small airports for connections and departures.
nmhjuuuuuuuuuuuuu (contribtion of the cat)
Smaller airports are just that, smaller and easier to deal with.
This crew change I opted for flying out of Oakland instead of SFO and we landed at Midway instead of O'Hare.
We hit the Tarmac at Midway a minute or two ahead of schedule and I noted the time. I had to go from the middle of A concourse to the end of the B concourse and it took just under 23 minutes.
Under those circumstances it doesn't get any better than that.
Full disclosure, I flew Southwest and had gotten into the A list for loading. I was the 30th person to board and was in an aisle seat in the 4th row which did save a lot of time.
Still, it was one hell of a lot easier to get around in Midway than it is in O'Hare, Detroit of Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Boarding at Oakland was a lot easier, too. The TSA lines were MUCH shorter and a LOT easier to deal with. I'm TSA precheck and even then it was easier to deal with than it is at a larger airport.
Then again I travel in a safari jacket or and old BDU shirt. I stuff my wallet in a cargo pocket, pull the whole damned thing off and drop it in a tray. When I clear I put it back on again. Simple.
m,bvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvnb hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (more contributions from Kitty)
The other thing I discovered is Southwest Airlines.
I'm really not too picky of a flier, really. Just so long as I don't get stuck in the dreaded middle seat and have a place to stow my carry-on I'm a happy camper. I have had horrible luck being stuck in the middle seat.
I'm not one for conspiracy theories but I do believe that the major airlines have a conspiracy to squash Piccolo between two just plain fatties that know each other and don't get along. Besides having to have half my seat taken by them I have to listen to their $hit.
Of course, sometimes they get me to sit next to someone with an emotional support animal that licks my ear all the way across this great nation of ours. Readers know I don't blame the animal.
I wish the pilot would drop below 10,000 feet and let us throw the owner of the hapless animal out the aft hatch. Of course we can't thanks to D.B. Cooper. There is a Coopervane installed on the hatch to keep us from opening it.
I would have cheerfully taken care of the animal and found it a responsible owner when I got off the airplane.
Of course when you are dealing with corporate travel you are generally stuck in the cheap seats and get put in the last boarding group. This practically guarantees that your bag will get pink ticketed and you have to pick it up in the jetway as you get off. You board with all the other beggrs, thieves, hunchbacks, dwarfs and lepers.
It make you want to panhandle the first class passengers. Alms! Alms for the poooor! Alms!
This means you are probably going to miss your connection if you were cutting it close to begin with.
When I'm going home I generally upgrade at least the first half of my flight to get as far forward as I can to insure I don't miss my connection.
Anyway, it's easy to get a decent seat on Southwest. Southwest is yet another secret. They are exceptionally generous.
They have a 2 free bags ship free policy and on top of that their carry-on policy is even more generlous. The industry standard for carry-ons is 21x14x9. Southwest's is 24x18x10. While I do not have a highly trained eye, it's obvious they want my business.
As for the attendants, they are not the slick attendants you find elsewhere. They are down to earth people and I truly respected the way we got the obligatory mask lecture. "Look. You agreed to the mask policy when you bought the ticket. Please show you have a sense of honor by obeying it." It doesn't get any better than that. It's up front.
Mask debate all you want but it's federal mandate and if you don't like it you have other alternatives. Frankly I don't like it but I did agree to follow it because I agreed to it when I accepted the ticket.
My new M.O. is probably going to be Southwest and small airport connections.
I imagine some of you readers are going to tell me you've known this for years but give me a break. I am an old dog learning some new tricks.
I suppose some of you people know all of this if you are routine travelers but it's gnus to me.
Oh. The cat says "Hi there".
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