Chicago to Amarillo, via Denver

I've been coming here to Amarillo for years. And when I lived down south, it was always a stressful ordeal due to connections.

And I tried all the legacy outfits, Delta, American, Continental. And on two occasions, I never made it to AMA due to delays and cancellations.

What a difference Southwest can make. The flight from MDW to DEN was 10 minutes early, and the flight to AMA was 5 minutes early.

And tonight, a non rev first officer helped the flight attendant hand out the snacks. I should have taken a pic and sent it to Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta.

Two nights ago, in ATL, delays were averaging 4 hours. Thank God I stay out of that place now.

Hartford to Chicago - Again, Southwest is Early!

Spring is certainly close. New England was warm today, with temps hitting the 50s (I can't help but wonder when spring gets to Iowa; when I was there on Wednesday, the high temp was 7 degrees).

This was a hard week due to multiple cities (4) and 6 consecutive days of work. I'm home for less than 24 hours, then it's off to Amarillo via Denver and Southwest.

Maui is next week! Nothing to complain about today, the Southwest flight was light (no more than 30 pax) and it arrived at MDW 15 minutes early.

Minneapolis to Hartford - Some Thoughts on the Delta-Northwest Merger

Another complicated week is in full swing. I'm in Princeton, NJ today, but yesterday I drove 3 hours from Waterloo, Iowa up to MSP. I had to do this because Northwest has cut their lift out of ALO terribly. I don't like doing it this way, but I did arrive at MSP in time to grab a quick slice of pizza before boarding the NW trip to Hartford (BDL) where I worked today. By the way, the MSP airport is just wonderful; full of shopping and food choices; very unlike most hub airports.

A few thoughts on Delta and Northwest:

I'm a high mileage Delta Platinum Medallion, so I was pleasantly surprised to see my upgrade request clear so quickly. The Airbus A319 is nice up front. But I do feel sorry for dedicated NW elite flyers who are gonna learn the hard way about Delta "enhancements". For example, a meal was served on this flight! DL will end this practice I'm sure. DL rarely serves a meal in first (snacks yes, but I get tired of pretzels).

I'm sure it is going to gall these NW elites to watch their upgrades evaporate as elite Delta fliers start to pile into first class in MSP and Detroit. Again, I have no status on NW, yet I sat in row 1 beside an NW elite member. I did not have the heart to tell him how his benefits will shrink once the guys down on Virginia Avenue in ATL can get into him.

At the gate, and on the flight, announcements are made that you are flying "Northwest Airlines, part of Delta Airlines". I'm sure NW elites are choking on this.

Hang in there guys, I'll see you I'm sure in ATL, MSP, and DTW.

By the way, the flight left the gate five minutes early. This never happens at the "World Port" in ATL.

From Chicago to Waterloo, Iowa - In A Car

No image of a flight plan to upload today. I drove from Chicago to Waterloo. Some trips are just difficult any way you do it, and trips of 300 miles or less to small towns usually result in driving. Waterloo (ALO) does have commercial air service, but it is all through Minneapolis. I can't see going to ORD and taking a delay (it is raining hard in Chicago today) then risk a blown connection in MSP.

At least this way I can control everything, and see a little countryside in the rain.

I'll get to see MSP on Wednesday when I have to drive there from ALO in order to go to Hartford, CT.

I am amazed at how the tension drops for me when I don't have to fly.

Baltimore to Chicago

A long exhausting week is over. Next week is Waterloo, IA, Meriden, CT. Princeton NJ, and Trumbull, CT. with a Saturday workday. Then back to Chicago for one day and out to Amarillo for five more.

But last night, Southwest took a bad situation and made it tolerable. You can't board a flight without flight attendants. The crew that was assigned to take us to MDW was late arriving at BWI. But showing how innovative SWA is, and how seriously they take on time performance, the flight attendants who arrived on the inbound airplane boarded us (they were done for the day but stayed for this). Ten minutes later our crew showed up and they all arrived out of breath. Meaning, these people hustled to get to us. I can just imagine Delta crews running through the "World Port" to help us get on time -- no way!

Even though we departed 20 minutes late, we were only 5 minutes late into Midway. Legacy carriers would have parlayed this into a 30 minute delay.

A nice start to the weekend - no secondary screening at BWI!

Secondary Screening Has Returned!

I have never commented about airport security in this blog.

Believe me, I have seen it all. I was in Las Vegas on Sept 11, 2001. I was on one of the first flights that departed 4 days later. There were 4 people on board the DL 72S.

I flew just two days later out to Denver, on a Delta 762 with just 4 pax on board. I was in first class. Alone. The flight attendents huddled in the front the entire flight. And they made sure that every light that could burn in the cabin was on.

I've seen it all. I remember the National Guard in Albuquerque. They were everywhere. With automatic weapons at their side. I remember how we were all told on September 15 that we were all safer!

But one thing that really upset me was the concept known as secondary screening. This term means that TSA is going through passengers and their luggage at the gate. At the same time the flight is boarding.

To the casual traveler, this may sound like nothing; to high mileage people, this is simply anathema. It tells me that TSA does not trust their own security procedures at the initial screening point, so they will do it all over again.

The result is that they will grab the first two or three people in line...and these are always elite flyers who have been traveling usually for 15 plus years. These people are the most trustworthy passengers on the flight. But yet they are delayed (and frankly, humiliated) as they are pulled off to the side; their bags checked and they are placed through a pat down.

The end result is that the best customers of the airlines are selected for this, and they do get selected. Joe Six Pack who travels once every 5 years is never subjected. Of course, when the elite folks are finally allowed to board, precious overhead bin space is already under pressure!

This post will make no sense to a casual traveler. To people who fly to work 300 days a year, they know what I am talking about.

Friday night in Las Vegas, secondary screening took place at the gate on my flight to Midway. Last night at Midway, it took place again on my flight to Baltimore. I was not selected...yet.

Secondary screening does not contribute to security, but does add to the chaos at the gate.

I certainly hope it has not returned. The TSA web site is totally silent on this.

Chicago to Baltimore - 2 Hours Late, but OK

Thank god I was not traveling through Atlanta today. Rarely can those of us in Chicago brag about on time ops, but today Delta canceled over 50 percent of it's ATL originating trips. In this case, about 700 flights. DAL canceled all but 1 of its flights to BWI, stranding over 1500 pax!

The culprit was weather. A huge storm tracked up from the southeast right through ATL. And it blasted BWI with 6 inches of snow as well.

Throw in about 3 inches of lake effect snow, and now you know why we were 2 hours late into BWI via Southwest. But I'll take it anytime over the chaos that had to exist in ATL yesterday.

Thank god for Midway and Southwest.