Airports And Airlines

On my last post Strayer left a comment asking about the plane flight to get to and from California. 

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A non-stop flight takes four and a half hours. When Hubby Tony and I started making the trip in 2016 those were much easier to find. More often than not we end up choosing a flight with one change of planes. (On this last flight the posted extra time for this was a little under two hours.)

However, we've learned the posted time isn't always accurate. For our route Southwest is the cheapest and most convenient carrier option, and if you've followed current events you know they had all kinds of issues around the holidays. Our nonstop Christmas Eve flight took off an hour late, because at the last minute they had to find an extra flight attendant. However, after hearing the horror stories I feel fortunate that in the scheme of things our delay was minor.

On the way home we flew into San Diego, then got on another plane for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, shortly before it was time to board there was an announcement that second plane did not pass the mechanical screening. They towed an unused one to an adjacent gate, had the crew go through the standard safety check, then allowed boarding. That process took about an hour. I would have liked to get some steps in during the down time, but the terminal is small and cramped with not a lot of room to move around, so I passed the time talking with fellow passengers. 

As annoying as the delays are, though, if it means a chance to see our kids and grandchildren I would (and will) do it again in a heartbeat.