Adventures with Southwest Airlines

Sometimes with traveling it’s either laugh or cry. I try to choose laughter. And the more you travel the more you learn to roll with the punches. I started out my traveling here in the NW using Southwest Airlines a lot. And I’ve seen their service go downhill as well as their planes. Still, sometimes it’s the only option.

Recently, I had to fly to Las Vegas for work. I know, such a hardship. The flight out was good. I had caught the online checkin just right at 24 hours in advance and made it into the A group for boarding. IYKYK. AND Vegas is one of the rare unicorn direct flights from Boise.

However, upon landing, I found out the trip had been cancelled. I immediately cancelled my hotel and car - huge kudos to Marriott and Hertz for not charging me. And thus began my adventure with Southwest to get back home.

First I checked online for any flights back to Boise same day - found one at 3:30. As it was just 1 pm by then, I was in luck. So I waited in line 10 minutes at Southwest checkin desk - only to be told that because I booked it through the work travel agency, I had to call them to change it. Great. That’s a $19.50 change fee just to call the travel agency. I call the travel agency who kindly gets me booked, re-ticketed and checked in for the 3:30 flight. It’s now 1:45 pm. I’m still good to go even with checking a bag.

I even have time to grab a late lunch and make some calls and emails. But when I reach the gate that all changes. The flight has been delayed until 5 pm. Well. Not ideal but I’ll still get home. I hear various grumbling from other Boiseans trying to get home. I’ve been here before - although usually Vegas is on time - so I can just roll with it. I should have had another drink with lunch because things went crazy from there.

Apparently something was wrong with the plane, so Southwest had to do a plane swap. Over the next few hours the departure time changed from 5:08 to 3:41, then 3:47, then 3:59, then 7:25, 7:21, and 7:27. I just had to laugh. The agent at the kiosk announced that we should stay at the gate because the departure time could potentially revert back to the original 3:30.

Around 5:30, I gave up and decided to play slots. The bars and restaurants were packed with people - I’m guessing they were flying Southwest too. I quickly lost $10 on slots and gave up. I texted a friend who convinced me to try again. So I played the $1 bill in my wallet and won $6.80! Woohoo! I count that a win and quickly cashed out - sure my luck was changing.

When I returned to the gate, I sat with some fellow travelers (a young girl home from college and an older lady home from a trip to see family where they all got sick for the entire trip) and watched other Southwest planes come and go as they continued to change the departure time like a slot machine.

And then, another announcement: “For flight, for flight 5027, no, not 5027.  For the flight to Boise, 5027, we don’t know what gate the plane will be at. It will either be at gate C7 or C24. We will keep you updated. “

Seriously? Who is running this show? Is this a joke? I burst out laughing amid mixed reactions from my fellow travelers - confusion, anger, head shaking disappointment. It’s starting to get really hilarious now. I can’t stop laughing.

The times continued to roll until it landed at 7:27. The gate remained the same. I just hope my luggage gets on the plane. I won’t get back until 10:30 pm tonight - 12 hours from when I set out. I’m still chucking inside from the craziness happening and starting to wish I hadn’t cancelled my hotel.

Another announcement: “Alright what are we doing?” 😂😂😂😂😂 OMG. At least she’s not the pilot. I’d better be ready for anything at this point. Some people give up and leave. But I can’t leave this show - it’s way too entertaining!

In the end, we departed at 7:30 pm - four hours after we were supposed to leave - amid apologies from Southwest. I was in Group B to board. And because we were so delayed and others gave up, the plane wasn’t packed. I had a row to myself. My luggage arrived with me. And I made it safely home by 11:30 pm after making my way to the economy lot via the shuttle. I live to travel another day! 😂

As always, thanks for reading about my adventures. Please feel free to share and sign up to get notified when my next post hits. No spam. No advertising. I do this to keep my family and friends updated on my travels.

Take care,

Gypsy Jules