Another Great Southwest Travel Experience

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to visit Las Vegas for the Aviation Nation air show at Nellis Air Force Base.  Having booked this trip months ago, I was glad it was with Southwest when I ended up fracturing my shoulder blade last week.    With Southwest, I could have canceled or rebooked this trip, using the money paid as a credit towards future travel.   As it turned out, the pain was manageable, and I figured that my should would be just as broken in Vegas as it would be had I stayed home.   Nevertheless, it was nice to have the option of canceling my trip without penalty.

Broken Bones Are Your Ticket To The A-List

Sure, you could spend extra on the early check in option, in order to board first and choose your favorite seat, but that would be too easy.   You could even bring a small child with you, and board at the end of the A-listers.   I decided to break my should blade in a bicycle accident in order to board my flight first.  In my crippled condition, the Southwest gate agents were happy to give me a blue slip that allowed me to board the aircraft first.   I didn’t even have to worry about checking in exactly 24 hours before my flight, I just printed out a boarding pass at the airport, C-something, and picked up my blue ticket at the gate.   I was the first passenger who boarded, and the first to exit the aircraft on arrival.    I am sure that not every Southwest flight is on time, but I have flown them a dozen times and they have been perfect.   This weekend was no exception, as the flights operated with a precision that leads me to believe that not everything has to happen perfectly for the flight to leave on time.  It also helps that with free checked bags, there wasn’t chaos when people couldn’t fit all of their belongings in the overhead bins.

For someone who can’t stand the policies and attitudes at most airlines these days, I am always pleasantly surprised to fly Southwest.