Southwest Airlines Community

Hello Community Southwest:   SoCalFlyer97 took a roundtrip flight to the California State Capitol city of Sacramento earlier this month--Historic Folsom was the actual final destination.   This was a day trip from San Diego, purchased--you guessed it--during last September's WOW50 sale, which I've bloviated extensively on this board--but I can assure to everybody who is reading this that this is the last trip from this 50% off sale. The final flight day from reservations booked during the WOW50 sale was March 6. Weather was a little touchy for the return trip but the disruption was expected and nothing major.   @CarlyeThornton, this is for you: "What do you love about Southwest Airlines?" I believe only the folks from the LUV airline would put something like this together inside SAN... ...It's the Hospitality Farm of Paper Pineapples greeting everybody at the Southwest Check-In counter. Gotta LUV that creativity in décor.   Getting ready for Saint Patrick's Day too...     Oh me...Oh my...Need I say this again? If you qualify for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and don't have it...Think about applying, even if it's just a few trips per year; the effort to go through the application process is well worth it and will pay off. I felt like a super-VIP passing by this queue. Not eligible? SAN's Southwest Terminal 1 currently has a Priority Express Lane for Business Select, Anytime, and A-List. No CLEAR...yet!   Outbound Flight:   Plane: Gull Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia   Okay...I don't think this little bird parked at my gate can haul 175 passengers and their luggage to SMF. Airport Paging: Aircraft Swap at Gate 15, please.   Okay, this one will do!   Plane: 737-8H4, N8613K Full Flight, On Time Preboards: 3   Shortly after the 10'k mark, the captain got on the microphone and announced this beautiful cloud formation near Newport Beach.   Passing by the Camanche Reservoir and CA Highway 88 during final descent. Highway 88 passes through the Sierras and feeds into Highway 395 just south of Carson City.   Welcome to SMF!   Better than rideshare! SoCalFlyer97 is the sole passenger aboard this downtown transit bus. Day Pass $7 and works on both Sacramento Transit and Yolo Bus.   And the fields are blooming...   Took an hourlong train ride from Downtown to Historic Folsom and enjoyed the day there.     Right around that time, I get a text alert that my return flight home is running a little behind. Our friends at FlightRadar24 showed me why:   The assigned plane was at LAS and there were very high crosswinds from the south that essentially shut down both of the east/west runways during the early afternoon. Only the north/south runways were in use and that created a bit of a traffic jam on the taxiway according to the flight tracking map. Nevertheless, as tempting as it was to spend that extra hour at Historic Folsom, best that I get back to SMF. Two tips: If your flight is running behind, both FlightRadar24 and FlightAware can track exactly where the plane is. As I mentioned before, always return to the airport based on the original scheduled flight time, not the delayed time. Although I was able to track the plane down real-time, SMF was the starting point for my return flight number; that meant the possibility of an aircraft or crew swap that would shorten the delay.    By the time I got to SMF, it turned out that the original plane would still be used. Thus, it was safe to tour Terminal B. One of my favorite amenities of SMF are the landside glass elevators. If you've got time to spare, be sure to check them out:           The famous Red Rabbit above the landside escalators. Leap by Lawrence Argent   Slabs of wood make up this art-piece on the departures level near the check-in counters.   The Baggage Handlers by Christian Moeller   A nice quiet spot to hangout. Located on the top-level to/from the gates landside next to the glass elevators.   SoCalFlyer97 is in the deck once again aboard the automated people mover. Tip for those who want the cab view: If you're not in a hurry and waiting in line for the people mover at an airport near you, simply wait on the platform for the next train and be the first to board through the front doors. Chances are, the front seat area will be yours. Of course, if anybody needing ADA assistance come aboard, yield the seats to them and if there's staff ushering people, listen to them...but with some patience, you may get some nice views   I think it's obvious by now that this traveler likes window seats...even on the APM...   Went through TSA, both the general and PreCheck Lane were wide open. Let's chow beneath the central Airside Oak Tree: Acorn Steam by Donald Lipski   Under $10 airport food anyone? Stromboli's for sale from the pizza stand!     Sitting beside the big horn in the airside food court. Your Words are Music to My Ears by Po Shu W./ Louise Bertelsen (Living Lenses)   And after braving wind-driven traffic jams out of LAS... ...the bird pulls up to the gate! Return Flight: Plane: 737-MAX8, N881OL 50% Full, Delayed 64 mins Preboards: 3 The tardiness of the return flight paid off in the end with some nice city light views to wrap up this trip! Plus with a 50% full flight aboard the 50%-off WOW50 flight, the middle seat was empty.   Over the Palmdale/Lancaster area with the Victorville area in the background.   High above the coast in between Laguna Beach and Dana Point. In the background across the mountains, Lake Elsinore and Temecula.   The skyline greeting into SAN!     Prior Trip Reports: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Feb-24-Flight-Southwest-Hotels-Trip-Report-Hotel-Apache-Westgate/m-p/169582#M7816   https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Feb-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-San-Jose-Mineta-TSA/m-p/169354   More Info on the SAN-SMF Flight Route: https://www.southwest.com/routes/flights-from-san-diego-to-sacramento   Safe Travels, SoCalFlyer97 ... View more

Greetings Community Southwest:     As advertised in the What's in store for '24? thread, I took my combined Business and Personal Trip to Vegas last week. I had originally booked a three night stay at a downtown historic landmark, the Hotel Apache on Fremont Street through Southwest Hotels.   That was all set and ready to go until separate arrangements were made for me in regards to my second night's stay where I was placed at the Westgate Resorts hotel through the tradeshow that I was attending and there was no getting out of it. Long story short, I ended up staying at not one but two hotels for this three night trip. In addition, I took a little walkthrough of the Tropicana Hotel. Most of us are now aware that this old historic resort destination will soon be gone as the A's Baseball stadium is coming to Vegas.   I booked the Southwest flight from SAN-LAS during a local sale a few months prior to the trip and locked in the sale rate each way but with a catch. For the outbound trip, all of the morning flights were not included in the sale but the evening flights were. Thus, I booked the evening flight with the intent of executing a Same-Day Flight Change on the day of the departure to a morning flight through my A-List benefit at no difference in fare.   One Important Tip: This money-saving method is not a guarantee should the earlier flight nears or reaches capacity. That meant I had a back up plan in place at my origin airport in case I had to wait until the evening flight. However, the morning flights had open seats available when I checked at midnight of the day of the outbound flight.     Outbound Flight: Plane: 737-8H4, N8557Q 91% Full, On Time Preboards: 7 Shortly after takeoff, the plane flew into some thick clouds and the outside featured a white backdrop for quite a while...from just before the ten thousand foot mark going into the cruising altitude.   The plane later descended to a lower cruise level just before we got to Barstow and we finally got out of the clouds and saw the sandbox below.   Pictured above, we crossed the CA/NV state border over the Sky Ranch area.   Passing by the skyline during final descent.   A Public Transit RTC Bus Route ferried me to the Las Vegas Convention Center for my official business. My first day of work there involved setting up for the big show that kicked off for the next few days. Also purchased a monorail pass partially because:   Even a small sandwich can get very pricy at LVCC.   And it looks like the lines for the outside vendors stretched all the way to MCO... Okay... maybe not that far, but... SoCalFlyer97 however did locate the secret 'Priority Express' Lane: That was a short monorail ride over to the next food court:   Zero lines, much better pricing, and more filling options. No A-List required. Travel Tip: Got business at LVCC? I would buy monorail pass at the discounted online rate and ride it to a resort hotel destination with a food court that would provide much better lunch options. In my case, the Horseshoe/Bally's Hotel food court.   Off to the inn...I took another RTC bus over to downtown. As I mentioned, the Hotel Apache that is located above the Binion's casino is rich in history. Some even claim it's haunted:     First Hotel: Apache, Downtown Las Vegas Room Type: Standard Queen Room (Freely Upgraded to Double Queen Room at Check-In) Rapid Rewards Points Plus: 1k SW Hotels/RocketMiles Three-Day Total after Taxes: $150 No Resort Fee   Competing Booking Site Rates: Other 3rd Party Lowest Price per Trivago: Same as SW Hotels Direct: $166; Booking Direct nets a Funbook  1k CP-Eligible RR Points: Excellent Tradeoff   I had no problems checking in. In fact, being a small hotel, no lines to check in and this is Vegas. Staff located the SW Hotels reservation quickly. No resort fees...zero. Because the rates were so low, I elected to keep the original reservation for the three nights even though the second night of my trip will be at the Westgate.    I got to my room:     Now for the big question: Anonymous sources say this hotel is haunted. Look at the signage posted in the hallways. Is the Apache Haunted?         Did ghosts pay a visit to my room?     The elevator?     Spoiler Alert: No haunts for SoCalFlyer97.   Nothing in my room got moved. No unusual sounds. Everything worked AOK. The elevator did what it's supposed to. So-called "voices" that I heard were simply from downstairs in the casino. In my opinion, no happy haunts invaded my stay. And for the amount I paid for three nights during a convention, that is an unbeatable rate. One tip that is a must: I would strongly suggest to White Noise the room with the in-room fan or via a cell phone when going to bed to muffle out the music coming from Fremont Street. Review forthcoming on TripAdvisor.     Second Hotel: Westgate Resorts Room Type: Signature Room (Freely Upgraded to Studio Suite at Check-In) Resort Fee: $45.34 / night Room Rate Paid: Not Known (arranged through the tradeshow through my work)   Incidentals deposit was $50. Surprisingly enough, I arrived about an hour after the posted check in time and there was no line to check in at the desk. Nice. Too bad I was not able to book this room with Southwest Hotels; this property has been known to return some very generous Rapid Reward points offers. Can't complain though...I found out they gave me a free upgrade to a Studio Suite once I got to the room.     Third Hotel: Tropicana     Okay...I didn't stay at the Tropicana (two hotels for one trip was plenty) but I went through some of the public areas of this historic resort and captured some of its unique features including its stained glass ceiling, guest elevators, and a fairly new temporary LavAzza coffee shop that recently replaced the Starbucks Coffee there. Pretty soon, this entire resort will be in the history books, replaced by a new A's baseball stadium. Enjoy:                 Return Flight: Plane: 737-8H4, N8520Q 63% Full, On Time Preboards: 4   Got one last glimpse of the Tropicana for this trip aboard the plane. I've got one more trip to LAS before this place shuts down later this spring. I'll see if I can get some more pics of the public areas.   For this route, the plane normally flies over the 15 freeway across the state border and then heads south toward the Salton Sea area. This time, it made a minor detour east and followed Highway 95 for a little while before turning west to its original route (I'm assuming to dodge turbulence). Passing into Sloan Canyon with Lake Mead in the background.   This finale never gets old for SoCalFlyer97. SAN New T1 Construction Updates         SAN's new T1 is starting to look more like a real airport.   Prior Trip Reports: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Feb-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-San-Jose-Mineta-TSA/m-p/169354   https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Feb-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-high-above-CA-s/m-p/168642   More Info on the SAN-LAS Flight Route: https://www.southwest.com/routes/flights-from-san-diego-to-las-vegas   Safe Travels, SoCalFlyer97 ... View more

Greetings Community Southwest:     SoCalFlyer97 took a roundtrip flight to the Silicon Valley to take care of some business there. This was a day trip from San Diego to San Jose Mineta and back, purchased and booked during last September's WOW50 sale. During my return trip, I had some extra time to take a stroll through SJC's airside, end-to-end and have some travel tips for you if you're thinking about trying to bypass long lines to your gate via the neighboring non-Southwest terminal. But before I share this, here's the rundown:   At SAN, it looks the Southwest SAN 2024 Rally was here!       SAN's construction of the new Terminal 1 is coming along nicely. More photos to come on my next Trip Report.     Outbound Flight: Plane: 737-700, N930WN 84% Full, On Time Preboards: 4   Flying high above the clouds...   Passing by Monterey Bay during the initial descent. Although there's no SW terminal anywhere near this beautiful part of the Golden State, Santa Cruz Metro Route 17 bridges the downtown San Jose train station to this bay via an hourlong bus ride. I might be able check this area out one day!   What's that I see upon pulling into the gate? Plane N946WN, the Louisiana One stops over at SJC. This aircraft is a member of the 737-700 family. Where is it now? https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N946WN   Had some time before my appointment to get work done in the terminal. Massive crowds filled the Southwest gates and concourses; a little walk over to Gate 17 gave me a quiet spot to work.   If you've got upcoming travel in the Bay Area and want access to public transit, I would get one of these! They also have an e-version of this that works for both Apple and Google Pay!   My limo ride to my final destination, VTA Line 60. Line 60 feeds into both the VTA Rail System and the BART. Took care of my business and had some time left over to explore the area.    Here's some shots of my main Ground Transportation provider for the day, riding along the VTA train:             It will not be a full ride, so feel free to spread out!           Back at SJC, I arrived well ahead of time for my return flight. I took the time to explore the airside and have some travel tips if you plan on accessing your gate via the non-SW terminal at SJC to bypass the crowds and long lines at the SW Terminal. SJC comprises of two terminals linked together by one long concourse corridor airside, spanning approximately an entire mile in length:     On the landside, outdoor pedestrian sidewalks and an airport shuttle link the two:     Southwest serves the southern Terminal B and the TSA checkpoint there has been known to get busy at times, even the PreCheck lane. Whenever I utilize SJC, I access my gate through the northern Terminal A as I have no checked bags and the TSA wait times are usually much shorter and less crowded, but this solution may not be for everybody. The main obstacle for many travelers may be the excessive walking required as SJC does not have moving walkways or tramways in between the terminals airside. Doing a milelong airport hike with carry-on bags may be a challenge for some. Anyway, my return flight is out of Gate 32 in the southernmost area of the airport. My carry-on is a standard school backpack. Let's go through Terminal A and do the walk!   As predicted, Terminal A's TSA Checkpoint waits for passengers!   Another tip: Sometimes when the TSA Checkpoint has slow demand, officers will keep the PreCheck Lane open but will merge the X-Ray inspection lane with Standard Screening. In those cases, the agent at the ID Check booth will give the passenger a paper PreCheck ticket to give to the officer to go through PreCheck's metal detector instead of the body scan machine.   The tip: If you have PreCheck, make sure the officer who is facilitating the receiving end of the X-Ray machine sees your PreCheck ticket as they will mark your luggage tray with a separate PreCheck identifier. That will signal to the X-Ray inspector that the tray going through the machine is PreCheck; otherwise any 311 bags or laptops left packed away under PreCheck's benefits but not properly marked will be pulled for secondary.   After clearing TSA, I end up along SJC's airside "Main Street", the milelong concourse linking all gates of the airport. I checked out Terminal A airside and started my hike toward my gate which is on the opposite end of this walkway, all the way in the Interim Terminal Facility. That's going to be about a mile walk but I need the exercise. Some points of interest that I found along the way:   A different piece of airport artwork in Terminal A near Gate 8...SJC's Rolling Ball Sculpture by George Rhoads, 1990. They have a larger version of this at the Tech Interactive science center in downtown San Jose; I'll have to check this out on a future visit.   Headed through the airside connector to the international gates starting with Gate 15.   Passing by Gate 16. The glassed hallway to the right of the seating area is the international arrivals corridor that feeds into CBP Border Inspection Station.   Welcome to Terminal B!   E-Cloud by Nik Hafermaas, Dan Goods and Aaron Koblin, 2010. Located near Gate 22.   Heading into the Interim Terminal Facility where my gate is. Gate 29 marks the beginning of this temporary extension.    It took me about 20-25 minutes to make the milelong walk from the other end; it can be done in about 15 minutes via a powerwalk. As mentioned, there are no moving walkways at SJC; if long walking is not for you, I would stick with waiting out the TSA checkpoint wait at Terminal B through the Southwest Terminal.   Here's an inside look at the Interim Terminal area at the Gates 29/30 area which was not in use at the time of my passage. I call this area the "Costco Terminal" because of the lack of a ceiling.       Further down the hallway...       Shortcut to landside and Terminal B baggage claim for arrivals.   Long story short, this section was built to quickly address gate capacity issues related to growth at SJC while officials work to build a permanent extension. One interesting fact is the jet bridges in this section were designed and built to support the future permanent build, which means they won't be demolished when the temporary extension goes; they'll just be elevated.   This nice looking bathroom doesn't look so temporary nor "warehouse" themed:     Not sure if this will be "raised up" too as part of the permanent terminal.   Return Flight: Plane: 737-700, N202WN 86% Full, On Time Preboards: 2   A nice view of Mount Baldy upon arrival into SoCal and initial descent.   Hola to everybody at LGB!...   ...and at SNA...   and of course, SAN! At the time of this post, I had also completed my trip from SAN-LAS for business as I posted earlier this year. https://community.southwest.com/t5/Routes-Destinations/What-s-in-store-for-2024/m-p/167767/highlight/true Stay tuned for that report! By the way, I have just one remaining WOW50 flight to take and that will be very soon! After that, I'll be done bloviating about that good old promo! Prior Trip Reports: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Feb-24-Southwest-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-high-above-CA-s/m-p/168642   https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/Jan-24-Photo-Trip-amp-Southwest-Hotels-Report-SAN-LAS/m-p/167933   More Info on the SAN-SJC Flight Route: https://www.southwest.com/routes/flights-from-san-diego-to-san-jose-ca   Safe Travels! SoCalFlyer97 ... View more