Seat 2A

January 14, 2013
Southwest Airlines Denver – Phoenix 210p – 400p 737-800 Economy Class
Southwest Airlines Phoenix – Kansas City 640p – 1010p Economy Class

Even though I earn the bulk of my mileage through Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan and its partner carriers, I chose to use Southwest for my travels between Denver and Kansas City today because 1.) They were within $3.00 of being the least expensive fare, 2.) They offered an attractive routing via Phoenix and 3.) I’ve never flown aboard one of Southwest’s new 737-800s.

Now I know what some of you must be thinking –What kind of convoluted logic is that?! Except for the first part about the low fare, why would anyone want to fly a longer routing via Phoenix especially when there’s no real mileage accrual involved? What can I say? I’m an airplane geek. Mind you, I’m not an out and out foamer like some of the people over at Airliners.net who might gleefully and enthusiastically devote two or three pages worth of comments discussing Boeing’s delivery schedule for Southwest’s new 737-800s. And yet, for some strange reason I still get excited about flying a new route. Objectively speaking, I honestly don’t know why it should even matter at this stage. If you look at my map on the FlightMemory link, you’ll clearly see that it’s not as if adding a line between PHX and MCI is going to fill in any glaringly blank spaces. The two hours I’ll spend flying and probably reading a book between those two cities could just as easily have been spent flying on the DEN-LAX route which I’ve flown over 100 times. Still, I am closing in on 1 million Unduplicated Route Miles and heck – I’d pick this routing even if I weren’t! ♪♪ All in all it’s just a… nother line on the map. ♪♪

Although I’ve now flown 273 times on 737-800s, this would be my first flight on one of Southwest’s -800s. As such, there’s always a bit of excitement and anticipation as I board what for me is a “new” plane. What’s it look like inside? What color is the carpet? What color are the seats? What about that new Sky Interior? I know, I know what you’re thinking. Still, I am unrepentant. This is exciting stuff!

Southwest does not assign seats. Instead, boarding generally seems to be predicated upon RapidRewards status, fare type and what time you checked in. Families with small children and the physically frail get tucked in there somewhere as well. Now myself – having purchased the very cheapest fare available (Wanna Get Away?) and having checked in on my usual laggardly timetable, didn’t get to board until group C, number 7. One hundred and twenty-six people had boarded before me and I truly expected to find no more than a middle seat and a scowl from a couple passengers who thought they had row 39 all to themselves. As luck would have it however, there were still plenty of open seats amidst the 175 that Southwest offers on its 737-800s. I found a complete row to myself somewhere in the back quarter of the airplane and spread out nicely for the one hour and thirty-three minute flight to Phoenix. This was also my first flight aboard an aircraft equipped with Boeing’s new Sky Interior. It looked good.

If I may – a couple of compliments are in order for Southwest. Starting with the boarding process, it was orderly and reasonably quick. The all economy class configuration offers comfortable seats and decent legroom – I would guestimate about 31” – about the same as Alaska but with more comfortable seats. Snacks consisted of two bags of real peanuts (not some cheap pretzel based snack mix) and the drink service was both affordable and expeditious. Wi-Fi was available for just $5.00 for the entire day. Also, I changed this ticket from an originally issued DEN-IND ticket and there was no change or cancellation penalty. Right on, Southwest!

I also joined Southwest’s RapidRewards frequent flyer program because - well, why not? Even so, I honestly can’t say as I’m expecting a reward any time soon given the amount that I actually fly upon Southwest. Still, I feel good throwing a little money their way now and then. From my experience – about two dozen flights lifetime – they’re a good airline that does a lot of things right.

The last time I flew Southwest out of Phoenix was way back in 1984. I was aboard N24SW, a 737-200 that served WN faithfully for another thirteen years before being sold to Orient Eagle Airways in 1997. The very next year it was damaged beyond repair after skidding off a runway at Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. It was a sad ending for this reliable little workhorse, but hardly extraordinary. I have tracked the whereabouts of most every aircraft I have ever flown upon and about fifty of them have come to an untimely end - usually in some third world backwater. Others have been involved in some rather famous disasters like the Pan Am 747 that collided with the KLM 747 in Tenerife. I flew that plane between Honolulu and Seattle in 1976. Or the American DC-10 that literally lost an engine on takeoff from O’Hare back in 1979. I’d flown that plane on a short SAN-LAX flight just two years earlier. It seemed fine then…

Oh yeah, back to the report… Sorry – I can’t help but reminisce sometimes. I had the good fortune to have logged my 1000th flight by 1981, meaning that I was the beneficiary of a lot of good times and good service back when both were abundant in the skies over America.

One thing that has improved dramatically in the 28 years since that aforementioned Southwest flight out of Phoenix is the quality of its terminal at Sky Harbor. Back in 1984, I believe Southwest operated out of Terminal 2, downstairs. I remember being handed these plastic placards to board with and then having to walk out to the airplane and board via the mobile stairs. No complaints here mind you, but Southwest’s current home in Terminal 4 is much nicer. Back in 1984, Terminal 3 was the standard bearer at Sky Harbor. The initial success of America West along with the rapid expansion of Southwest required the airport to add capacity. When Terminal 4 broke ground in October 1989, it was the largest structural capital improvement project in Phoenix. When the building opened in November, 1990 it had five concourses and 44 gates. Today it has seven concourses and with plans to build one more.

My flight to Kansas City was departing from what is currently the newest concourse at Sky Harbor. Concourse D is 50 feet wider than the other concourses and features a higher ceiling, larger windows and a Terrazzo floor. Unfortunately the Starbucks concession was closed (in fact, it looked as if it had been closed for awhile), but two other restaurants provided plenty of food and table space to tide me over while I put in a couple of hours on this trip report.

The flight to Kansas City was just like the one to Phoenix from Denver, except that it was forty minutes longer. Three bags of complimentary peanuts were washed down by two bottles of Jack Daniels, during which time I managed to bring this trip report up to date. Any of you who’ve ever tried to write a long trip report can certainly appreciate what a great feeling it is to be current!

I spent the night in one of the best airport campsites I’ve ever found. Located in Terminal C and well off the beaten path, it provided a dark and quiet carpeted area the likes of which simply can’t be found in most airports. I slept undisturbed until my alarm went off at 6:00am. By 6:20 I was sipping on a steaming hot Café Verona accompanied by a delicious chocolate hazelnut biscotti. My shuttle to downtown Kansas City arrived promptly at 6:30 and by 7:15 I was enjoying a more substantial hot breakfast at Harvey’s Restaurant in Kansas City’s Union Station.


January 15, 2013
Amtrak Kansas City = St. Louis 815a – 155p Missouri River Runner Business Class
Amtrak St. Louis – Dallas 800p – 1130a Texas Eagle Economy Class

Kansas City’s Union Station is one of the most beautiful train stations I’ve ever been in. It was built during an era when train stations reflected the grandeur and excitement of long distance travel. It’s Beaux-Arts architectural style includes a cavernous and ornate grand hall, high sculpted ceilings, polished stone floors and a cathedral like ambience. When it opened for business in 1914, it was the second largest train station in the country. Only St. Louis’ Union Station was larger.

The entire station complex encompasses over 850,000 square feet. Enormous, deep-set arched windows face the front of the station. The sunshine they allow in casts a warm glow on the rose-brown marble floors and light stone walls. The overall ambience of the station is surprisingly light and airy for such a large building.


Kansas City Union Station Great Hall

The ceiling in the Grand Hall is 95 feet high and is distinguished by beautifully restored plastered frescoes and three huge chandeliers weighing 3,500 pounds each.



Kansas City Union Station Ceiling and Chandelier

At its peak during World War II, an estimated one million travelers passed through this station. Like any large city terminal, the station included restaurants, a cigar store, and a barber shop. Additionally, it was the corporate headquarters for Fred Harvey, the company that famously catered the Santa Fe railroad and operated a string of hotels throughout the Southwest. It’s hard to believe that despite of all of its remarkable history and glamor, this magnificent building sat empty and unused for a ten year period from 1989 to 1999.

Since its renovation and reopening in 1999, Union Station is now home to the H&R Block City Stage Theater, an Imax theater, the Gottlieb Planetarium and a public science center with over 50 interactive exhibits called Science City. The station also hosts two upscale restaurants, a post office and numerous smaller shops. When I first visited this station on a warm autumn afternoon last year, it was clear that many more people had come to Union Station to eat and/or visit one of its many attractions than to depart on the train.



Harvey’s Restaurant at Union Station

My first train ride today will take me 283 miles from Kansas City through the heart of Missouri to St. Louis. Some of the named trains operating this route in years past were the Ann Rutledge, the Kansas City Mule and the St. Louis Mule. In 2009, Amtrak held a contest to rename the route with the winning entry being the Missouri River Runner.



Route of Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner

Boarding for the River Runner was announced at 8:00am, just as I was mopping up the last of the Hollandaise Sauce on my plate of Eggs Benedict. I quickly settled the bill and joined a small group of stragglers as we commenced the long walk out to the train. Access was via an elevated walkway over the tracks where an elevator took us down to trackside. In the old days, when there were over 100 trains per day through here, we’d have accessed our train directly through one of the many track entrances in the North Hall.



Kansas City Union Station North Hall



A beautifully restored Kansas City Southern FP9 on display at KCY

Amtrak offers Coach and Business Class seating aboard most of its short to medium distance trains. Coach accommodations are in surprisingly wide and comfortable seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration throughout the car. Business Class offers wider leather covered seats configured 1-2 and includes a free soft drink or coffee and a newspaper. 120v outlets are available at each seat in both classes. On my seat was a copy of this morning’s New York Times.



Amtrak Business Class Seats

The load was surprisingly light this morning – maybe twenty coach passengers and just five of us up in Business Class. As a result, today’s train was pretty short consisting of a single P42DC locomotive followed by two coach cars and an Amfleet Café/Business Class car at the rear of the train. This car featured a small lounge/dining area in the front of the car, a café service area in the middle and five rows of Business Class seating in the rear of the car.



Amfleet Cafe

While many people living on the more populated East or West coasts may not find America’s Heartland very interesting (it's all flyover country for many of them), I think this area is rich in beautiful scenery. Over the next six hours, we travelled through low rolling hills and fields dotted by pretty farm houses, multiple silos, quaint back roads and sleepy Midwestern towns that appear not to have changed much if at all over the past fifty years. The old country towns were the most interesting part of the trip for me. I loved the old brick buildings and quaint storefronts that represent a slice of small town America that many people only get to read about. Most tourists, especially foreigners, rarely if ever travel to towns like these but I’d like to think that if they did they’d leave with a very favorable impression of their visit, and indeed America as a whole. While in the old days these smaller towns would have been served by a local train, nowadays the train passes through them enroute to stops at the larger towns. I’d love to return here someday and ply these back roads and country towns with my trusty Toyota pick-up. If gas prices ever drop sufficiently, I’ll do just that.

Unfortunately, a combination of light rain and wet windows made for less than ideal photography enroute. I can only hope that my modest descriptions might provide the impetus for some of you to spend a little time visiting this underappreciated section of America.

* * * * * * * * *

Arrival in St. Louis was just five minutes late, primarily due to some track work being done at the station. That station would be the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center – quite a long name for a building that serves a multitude of transport modes including Amtrak, the St. Louis Metro Link trains, the Metro Bus regional city buses and good ol’ Greyhound. I’ll give the building plenty of points for functionality – being able to step off an Amtrak train and have a local city bus or train just a few steps away is wonderfully convenient. However, the main ticket lobby and waiting area are pure Greyhound – plain and uninspired with lots of poorly dressed people slouching about with bad posture as they slink in and out of the building whilst attending to their nicotine addictions. A small food concession sells select items from KFC and Pizza Hut. Two uniformed security guards keep a watchful eye on the action.

Faced with a six hour layover, I checked my bag into storage with the Amtrak agent and then got directions over to the old original St. Louis Union Station. The skies hadn’t exactly cleared but at least it wasn’t raining so rather than take the Metro Link train to the next stop up the line, I walked the three blocks and enjoyed the pleasantly cool winter day.

St. Louis Union Station opened for business in 1894. At its opening it was already the largest passenger rail terminal in the world and very shortly thereafter it was also the world’s busiest with over one hundred train departures per day. Architecturally it is simply magnificent, built in an eclectic mix of Romanesque styles. A plaque detailing its history indicated that the station was modeled after Carcassonne, a walled, medieval city in southern France. The Grand Hall – a staple of all the world’s great railway stations – is one of the most impressive I have ever seen featuring sweeping archways, fresco and gold leaf detailing, mosaics and art glass windows. It now serves as the lobby and lounge area for the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, a 539 room property operated by Hilton under the DoubleTree banner.



St. Louis Union Station Exterior



The Grand Hall – Hotel Lobby
Photo courtesy of Hilton Hotels



Intimate Seating Areas Abound

More pictures of the hotel’s various rooms can be found HERE.

One of the more impressive features of the Grand Hall is the "Allegorical Window," a huge stained glass window created from hand-cut Tiffany glass strategically positioned above the Station's main entryway. The window features three women representing the main U.S. train stations during the 1890s -- New York, St. Louis and San Francisco.



The Allegorical Window

Attached to the Grand Hall is an area known as The Midway, a 600 foot long and 70 foot wide concourse that once hosted 32 boarding gates. Beyond the gates lies the Train Shed. Encompassing over 11.5 acres, it was the largest single-span train shed ever constructed. A light steel trussed roof of glass and iron allows in plenty of natural light which works quite nicely in illuminating the over 80 shops and restaurants beneath.



The junction of The Midway and the Train Shed
Photo courtesy of Pedro Szekely

Starting with a leisurely lunch in the food court, I then strolled down the Midway for a visit to the "Memories Museum”. There I found all manner of fascinating exhibits about Union Station and especially the railroads that served it. There were impressive collections of dining table settings for many different railroads including China, glassware and menus along with a nice variety of timetables, sales brochures, uniforms and other artifacts and memorabilia from the glory days of railroading.

I’m not much of a shopper unless I actually need something, so the only store I visited was the St. Louis Cardinals team store where I picked up a set of baseball trading cards for a friend’s son back home. I’m not entirely sure his father might not enjoy those cards more, but as well as those two get on I’m sure they’ll work something out. My duty done, I then headed across the concourse to the Union Station Hotel to have a look at the Grand Hall. It was every bit as awesome as I anticipated. And then some! So was the rest of the hotel. I checked out the dining room, admired the Allegorical Window and sampled the comfort of the plush lounge chairs placed around the hotel. Soon it was time to check out the drinks menu at the lobby bar. I tried out a local microbrew called Schlafly’s, then finished off my visit with a couple of Pilsner Urquells before retiring to the one of those comfortable plush chairs I’d discovered earlier for a bit of reading. Time just flew by and suddenly it was 7:00pm and time to head back to the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center. This time I took the Rail Link.

* * * --------------------------------------------------------------------- * * *

Try though I might, I can’t even remember now how it was that I ended up booking a seat on the Texas Eagle. I have vague memories of wanting take my first flight out of Dallas Love Field and in an effort to position myself there it’s possible I may have been swayed by Amtrak’s $87.00 fare between St. Louis and Dallas.

Oh yeah ~ now I remember! I’d wanted to work in a visit to see friends in Indiana. I’d envisioned a weekend of good manly American bon temps like drinking quality bourbon and watching football, maybe even eating some recently slain elk from northern Colorado… Alas, the timing just didn’t work out with regard to saver award space into O’Hare, but as there was saver award space into St. Louis I got to thinking about possibilities out of there. It gets a little murky now when I try to remember how it was that I instead ended up flying into Denver, then on to Kansas City and catching the train from there, but it’s likely that Southwest’s $56.00 fare between Denver and Kansas City routing via Phoenix may have had something to do with it. This - combined with fond memories of my ride last year aboard Amtrak’s Missouri River Runner was probably just too much to pass up.

Anyway, here I was in St. Louis about to board the Texas Eagle which had arrived ten minutes early and was scheduled for an on time departure to Poplar Bluff and points south. Even though I’d be traveling the seven hundred and seven mile overnight journey down to Dallas in Coach, I was looking forward to the trip and excited to board when the call came. This ride began to look even better upon discovering that the car I’d been assigned had only about ten of its 62 seats occupied. The conductor said we’d have a light load all the way down to Dallas this evening, so I was practically guaranteed two seats to myself. As a coach traveler on Amtrak, life could hardly get any better!



Hard at work on this trip report aboard the Texas Eagle


After downing a couple of Jack Daniels on ice in the lounge car, I retired to my coach for a bit of reading before calling it a night. Amtrak’s Superliner coach seats are about 20” wide and offer approximately 55” of pitch. They are - from my experience at least - the finest coach accommodations available on any train anywhere in the world. There is a leg rest built into the seat that swings up to become parallel with the seat bottom cushion, so if you have two seats to yourself and raise both leg rests up to seat cushion level, you’ve created this nice platform to sleep upon. I wadded up my down vest, placed it against the aisle side armrest, then put both the pillow Amtrak supplied along with my own atop it all. Perfect. I threw my warm wool blanket over me and headed off to sleep, fully expecting to awake about three hours out of Dallas.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. Not by a long shot.


January 16, 2013
Southwest Airlines Dallas – San Antonio 2:40p – 4:00p 737-500 Economy Class
Southwest Airlines San Antonio – Denver 5:45p – 6:55p 737-700 Economy Class

When I finally decided to throw off my blanket and embrace the new day, I was by then aware that we weren’t actually moving and hadn’t been for some time. I wasn’t concerned. I figured we’d been shunted off onto a siding and were waiting for some hot shot freight to come blowing through. Indeed, I honestly thought we were somewhere in Texas and although we might be running a little late, the three hour and ten minute cushion I’d allowed between my train arrival and flight departure should’ve been enough to handle any minor delays. After all, we’d left St. Louis on time last night…

Imagine then my shock and dismay upon learning that we were about 130 miles outside of Little Rock, Arkansas. The wrong side of Little Rock – that is to say we hadn’t even arrived there yet. Scheduled arrival time into Little Rock was 3:00am and here it was 7:30am and we were still two hours away. Uh oh…

I called Amtrak and was advised that the new arrival time into Dallas was 3:25pm. My Southwest flight was scheduled to depart at 2:40pm. I called Southwest and was advised that so long as I checked in within two hours of my originally scheduled departure, I could stand by for free the rest of the day. However, if I were to arrive at the airport more than two hours late, I’d have to pay the lowest available fare for today which at present would cost me an additional $242.00.

Meanwhile, we sat and waited. We weren’t even at a station or anywhere near one. We were sitting out in the country off some rural road. A quick check of the schedule indicated that Little Rock was just over 350 miles up the tracks from Dallas and here we were 130 miles from Little Rock. Even a third grader could do the math and figure out that unless we were to depart right away and average 60mph not including five more scheduled stops along the way, that 3:25pm arrival Amtrak was currently touting was just a wee bit optimistic.

An announcement was made that free coffee would be available up in the lounge car. Right on! Chatting with some of the other passengers present, I discovered that the reason for our delay was a broken down freight train a few miles up ahead. Unfortunately, a switch that would have allowed us get on to a different track was frozen, so here we sat. Somebody chimed in that the closest Amtrak station was Walnut Holler or some such locale. Aside from two nearby houses, there certainly was nothing of interest around us. The land was flat and snowy. The road alongside the tracks was icy and deserted. A white dog running up and down the road provided the only visual stimulation.

It was 9:20am when we finally started moving again and, for a while at least, we seemed to be making pretty good time rolling along at or near the maximum allowable speed of 79mph. It was about 11:15 when we pulled into Little Rock, now over eight hours late. Another call to Amtrak indicated that our new projected arrival time into Dallas would be 6:55pm. So much for that free standby offer from Southwest.

Meanwhile, we sat in Little Rock. Two or three announcements were made informing us that our extended stay in Little Rock was due to “service disruptions” down the line. I considered asking an Amtrak employee if they might elucidate upon the term “service disruption” but I had this nagging suspicion that it was one of those nebulous terms designed to placate the average Joe by sheer force of obfuscation. I suspected that the average employee probably wouldn’t know exactly what it meant either. At least the smokers were happy. They got to hang out alongside the train and smoke to their lungs’ content.

12:00 o’clock came and went, then 12:30… Jeez, it’s almost 1:00 now…

With plenty of time on my hands and nothing better to do, I began to make calls to various airlines checking on fares into Denver from Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Little Rock, all cities I could reach by staying on this train or, in the case of Little Rock, getting off it. With no advance notice, there were no good deals. In fact, United, American and Delta were all quoting fares ranging from $800.00 to over $1000.00 one way while Southwest was consistently in the $300-350.00 range from each city. Low fares notwithstanding, I’d already committed $84.00 to Southwest and it made sense to stick with them since I could apply that $84 to the new fare without penalty. Score another point to Southwest for doing it right.

Southwest’s fare from Little Rock into Denver was only about $10.00 higher than it would have cost me to fly out of Dallas. Even better, there was a 3:50pm departure that routed through Dallas so I’d still get to make my first visit to Love Field. It was now past 1:00pm and there was still no indication that this train would be departing Little Rock any time soon. I made the decision to abandon the train and switch to the plane. Southwest did their part by allowing me a courtesy hold on my 3:50pm reservation out of Little Rock until an hour before departure.

I’d like to mention here that throughout all this I had absolutely no complaints with Amtrak. They were at the mercy of the host railroad and there was really not much more they could have done. During the times we sat idle they provided free coffee and later passed out free snack packs and bottled waters. They even contacted me later to offer a $50.00 travel voucher for my inconvenience.

A cab driver waiting outside the train station told me he could take me to the airport for about $20.00. I thanked him but politely declined. A call to the local city bus line revealed that I could walk two blocks down to Victory and Third, catch the #2 bus into downtown Little Rock and then transfer to the #12 bus out to the airport. Total time: 43 minutes. Total cost: $1.40.

At the airport, I utilized the free Wi-Fi to see if Southwest might have any Internet special “Wanna Get Away” type fares not available over the phone. They did! I cancelled the courtesy hold and rebooked over the internet, thus saving me another $53.00. Every little bit counts. I know a lot of people couldn’t be bothered to take the time to check out these other fares or ride the city bus instead of taking a taxi but this is the approach I’ve taken all my life and I reckon I save at least $1000.00 a year by consistently doing so.

While awaiting my flight, I ordered a plate of pulled pork from the local barbecue concession, called the Whole Hog Café. They offered six different types of sauce to accompany their meals and let me tell you, that #3 Sauce was just sublime! Flavorful and spicy, not too sweet, it was absolute perfection. Despite the $10.95 shipping costs, I went and ordered three bottles of it!

The 737-300 that operated my flight down to Dallas had quite a colorful history. It was delivered new twenty-seven years ago wearing the bright blue livery of the Danish Airline Maersk Air. In 1989 it was repainted in the red, orange and yellow colors of Spanish airline Air Europa. Colorado Springs based Western Pacific accepted it in 1995 and promptly turned it into a bright blue flying billboard promoting Thrifty Car Rental. Upon WP’s demise in 1998 the aircraft was repainted in the beige and orange livery of its new owner – Southwest Airlines. Today it looked quite striking in Southwest’s attractive blue, orange and red livery.

Back in the early 1970s, Braniff put out a large, colorful brochure entitled “Personally, you’ll like flying Braniff Style”. It was filled with lots of great photographs of Braniff’s colorful airplanes, their interiors and the modern and colorful Terminal of The Future at Dallas Love Field. One of my favorite photographs was of that terminal showing all of the gates filled with colorful Braniff airplanes including the big orange 747. Even though all airline operations moved on to DFW in 1974 (except Southwest), I’ve wanted to visit Love Field ever since.

Had that freight train not derailed earlier today, I would have arrived at DAL with time to check out the terminal and what’s left of the old North Concourse. Sadly, the Braniff concourse and rotunda featured in that photograph I so admired had to be razed in order to make way for the DART train stop at the airport. In any event, this was a moot point since the scheduled half hour layover of my new itinerary allowed me just enough time to get off my inbound flight, walk down the old American Airlines concourse to the gate for my departing flight and take my assigned place in line. Boarding was called about a minute later.

Ultimately, I ended up arriving in Denver only twenty-five minutes later than my originally scheduled arrival. Though $190.00 poorer, it was good to be back on schedule. I picked up a rental car and sped up to Greeley to join my brother in law for a couple of Guinness Stouts.