Southwest Airlines Community

Greetings Community Southwest:     Last month, SoCalFlyer97 traveled and served on a mission trip in Austin TX from Cali which a Southwest Airlines flight and two Southwest Hotels bookings played roles in. In addition, our nation's massive rail network Amtrak got me from a local train station into the Lone Star State for the journey in.     Both Southwest and Amtrak have officially marketed each other's services; SW's destination page for SAN gives a blurb to hop aboard the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner route at San Diego: https://www.southwest.com/destinations/west/san-diego   Likewise, Amtrak gives a plug for airport connections along its SoCal route with a nice picture of a Southwest 737-700 parked at BUR. https://www.pacificsurfliner.com/plan-your-trip/connections/airport-connections/   So I thought it would make sense to share my journey from SoCal to AUS via Amtrak's Texas Eagle train, share my two Southwest Hotel stays, followed by my return trip to SoCal aboard a Southwest flight. This post will be the first of a series of multiple posts. This first post covers the prelude feeder trip aboard the Pacific Surfliner into LA to connect with my 36 hour train ride into the Lone Star State.     SoCalFlyer97's journey across the western United States begins aboard the Pacific Surfliner in San Diego County to LA Union Station so I can connect with the Texas Eagle route. The Surfliner has multiple trains daily linking SAN to LA with select trains going north toward SBA and even one daily roundtrip all the way to San Luis Obispo.   My long-haul ride aboard the connecting Texas Eagle didn't depart 'til later that night but since this train only offered 3 departures each week, I felt it was best to be in the LA area very well ahead of time just in case I ran into any travel problems for this first leg aboard the Surfliner; thus I planned for a midday arrival in LA.   Train arrived at the local station about 10 minutes behind schedule but nothing to complain about. The Surfliner offers two fare classes: Reserved Business Class and Unreserved Coach. Both fares offered great flexibility; they can be cancelled with a full refund to the original form of payment with no fees (for Business Class, the refund is granted if the reservation is canceled/changed anytime before actual departure). No change fees. Both also granted access to a café car which offered light meals, snacks and beverages for sale with a dining area and reasonable prices. Passengers can also bring and consume their own food aboard the train at their seats but just like the airlines, if one brought their own alcohol aboard, it cannot be consumed on the train.   Seating for both classes offered reclining seats, power outlets, foot rests, and large tray tables.      Business Class perks also include seating in two cars reserved for Business Class passengers, additional legroom, less foot traffic, complimentary snacks and drinks, a dedicated attendant, and guaranteed unassigned seating. Just like SW, once aboard the train, passengers may take any open seat on the upper deck as the lower deck is reserved for passengers with disabilities.     Unreserved Coach fares basically gets you on board the train; however this class has the maximum ticket flexibility where one can use the ticket in between the two station pairs aboard any Amtrak Surfliner train up to one year of booking without having to rebook. Thus, if one misses their train, they can simply hop aboard the next one without having to make any adjustments to the booking. The drawback is Unreserved Coach can "oversell", leading to standing room-only conditions at times.   The fare difference in between Coach and Business Class ranges from $10 to $35, depending on travel distance...a great value in my opinion; thus, I elected to ride Business Class.   On the train set, the Business Class section consists of two cars located on one end of the train. On most of my train trips, the second car would consist of a Superliner coach car--the one used along Amtrak's long distance routes with dimmed lighting and even more legroom; whenever I see this car on the train set and have a Business Class fare, I prefer to ride in this coach.     As you can see, not a full train in Business Class; so feel free to spread out. Unreserved Coach looked a bit more crowded but everybody had seats. I got into LA around 1pm. Texas Eagle wasn't due to depart 'til 10pm.   One travel tip: If you're connecting onto the Surfliner from your Southwest flight and travelling anywhere south of Orange County or north of Ventura, grab a window seat on the side of the train next to the ocean!     Next up on this Vacation Series...What did SoCalFlyer97 do when he got to LA with a 7-hour layover? Take more trains? Stay tuned! ... View more

Greetings Community Southwest:     SoCalFlyer97 took a day trip from SAN to LAS and during the first week of June to complete some work combined with a final visit to Vegas' first mega-resort, The Mirage.   Steve Wynn's paradise palace now owned by Vici Properties is scheduled to close in a few weeks on July 17 followed by a total retheming of the property and the removal of The Mirage Volcano attraction. Social Media folks have already taped and posted hours of video documenting the resort's original South Seas tropical theme. Most of my sharing will be focused on the Mirage's soon-to-be-removed iconic front yard.   Before I begin and for the record, I had posted on one of the threads that I had a separate trip booked during the month of June from ONT to PHX; that trip had to be postponed until September; thank goodness for No Cancellation Fees.   Anyway, the journey to LAS begins aboard a full flight on a MAX8 out of SAN booked during last April's SAVE25NOW 25%-off sale for flights paid with points. The discount ended up soaring the Rapid Reward's redemption value to almost to the $0.02 mark per point. Even the little green frog perched on the flight status monitor at my gate agreed!    When I arrived at SAN, both the PreCheck and the Standard Screening lines for Terminal 1's TSA for SW's eastern Concourse were backed up to the baggage claim area. The regular line appeared to be about a 30 minute wait plus the screening time. PreCheck clocked in at 10 minutes total from the back of the queue 'til clearing. As an A-Lister, I was tempted to go into the Priority Express lane as there was no wait there, but elected not to because it does not presently have the option to feed into the PreCheck lane unlike CLEAR. That is one on my wishlist. Anyway, I timed the total TSA experience, the PreCheck lane had good flow, and I got through in 10 minutes. Travel Tip: This is why those without expedited TSA or Priority Express lane benefits should arrive at the airport two hours prior.     Departing Flight Point Value Redeemed: $0.0192 / Point Plane: 737-MAX8, N1806U Full Flight, On Time leaving the gate Preboards: 3   Plane left the gate on time (even a few minutes early after everybody was accounted for) however SAN experienced low clouds combined with a high volume of arriving planes, thus there was about a 40 minute tarmac hold. Fortunately, the flight somehow managed to make up a whopping 32 minutes of the lost time and arrived at the gate in LAS only 8 minutes behind.   The trip also took place when the deserts experienced a strong weather heat dome and here are the San Gabriel Mountains where the June 'Cool' meets up with the Sphere of the upper-level ridge of high pressure: Under the marine layer, daytime high in the 70's; at the sandbox, 110's with the overnight low in the mid 80's.   The plane flew a few miles north of its regular routing as it passed through the desert, thus I got some new views aboard one of my frequent routes. The flight flew by Barstow, a popular rest stop for those traveling by ground.   A nice teaser of the skyline during the final descent prior to landing.   There's SoCalFlyer97 in the front seat, "driving" those APM trains again.   ...and again.   ...and again.   As I mentioned before, those nice cab views can be yours...just simply stay in the APM station and go to the first door when the train arrives and wait for the following train. Just be sure to yield the seat for any senior/disabled travelers or listen to any ushers directing traffic flow.   Since these APM trains link LAS' terminals airside, one has access to the entire airport at LAS without having to leave the secure area. Since my appointment is still a few hours away, my remote work takes place inside of Terminal 3's International Concourse, a peaceful and quiet "lounge".       Once it was time to head into town, I head over to landside...   The RTC CX Express awaits at Terminal 3's departures deck in the summer heat of the day. After making a brief stop at Terminal 1, the 25-minute ride took me to LV Boulevard at the Horseshoe Resort which connects directly with the LV Monorail. After taking care of my business, I head over to the Mirage for a couple of hours to see the volcano attraction one last time in its peaceful, daytime "dormant" state covered with the man-made falls.         The dolphins watching over LV Boulevard   The APM train to Treasure Island was not in service and according to local news reports has ceased operations ahead of the re-theming. SoCalFlyer97 was hoping to "drive" this one too but as they say, "once the gate doors have closed, they will not re-open".     A nice little Oasis near the side entrance. Hopefully they'll find a way to keep this one in tact.   Fun Fact: I've mentioned in a prior post that I played the Super Nintendo game Vegas Stakes while growing up and one of the fictional hotels in the game called the Golden Paradise referenced the California Hotel & Casino. The same game also featured a western Buffalo Head hotel with a reference to the former Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino which we all know was rethemed to the Cromwell in 2014.   The video game also featured a very loose $25 slot machine in the Buffalo Head with additional bars and plums, leading to frequent bonus hits and a quick and easy means to make six figures in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, that rigged country-themed slot machine was nowhere to be found inside the Cromwell today.   Return Flight: Points Value Redeemed: $0.0192 / Point Plane: 737-737, N489WN 76% Full Flight, 44 minutes late leaving the gate Preboards: 3   Return flight in the afternoon was running a little bit late. Upon tracking the plane, it appeared the hold up was due to the same morning low clouds in SoCal which held the plane in BUR from making its rounds earlier in the day. Fair enough. Upon pulling out, the plane recovered about 10 minutes during taxi and the flight and I got some nice shots of the evening sunset.       However, after landing there was about a 45-minute tarmac hold upon arrival at SAN as all of the gates at the Southwest Terminal were occupied. The plane held near the International Concourse area of Terminal 2.     I was kind of hoping the plane would dock at one of the empty gates there to let people off but that wishful idea wouldn't work because SW's baggage claim and ramp crew were nowhere near this area. I think once SAN gets its new Terminal 1 in operations, the additional gates there would hopefully address this issue going forward. Can't complain though. Still had a great and productive trip overall.   My next trip report covers my summer vacation trip at AUS aboard both a plane and a train. Here's a sneak peak:         Safe Travels!   Official Visit SAN Page: https://www.southwest.com/destinations/west/san-diego   Official Visit LAS Page: https://www.southwest.com/destinations/west/las-vegas   Prior Trip Reports: https://community.southwest.com/t5/Inflight-Experience/May-24-Qualifying-Promo-CP-Flight-Photo-Trip-Report-Wednesday/m-p/172690   https://community.southwest.com/t5/Rapid-Rewards/May-24-Southwest-Hotels-Trip-Report-Redeem-Rapid-Rewards-Points/m-p/172312   ... View more