents in the beginning. The video trip report is found here:
INTRODUCTION
Towards the middle of 2017, I'd started to notice a very interesting trend in my travels. It'd been early June, and I had just finished logging my most recent flight on flightmemory.com, which was from SFO-DCA on the Virgin America A321neo inaugural. I checked out the map that shows the routes you've flown, when I realized I had not flown the same route twice in the same direction. My flight data corroborated what I realized. So, I set myself a little challenge to continue that trend and try very hard to not fly the same route twice in the same direction, something that I had never done before in a calendar year. I was lucky that my booked flights at the time did not break the trend.
Living in Florida for college, and having family in New Jersey made this very tricky. It involved me having to go out of my more than once, like flying DCA-DAL, and then running to DFW to go to MCO to avoid flying from PHL-PBI for instance.
Booking Process
Come November, knowing I was very close to completing my little challenge. I knew I was traveling home for Winter Break, and I already could not from FLL-ATL-PHL, FLL-MCO-ACY, FLL-PHL, FLL-JFK, or PBI-PHL. This left my only option as either MIA-PHL/JFK or FLL to PHL via another connecting airport. I'd also been dying to try Southwest. I've flown every other U.S. airline (except AS & HA) in the years since, and I was very intrigued to try them out again, especially since I was much older and could fully appreciate the experience.
I found a very exciting deal on Southwest to fly them on their brand new 737MAX 8 from FLL-BWI. I checked my FlightMemory map to make sure it would work, and it would! I called up my parents, only to be told "Hell no, there's got to be plenty of cheap flights to Philly". I was disappointed but continued my search. Then I found something almost equally interesting. FLL-BNA-PHL on their 737-700 and 737-800. I phoned them again to see if I could do this, and this time I got a credit card number instead of a "Hell no!", and much to the chagrin of my sister who hates when I book crazy flights like this. I booked up Southwest and was very delighted that I would go an entire calendar year, flying on 32 different flights, on 32 different routes! I actually ended up payin
g $3 more for this routing than a nonstop (which would've snapped my streak)
Overall, I liked the Southwest website. While I wish their flights would show up on GoogleFlights with the rest of the major U.S. airlines, it was still kind of fun to search for flights the old fashioned way. I was very excited to add the Nashville Airport dot to my FlightMemory app, but my only concern was that I had a 40 minute connection- shorter than any other one I've had. Nonetheless, I prepared for the short connection by purchasing EarlyBird Check-In for only $15 per passenger, to ensure we have a better chance at getting a seat near the front for our flight to BNA.
The Trip
I very much looked forward to finally try out Southwest Airlines. Their advertisements would play on TV during the Florida Panthers hockey games and I enjoyed their "Every Seat Has a Story" spot. About two days before our flight, my sister started to feel jealous that we would be missing my dad's company Christmas party by a day. I looked up flights for her because I felt bad- there was no reason for us to leave on Saturday instead of Friday other than flying Southwest. I found a $40 basic economy ticket on American and booked her on it, and called Southwest to get a travel credit for her ticket. The agent was very nice, and gave a credit for the full $96 (the EarlyBird Check-In was nonrefundable).
That same night, I checked FlightRadar24 to see which aircraft would be operating my flight. I was shocked to see that my 737-800 had been changed to the MAX 8! I was very excited, I was jumping off the walls, but I awoke the following morning to check in, only to be disappointed that it was changed back to the 737-800. Both aircraft, according to FR24 would be in the old livery, which I prefer to be honest. After check in, I got my boarding passes and was happy to see I did very well, with boarding positions of A32 & A40 respectively! After dropping my sister off at FLL, I spent pretty much all of Friday waiting for it to be Saturday.
Flight 2635: FLL-BNA
I decided I wanted to be at FLL by 07:00am for my 09:05am flight to Nashville, so I had plenty of time to see the B concourse- where my flight would be departing out of- as well as the brand new A concourse. I said goodbye to my girlfriend, and was out the door at 06:35am and began the half hour drive to FLL, ever so excited!
My dad, who would be coming down the following day to buy a new stove for my abuela, requested me to leave the car at the top of the Hibiscus Garage, which worked out perfectly because there's a walkway that leads directly to Terminal 1. After seeing a 737-800 flying out, much like the one I would be on in a few hours, I descended down to Terminal 1 to check in my bag and get a boarding pass.
See you soon, beautiful
While I was excited to be flying Southwest, my heart still ached as I walked past the Virgin America check in desks. I likely would've snapped by streak if they still had their FLL-JFK flight.
There are several self service kiosks. I found them very easy to use, and the user interface was very pretty.
It felt very foreign to be in the Southwest check in area for a flight!
By the way, it's worth mentioning that I checked my bag purely for the sake of checking a bag because I'm flying Southwest and it was free. There was almost nothing in the bag ;D
Security at the A/B checkpoint, unlike C, is never quiet, and always very busy. This morning, at the beginning of the holiday rush, was no different. Even though I waited only about ten minutes max, from entering the line to putting my bag in the scanner, it still felt like an eternity because the C checkpoint is always empty. Once I was through, I decided to check out the brand new terminal A concourse, which just opened in July. This new terminal allows Southwest to finally add international flights. jetBlue and Bahamasair also use the facility for select international arrivals.
The new terminal is very open and spacious. Lots of natural light fills up the terminal, and it has the same modern style as Concourse G, here at FLL.
In the rotunda of the terminal, there's many chairs and tables, featuring charging ports. It's a nice area if you want to stay away from a crowded boarding area and work on a laptop.
Inside Concourse B now:
My flight would be using gate B7. With boarding scheduled to commence at 08:25am. I arrived to my crowded gate area about ten minutes beforehand. However, my inbound aircraft arrived very late. It arrived from San Juan at 08:30am. In my mind, I was freaking out. I had a short connection already, I could not afford to leave FLL late! I called my mom to tell her the situation and she told me to look for alternatives in Nashville or talk to a gate agent. I did the former, and was relieved that I did have a few options in BNA to get on another aircraft in case I missed my connection. Everyone getting off the plane seemed very confused, stopping in the door to the jetway to ask the gate agent where to go and blocking everyone behind them from getting out. It was an excruciating wait until finally, at 08:45, the gate agent asked everyone in zone A to lineup.
Elsewhere in the terminal, a gate agent announced preboarding for an aircraft going to DAL, and continuing onto BNA-MSY-EWR-HOU-OMA, all on the same aircraft and flight number! What a day for that airplane!
I was still very excited. I lined up by the podium for passengers in boarding positions A31-A60 and prepared to board. I noticed the gate agent was collecting-not scanning- paper boarding passes. I wanted to keep mine as a memento from the trip, and hurriedly whipped out my Southwest app for him to scan. The resounding ding meant I was allowed to board our aircraft!
It was foreign not having an assigned seat printed on my boarding pass. I would say Southwest's open seating policy, combined with my EarlyBird Check-In boarding position, worked out extremely well in my favor. Even though all the windows in the first ten rows were taken, I found a nice seat, with a perfectly aligned window in row 11, the row right before the emergency exit. On airlines that have pre-assigned seating, I would've likely had to sit in the back because seats near the front tend to fill up very quickly when the schedule is released. I put my camera bag underneath the seat in front of me and started snapping pictures away! The seat was very well padded, and I had a decent amount of legroom. Overall, a very nice first impression of the hard product.
Nice view of the engine
Flight board for this leg of the journey:
I got on the airplane at about 08:55. The cabin quickly filled up, and fortunately we left our gate only four minutes late. Even more fortuitously, there was only one person in my row, with the middle seat open. I regained my optimism, as we began our taxi to 10L. A flight attendant humorously explained the safety features of the aircraft, referring to the aisle lights as "disco lights" and saying "if the flight turns into a cruise" how to escape in a water landing. She then said she hopes we enjoy our flight to Memphis, to the quizzical looks of everyone onboard, before deciding we should go to Nashville. It was a very funny break that relieved most of my stress.
We took off from Runway 10L, and had a visible stream of air pass between the fuselage and the engine as we pulled up. It was quite a view, and cool to see. After flying eastbound for a couple moments, we turned to a northwesterly heading on course to BNA.
As we passed 10,000ft, the flight attendant announced that the wifi had been activated, so I pulled out my iPad to check out their entertainment options. Unfortunately, Southwest only offers streaming entertainment, in addition to their WiFi which has various prices. The streaming entertainment trend is one that I view negatively. I prefer having a TV in the seatback because they generally offer more programs, and I'm not bending my neck downward to view it on my iPad. In addition, there's no powerports, so if my iPad was to die an hour into a five hour transcon, I would be very bored.
Nonetheless, I kept an open mind as I tested it out. American offers an extensive library of complimentary on-demand movies with their Gogo streaming. Southwest offers only about ten channels of satellite TV (via Dish Network), while movies are available at a cost of about $4.99 per movie. Yuck! The only other form of entertainment is the moving flight map or a couple other small features. I tried watching an English Premier League match but slowly lost interest as I'm a Manchester United fan, and the teams playing were Newcastle United vs Arsenal.
Among the small entertainment included various city guides, which I spent some time reading through. I also spent time checking out the "Arrivals & Connections" board to see where my flight to PHL would be departing out of. There's only two games available on the entertainment.
FR24 data for the flight
Connections info
This very poor selection of games makes the four or five games Virgin America offers seem like an arcade.
After reading the city guide for BNA, it made me really wish I had a longer layover!
Soon after, the flight attendants came around taking beverage orders, similar to jetBlue's style, which I prefer compared to having a large galley cart blocking the aisle. I enjoyed my OJ and munching on peanuts, while checking out the views below. I could see Orlando International Airport in the distance, and we flew directly over Hartsfield Jackson-Atlanta International Airport. I enjoyed the different scenery, and felt glad I didn't take the usual nonstop.
After about an hour and a half of flight, we began our slow crawl back to earth. The flight map initially estimated our arrival as 10:15am, ten minutes earlier than scheduled, but as we descending more and more, the time kept being pushed back, before finally it said we would land on time.
We touched down at BNA around 10:23am CST, and arrived at the gate at 10:29, four minutes late which turned my 40 minute layover into a 36 minute layover! I was confident I was going to make the connection, but I was disappointed I wouldn't have any time to see more of the airport. We parked at C16, which, fortunately, was right by C9, and I could see my 737-800 waiting for me. I was one of the first passengers off the airplane and made my way through BNA, taking photos the entire time, while speed walking!
My seat of 11F
Quick selfie at Nashville Airport as proof that I was here
They have a Grand Ol' Opry themed store in here! I wish I had more timeeee
Flight 3965: BNA-PHL
I approached the gate area of C9 just in time for boarding! There was a crowded mass of people who'd already lined up, and the podiums were switched this time. A1-A30 was on the right this time, while A31-A60 was on the left which added to my confusion. It was very weird asking people their boarding positions and feeling like cutting in line when I got in front of the man with A41. No later than finding my place in line, did we start boarding! I was very happy my sister was not with me as she would've hated me for booking this short connection!
I made my way onto the airplane, and contemplated sitting in row 16, since it has extra legroom, and hesitated since the line was building behind me. I decided not to, because I did not like the window alignment and I would not have been able to see the ground because the seat is right over the wing. I moved to the back of the plane, which was very empty at this point in boarding, and found a seat I liked, 24A, but then switched to 28A when I realized it was very dirty. I won't lie, I did have some fun switching around seats!
We once again departed four minutes late, but this time, the cabin crew wasn't funny, and the Boeing Sky Interior remained a grey/silver hue. Wasn't a big fan of this experience so far. After a very fast taxi, we took off from Runway 20C to begin the last leg of the journey home.
Flight board for the home stretch:
Gray BSI
Outta BNA!
After takeoff, the moodlighting changed to a more pleasant blue hue. It felt much more relaxing, even though the moodlights aren't as vibrant as my beloved Virgin America. This flight was much the same as the first one- struggling to find something entertaining but to no avail. I asked the flight attendants for five bags of peanuts because at this point, my stomach as growling after not eating anything as of yet. The flight was very scenic, flying over Appalachians. We flew directly over Washington DC, and I could make out Reagan National Airport, the Washington Monument, and the Capitol Building! As we crossed from Delaware into New Jersey, I noticed that everything on the Jersey side of the river was covered in snow! The contrast was quite evident!
Hello DCA!
I was mesmerized by seeing my first snow of the holiday season! It'd just snowed the previous day, and it was beautiful seeing my home of South Jersey blanketed in a winter wonderland! Out of all the things I miss most living in Florida (other than my family), is the four seasons.
We touched down in Philly about twenty minutes early, and taxied to gate E9 shortly after, arriving fourteen minutes early. After a brisk stroll through the terminal, I arrived at baggage claim, surprised that my checked bag made the very tight connection! I then proceeded back to the departures hall, where my parents would pick me up a few moments later, and I would finally go home for Christmas, and have a big snowball fight with my brother the moment I arrived!
Cabin shot
Their heart emblem on the front bulkhead
One last look at N8619F!
Parked directly across from us in the terminal was a very familiar face! Crockett the Raccoon! I flew with him in November 2017, when I flew to PHL for Thanksgiving! Check out my trip report with Crockett: http://jeffh737.wixsite.com/tripreports/single-post/2018/01/08/The-Battle-of-A321s-PBI-PHL-ACY-PBI-Frontier-Airlines-Spirit-Trip-Report
Checking out more of the E gates. The gates in this rotunda are almost exclusively all Southwest.
The Southwest check-in deks here at PHL
Upon retrieving my checked bag, I noticed this relic hidden in a dark, unmarked room across from the baggage carousels. It's the former AirTran baggage office! I was shocked they still had the signs and everything four years later!
Flightradar24 info:
Final Verdict
I would say that I liked the Southwest experience. There were a couple ups and downs, but it was an otherwise average trip.
The Good: Southwest's seats are very comfortable, with enough back support, and legroom. I never felt cramped, and it was a comfortable journey. The website was also nice, and I liked the airport check in process. I liked that checked bags are also included in the fare, and the Southwest rep was very nice, giving a credit for my sister's ticket. I liked the boarding process, as it was unique and kind of fun from an avgeek perspective.
The Bad: Punctuality was very poor. I had a very tight connection, and the inbound aircraft being late, as well as the confused passengers disembarking stressed me out a bit. Entertainment was also very dull. I know it's still more than what Frontier or Spirit offers, but I was happy my flights were only a couple hours, as I would've been very bored with the limited entertainment options.
Conclusion
Overall, I liked flying Southwest Airlines. I was neither impressed, nor disappointed on this trip. Both flights were average, and nothing necessarily to write home about, but it was definitely a bit different than my recent travels on AA/DL/UA/NK/F9/VX. I think that if they just expanded their selection of complimentary entertainment, I would give serious consideration to going out of my way to fly them in the future again. Until then, I see myself preferring AA/DL/B6/VX over Southwest, if the prices are all similar. I would, however, pick them over the likes of UA/NK/F9 in a heartbeat, because of the level of service I experienced on this trip was higher than that of trips I've taken with those carriers.
If you've made it this far, then thanks for flying with me!