BWI to HOU for one night and business (long)
Jun 30, 2004, 12:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Programs: Dividend Miles Silver, SPG Gold
Posts: 4
BWI to HOU for one night and business (long)
My first TR...be gentle...I realize it is kinda long. Being a newbie, I appreciate any feedback as I hope to do a TR for all my trips from now on. Thanks!
6/23/04 7:35 AM
I woke up at 5:25 this morning – actually a decent hour to catch an early Southwest flight our of BWI (or Bee-Wee) as the DTW gate agent had called it two weeks earlier). Since I live in DC, the early flights out of BWI and IAD sometimes have me up at 4:00! I’m only about 10 minutes from DCA, but it’s rarely cheap enough!
I arrived at the “Daily A” lot at about 6:40. The entire 3rd floor there was closed for construction, even though it is a new garage?! Anyway, parked up in 5B and took the elevator down to the shuttle bus. The driver now makes absolutely sure that you know which lot you just parked in, as BWI for some reason saw fit to change all the lot names. Even though this happened several months ago, it seems as though most people can’t grasp the concept.
I managed to get to an automated check-in machine by 6:50 and after impatiently moving past some newbies that couldn’t figure out what line to be in, or how to use the machines, I slid in my Rapid Rewards and got an “A” boarding card (even though it said #38?).
I was through security by 7:00 – although I was picked for secondary screening even though I didn’t set off the magnetometer.
If I’d known that would happen, I’d have kept my belt and shoes on! I just hate the feeling of “getting dressed” again in front of everyone. The process of putting on my belt and shoes, and putting everything else back where it should be – wallet, cell phone, watch, laptop – seems stressful and hurried no matter how much time you have before your flight.
As it happened, I did have plenty of time, so I stopped at what used to be a Burger King / Pizza Hut food court. It is now a Charly’s something or other. I’m not much of a BK fan, but the place was much better then. Anyways, I got a rock hard sausage breakfast sandwich and a drink for under $10 (just under $10).
Content that I would not starve halfway to HOU, I left most of the rock hard bagel behind, and made my way over to B9, which was the next gate past the food court. I found a window seat in the gate area around 7:30 with no one else around and settled in to update my trip diary.
My seat had a good view of the plane, and I took a couple of pictures.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4286380731 (un=flyertalk pw=flyertalk)
Personally, I’m a much bigger fan of the blue paint scheme rather than that ugly brown on Southwest planes!
As I was writing, the gate agent made the standard pre-board announcement, which produced the standard pre-board rush to line up. I wasn’t quick enough to put away my camera and trip diary, and got in near the end of the “A” line. Being first on the plane is nice, but as long as you’re in the “A” group, being last in line doesn’t matter so much. The 30th or 40th person on the plane still gets a choice isle or window seat, with the added advantage of scouting out where the screaming children are seated!
It wasn’t long before they called the “A” group, and I handed my boarding card to the smiling agent, who scanned it and caused the machine to make its casino-like “ding ding” noise. I boarded at 8:02 and saw that, despite my place in line, 3C was open and so was the overhead bin above it. I prefer window seats for the view, and for the fact that you don’t have to get up unless you have to use the restroom. Also, it makes it easier to observe which taxi and runways your flight uses.
I quickly sat down and continued writing. The gentleman in 3A noticed my journal and inquired about it. We chatted briefly, and I told him about flyertalk.com. He found the concept of trip reports interesting, and asked me what kind of camera I used. I told him it was a Nikon CoolPix 3200, and that I liked its size, portability, and ease of use, and the 3.2 megapixels were fine for my purposes. Anyway, back to the report…
They warned us at the gate area that HOU was covered with thunderstorms and under advisory. Despite this, they closed the door on time at 8:19 and we pushed back two minutes later.
We taxied on “Uniform” to “Charlie” and were 2nd in line for runway 28 behind an American Airlines MD-80. The pilot started the takeoff roll, and the wheels came up just before 8:31. The climb out was a little bumpy, and some time later, the pilot told us we were leaving FL350 for FL390 to find smoother air.
After the seatbelt sign was turned off, a tall, lanky, pale gentleman in 1C got up for the second time to search – and I do mean search – for something in the overhead bin. He kept checking each of the bins above 1C and 2C, and then 1D. He had also done this right before pushback, and almost delayed us there. Nothing suspicious, just amusing to watch. And what a bin hog!
Soon the attendants took drink orders and brought us our tasty Southwest snack packs. It looked so delicious, I just had to take a picture. What can I say? It came in a close second to the salmon and filet mignon I had in business class on SwissAir! The only good part about the Southwest snack pack is the Lorna Doone shortbread cookies. They go wonderfully with coffee!
We landed late at HOU amid low-lying clouds at 10:43. Because of my aisle seat and ongoing conversation with the gentleman in 3A, I didn’t catch the runway or taxiways. We pulled up to gate 23 at 10:48.
I found my way down to the rental car shuttles and flagged down the Budget van. I checked in at their location off of Airport Rd and Rental Car Rd, just behind the fire station. The woman who processed me was, no joke, the fastest typist I have ever seen. I guess you had to be there to truly appreciate this one, but trust me, it was pretty amazing.
The typist put me in a tan Chevy Blazer instead of the full-size Taurus I had reserved, and away I went. I’m not that big a fan of the Blazer, but I did appreciate it more because of the constant downpour and Houston’s lack of suitable drainage on the highways.
Business went as planned, and I made my way over to the Sheraton Four Points Southwest in Houston. The hotel itself was adequate, but the room was a little dark and 80’s chic. I shouldn’t complain too much – the room was a pretty good size, with pullout sofa and wireless Internet! The Au Bon Pain in the lobby seemed like a good idea, but wasn’t.
The rain in Houston was incessant. It rained the entire time I was there. On my last trip two weeks earlier – to Michigan – I forgot my sunglasses at home. I did a fair amount of driving on that trip and sorely missed them. So, I went out of my way to make sure I didn’t forget them again on this trip. Well, the sunglasses made it. The sun didn’t.
I wrapped up business at 16:40 on Thursday, and headed out in the rain for the 8 or 9 mile drive back to HOU. Weather and traffic made for a half hour transit time, despite the short distance. At least I wasn’t trying to get out on I-59 to IAH! I returned my Blazer as I had found it – soaking wet and full of gas!
I hopped the shuttle to the terminal at around 17:15, and the security line once inside was non-existant. Since I hadn’t eaten lunch, I decided to treat myself to a bacon-cheeseburger at the new Wendy’s in the terminal. Although the facility was shiny and new, the service was very slow and the seating was woefully inadequate.
I had to juggle my tray in one hand, and drag my roll-aboard in the other, with my laptop bag slung over my shoulder. I did two laps around the seating area like this, looking for an open seat, before a very kind woman offered to share her table with me. I accepted, and we chatted about all things Southwest. She told me of her experiences making the DAL- HOU hop nearly every day. She also mentioned some pilot gossip she claimed to have overheard about Southwest looking into Hawaii service?! We’ll see…
I thanked her as I left, and I walked to the far end of the terminal and gate 50. I arrived at the gate just before 18:00, and was 3rd in the “A” line. The gate area was fairly clear, and I wanted to get some pictures of the plane, but the inbound flight hadn’t landed yet, and had just called in-range. It parked at 18:12, and that caused a bit of a rush for everyone else to get in line.
Despite my earlier statement that the end of the “A” line is fine, I found it difficult to give up that 3rd spot in line just for a few pics of the plane from a bad angle…besides, it was shaping up to be a full flight.
Just then, the gate agent announced that our flight would be delayed until about 19:15. Thirty-five minutes isn’t too, too, bad, but why? The plane was right there, and the sun had actually come out! It turns out that an inbound flight from SAN was running late and carrying 27 passengers connecting to BWI on our flight – the last of the night up to BWI.
Eventually they started boarding at 18:45 with pre-boards, and I walked down the jetway at 18:50. There were plenty of seats open up front, but there had been quite a few pre-boards, and a lot of small children. There was however, an open exit row seat, so I “settled” for some leg room in 11A. Even though we had delayed our boarding for the SAN crowd, they still didn’t close the door until 19:14. WN1283 pushed back from the gate at 19:16.
Despite a short taxi on “Echo” past 12L and 17, we had to wait for ATC to play catch-up from the earlier weather. We sat at position-and-hold short of 12R for about 15 minute, and watched 5 other aircraft land in front of us – 2 more Southwest 737’s, an AirTran 717, a Lear jet, and a Gulfstream (I think it was a V, but it could’ve been a IV).
We finally went “wheels up” at 19:34, almost an hour late. We circled north and east of Houston, getting some good, albeit gray, views of the city. The pilot took us up through the persistent light chop to FL730.
The rest of the flight was downright boring and normal. I learned from my drink ticket that the blue paint scheme on Southwest planes was inspired by the color of the sky during a southwestern sunrise. I also learned that those Lorna Doone shortbread cookies don’t compliment Jack Daniels nearly as well as they do coffee!
We began our descent some time later, and came in over the Annapolis area. We landed at exactly 23:00, on runway 10. The pilot taxied on “Uniform” to “Papa” and up to gate B14 a few minutes later.
Catching the shuttle bus back to the “Daily A” lot, I again had to sit through two more customers asking “Is this the Blue Lot shuttle?” It says “Daily A” on the front of the bus! Sheesh!
Thankfully, my car was where I left it on the 5th floor of the garage, and after waiting a bit in the exit line (the computer payment system was down – she had to manually carbon copy my CC and hand write my receipt) I started homeward after 23:30. I arrived at home sweet home well after midnight, and went to bed without unpacking. My trip had stretched into a 3rd day, and I had to get up early for work the next morning…
6/23/04 7:35 AM
I woke up at 5:25 this morning – actually a decent hour to catch an early Southwest flight our of BWI (or Bee-Wee) as the DTW gate agent had called it two weeks earlier). Since I live in DC, the early flights out of BWI and IAD sometimes have me up at 4:00! I’m only about 10 minutes from DCA, but it’s rarely cheap enough!
I arrived at the “Daily A” lot at about 6:40. The entire 3rd floor there was closed for construction, even though it is a new garage?! Anyway, parked up in 5B and took the elevator down to the shuttle bus. The driver now makes absolutely sure that you know which lot you just parked in, as BWI for some reason saw fit to change all the lot names. Even though this happened several months ago, it seems as though most people can’t grasp the concept.
I managed to get to an automated check-in machine by 6:50 and after impatiently moving past some newbies that couldn’t figure out what line to be in, or how to use the machines, I slid in my Rapid Rewards and got an “A” boarding card (even though it said #38?).
I was through security by 7:00 – although I was picked for secondary screening even though I didn’t set off the magnetometer.
If I’d known that would happen, I’d have kept my belt and shoes on! I just hate the feeling of “getting dressed” again in front of everyone. The process of putting on my belt and shoes, and putting everything else back where it should be – wallet, cell phone, watch, laptop – seems stressful and hurried no matter how much time you have before your flight.As it happened, I did have plenty of time, so I stopped at what used to be a Burger King / Pizza Hut food court. It is now a Charly’s something or other. I’m not much of a BK fan, but the place was much better then. Anyways, I got a rock hard sausage breakfast sandwich and a drink for under $10 (just under $10).
Content that I would not starve halfway to HOU, I left most of the rock hard bagel behind, and made my way over to B9, which was the next gate past the food court. I found a window seat in the gate area around 7:30 with no one else around and settled in to update my trip diary.
My seat had a good view of the plane, and I took a couple of pictures.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4286380731 (un=flyertalk pw=flyertalk)
Personally, I’m a much bigger fan of the blue paint scheme rather than that ugly brown on Southwest planes!
As I was writing, the gate agent made the standard pre-board announcement, which produced the standard pre-board rush to line up. I wasn’t quick enough to put away my camera and trip diary, and got in near the end of the “A” line. Being first on the plane is nice, but as long as you’re in the “A” group, being last in line doesn’t matter so much. The 30th or 40th person on the plane still gets a choice isle or window seat, with the added advantage of scouting out where the screaming children are seated!
It wasn’t long before they called the “A” group, and I handed my boarding card to the smiling agent, who scanned it and caused the machine to make its casino-like “ding ding” noise. I boarded at 8:02 and saw that, despite my place in line, 3C was open and so was the overhead bin above it. I prefer window seats for the view, and for the fact that you don’t have to get up unless you have to use the restroom. Also, it makes it easier to observe which taxi and runways your flight uses.
I quickly sat down and continued writing. The gentleman in 3A noticed my journal and inquired about it. We chatted briefly, and I told him about flyertalk.com. He found the concept of trip reports interesting, and asked me what kind of camera I used. I told him it was a Nikon CoolPix 3200, and that I liked its size, portability, and ease of use, and the 3.2 megapixels were fine for my purposes. Anyway, back to the report…
They warned us at the gate area that HOU was covered with thunderstorms and under advisory. Despite this, they closed the door on time at 8:19 and we pushed back two minutes later.
We taxied on “Uniform” to “Charlie” and were 2nd in line for runway 28 behind an American Airlines MD-80. The pilot started the takeoff roll, and the wheels came up just before 8:31. The climb out was a little bumpy, and some time later, the pilot told us we were leaving FL350 for FL390 to find smoother air.
After the seatbelt sign was turned off, a tall, lanky, pale gentleman in 1C got up for the second time to search – and I do mean search – for something in the overhead bin. He kept checking each of the bins above 1C and 2C, and then 1D. He had also done this right before pushback, and almost delayed us there. Nothing suspicious, just amusing to watch. And what a bin hog!
Soon the attendants took drink orders and brought us our tasty Southwest snack packs. It looked so delicious, I just had to take a picture. What can I say? It came in a close second to the salmon and filet mignon I had in business class on SwissAir! The only good part about the Southwest snack pack is the Lorna Doone shortbread cookies. They go wonderfully with coffee!
We landed late at HOU amid low-lying clouds at 10:43. Because of my aisle seat and ongoing conversation with the gentleman in 3A, I didn’t catch the runway or taxiways. We pulled up to gate 23 at 10:48.
I found my way down to the rental car shuttles and flagged down the Budget van. I checked in at their location off of Airport Rd and Rental Car Rd, just behind the fire station. The woman who processed me was, no joke, the fastest typist I have ever seen. I guess you had to be there to truly appreciate this one, but trust me, it was pretty amazing.
The typist put me in a tan Chevy Blazer instead of the full-size Taurus I had reserved, and away I went. I’m not that big a fan of the Blazer, but I did appreciate it more because of the constant downpour and Houston’s lack of suitable drainage on the highways.
Business went as planned, and I made my way over to the Sheraton Four Points Southwest in Houston. The hotel itself was adequate, but the room was a little dark and 80’s chic. I shouldn’t complain too much – the room was a pretty good size, with pullout sofa and wireless Internet! The Au Bon Pain in the lobby seemed like a good idea, but wasn’t.
The rain in Houston was incessant. It rained the entire time I was there. On my last trip two weeks earlier – to Michigan – I forgot my sunglasses at home. I did a fair amount of driving on that trip and sorely missed them. So, I went out of my way to make sure I didn’t forget them again on this trip. Well, the sunglasses made it. The sun didn’t.
I wrapped up business at 16:40 on Thursday, and headed out in the rain for the 8 or 9 mile drive back to HOU. Weather and traffic made for a half hour transit time, despite the short distance. At least I wasn’t trying to get out on I-59 to IAH! I returned my Blazer as I had found it – soaking wet and full of gas!
I hopped the shuttle to the terminal at around 17:15, and the security line once inside was non-existant. Since I hadn’t eaten lunch, I decided to treat myself to a bacon-cheeseburger at the new Wendy’s in the terminal. Although the facility was shiny and new, the service was very slow and the seating was woefully inadequate.
I had to juggle my tray in one hand, and drag my roll-aboard in the other, with my laptop bag slung over my shoulder. I did two laps around the seating area like this, looking for an open seat, before a very kind woman offered to share her table with me. I accepted, and we chatted about all things Southwest. She told me of her experiences making the DAL- HOU hop nearly every day. She also mentioned some pilot gossip she claimed to have overheard about Southwest looking into Hawaii service?! We’ll see…
I thanked her as I left, and I walked to the far end of the terminal and gate 50. I arrived at the gate just before 18:00, and was 3rd in the “A” line. The gate area was fairly clear, and I wanted to get some pictures of the plane, but the inbound flight hadn’t landed yet, and had just called in-range. It parked at 18:12, and that caused a bit of a rush for everyone else to get in line.
Despite my earlier statement that the end of the “A” line is fine, I found it difficult to give up that 3rd spot in line just for a few pics of the plane from a bad angle…besides, it was shaping up to be a full flight.
Just then, the gate agent announced that our flight would be delayed until about 19:15. Thirty-five minutes isn’t too, too, bad, but why? The plane was right there, and the sun had actually come out! It turns out that an inbound flight from SAN was running late and carrying 27 passengers connecting to BWI on our flight – the last of the night up to BWI.
Eventually they started boarding at 18:45 with pre-boards, and I walked down the jetway at 18:50. There were plenty of seats open up front, but there had been quite a few pre-boards, and a lot of small children. There was however, an open exit row seat, so I “settled” for some leg room in 11A. Even though we had delayed our boarding for the SAN crowd, they still didn’t close the door until 19:14. WN1283 pushed back from the gate at 19:16.
Despite a short taxi on “Echo” past 12L and 17, we had to wait for ATC to play catch-up from the earlier weather. We sat at position-and-hold short of 12R for about 15 minute, and watched 5 other aircraft land in front of us – 2 more Southwest 737’s, an AirTran 717, a Lear jet, and a Gulfstream (I think it was a V, but it could’ve been a IV).
We finally went “wheels up” at 19:34, almost an hour late. We circled north and east of Houston, getting some good, albeit gray, views of the city. The pilot took us up through the persistent light chop to FL730.
The rest of the flight was downright boring and normal. I learned from my drink ticket that the blue paint scheme on Southwest planes was inspired by the color of the sky during a southwestern sunrise. I also learned that those Lorna Doone shortbread cookies don’t compliment Jack Daniels nearly as well as they do coffee!
We began our descent some time later, and came in over the Annapolis area. We landed at exactly 23:00, on runway 10. The pilot taxied on “Uniform” to “Papa” and up to gate B14 a few minutes later.
Catching the shuttle bus back to the “Daily A” lot, I again had to sit through two more customers asking “Is this the Blue Lot shuttle?” It says “Daily A” on the front of the bus! Sheesh!
Thankfully, my car was where I left it on the 5th floor of the garage, and after waiting a bit in the exit line (the computer payment system was down – she had to manually carbon copy my CC and hand write my receipt) I started homeward after 23:30. I arrived at home sweet home well after midnight, and went to bed without unpacking. My trip had stretched into a 3rd day, and I had to get up early for work the next morning…
Jun 30, 2004, 1:12 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Programs: Dividend Miles Silver, SPG Gold
Posts: 4
BWI-HOU-BWI Stats
WN906 (6/23/04)
BWI to HOU
Sched Depart = 08:20
Sched Arrive = 10:30
Mileage = 1245
BWI Gate B9
Seat 3C
Push Back = 08:21
Wheels up = 08:30
Cruise = FL390
Arrival = 10:43
Parked = 10:48
HOU Gate 23
WN1283 (6/24/04)
HOU to BWI
Sched Depart = 18:40
Sched Arrive = 22:45
Mileage = 1245
HOU Gate 50
Seat 11A
Push Back = 19:16
Wheels up = 19:34
Cruise = FL370
Arrival = 23:00
Parked = 23:04
BWI Gate B14
BWI to HOU
Sched Depart = 08:20
Sched Arrive = 10:30
Mileage = 1245
BWI Gate B9
Seat 3C
Push Back = 08:21
Wheels up = 08:30
Cruise = FL390
Arrival = 10:43
Parked = 10:48
HOU Gate 23
WN1283 (6/24/04)
HOU to BWI
Sched Depart = 18:40
Sched Arrive = 22:45
Mileage = 1245
HOU Gate 50
Seat 11A
Push Back = 19:16
Wheels up = 19:34
Cruise = FL370
Arrival = 23:00
Parked = 23:04
BWI Gate B14
