Man, sitting at the airport at 4 am this morning was not my idea of a good time. I’m definitely not a morning person. But let me tell you, a couple of things really stood out during this trip that I think you’ll find interesting.
Fly The Friendly Skies
So, first up was Midway Airport. I gotta say, the curbside drop-off for my bags was a game-changer. No waiting in line, and it took me less than five minutes. The guy there even gave me awesome directions to my concourse. Surprisingly, despite the early hour, many shops and restaurants were open. Scored me a bacon bagel from McDonald’s, conveniently located right by my concourse. Security is usually a drag, but it was quick and efficient this time. Took me less than five minutes to breeze through.
Now, onto Southwest Airlines. Let me start by telling you how ridiculously easy it was to book my ticket. Went online and checked out all the prices and times for the flight there and the return. They’ve got this cool search feature where you can set your preferences. Since I booked online, I could print out my boarding pass the day before, avoiding the lines. Plus, I think that let me do the curbside check-in thing. Oh, and there were a bunch of stores near my concourse; not sure if that’s a Southwest thing, but it was a nice touch.
They’ve changed up their boarding process too. In Chicago, at least, they started with folks who had letters A and numbers 1 through 30. I was A53, so I got on shortly after. The cool thing is, once I was on the plane, I could choose any seat I wanted. Ended up in row 4, seat A – aisle seat, yay! I was expecting to be squished, but I was pleasantly surprised with the legroom. And get this, they handed out a snack box on the flight – chips, cheese, crackers, trail mix, the whole deal. Of course, peanuts were in there, too (classic, right?). But here’s the kicker: I got offered a free Sprite refill without asking.
The flight crew was seriously amazing, so kind and helpful. The pilot kept us informed, letting us know we were running ahead of schedule and that it was about 60 degrees outside (while Chicago was freezing at 30). They even warned us about turbulence before it hit.
Oh, and the seats? Comfortable enough that I caught some Zs, even through the turbulence. Honestly, I’m crossing my fingers that the rest of my day has been as smoothly as this trip.
Bottom line? If you’re thinking about flying, I’d totally recommend Southwest. I’m beyond satisfied – their prices are reasonable, the service is top-notch, and honestly, I’ll be booking with them again for sure.