Southwest 737-700 Economy from MDW to LAX

Map Below: Southwest Economy MDW-LAX


FLIGHT: MDW-LAX
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 2013
CARRIER: Southwest (WN)
FLIGHT NUMBER: 4293
AIRCRAFT: Boeing 737-700 (with evolve interior)
CABIN: Economy (single class aircraft)
SEATS: 14A, 14B
DEPARTURE GATE: A4B
DEPARTURE- SCHEDULED: 2:10pm // ACTUAL: 3:11pm
ARRIVAL- SCHEDULED: 4:25pm // ACTUAL: 4:48pm
DURATION: 3 hours 37 minutes
MILES FLOWN: 1,761 miles

Finally - our trip had begun! Our first flight was …. DELAYED. And, of course, it was on a separate itinerary than the VA flight to which we needed to connect in LAX. I knew it’d be okay, this is why I booked the flight that gave us a nearly 6 hour layover in LAX instead of the later flight that would offer only ~3 hour layover. Waiting for the plane to arrive was excruciating - we wanted to be on our way! It felt like hours and hours…but, of course, it was really only about an hour delayed. Finally, we were called to board!

Unfortunately, the normal WN boarding process was impractical in a narrow hallway and the gate agent just about gave up trying to keep the order in line after the A-group. Luckily, we were near the front of the B-group and once onboard our full flight were able to select a window and middle seat next to each other just a bit behind the over-the-wing exit row. Before we departed, we watched as one of the FAs walked around the cabin carrying a passenger’s small dog…it was unusual.

Photo Below: Boarding the Southwest Flight


Photo Below: Our Seats


Photo Below: Legroom on the Evolve Interior Flight


Photo Below: Interior of the Southwest 737-700


We settled-in and with no take-off line to speak of, after a short taxi, we were airborne! The excitement of being on our way dissipated soon thereafter as it set in that we now had a 4 hour flight, followed by a 5 hour layover, followed by a 14 hour flight, followed by trying to stay awake and see Sydney. So, we watched a movie downloaded on the tablet we brought along to pass the time. Then, we watched some live TV on that tablet for free courtesy of Dish Network.

Photo Below: View of Chicago-Midway Airport Shortly after Takeoff


With our own IFE and a relatively smooth flight, we arrived at LAX before we knew it.