Tour of Duty 29th April 2019 to 13th May 2019
Part I: 29th April The Flight Out and First Night
I was wanting to get on the road earlier but I was unable to agree with dispatch about the details of a couple of trips. I ended up spending an unplanned weekend at home. On Monday 29th April I finally was able to come to agreement about a trip and moved quickly to book the air ticket and get ready and I got transport to SNA. I checked in and checked bags which weighed 44.3 and 46.1lbs. I cleared security and opted out and was patted down but there was no additional screening of my carry on items.
Southwest #2162 SNA-PHX B-737-700 Boarding Pass A11
Seat 3F Cruising altitude unknown Estimated flying time 1:00, actual 1:34
Depart: Gate 20 Scheduled 14h00, actual 14h52 Taxi: 6 minutes
Arrive: Gate C18 Scheduled 15h20, actual 16h39 Taxi: 6 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 22 minutes after arrival
While I was waiting at the gate I heard an announcement that the flight was delayed due to weather issues in Phoenix and the delay was estimated at 30 minutes to 1 hour. This delay scotched my plans to go straight from the airport to the shipper and get the truck. I phoned up the shipper to let them know of the delay and also found out the actual location of the truck was at another address. I relayed the information of the new address to dispatch and I advised dispatch of the delay and that I would have to wait until Tuesday to get the truck. I also booked a hotel room on my smartphone while I waited.
We finally boarded late and we boarded via jetway. The plane was almost full with a few empty middle seats. Pushback was 52 minutes late and takeoff was to the west. I saw the coastline from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Newport Beach. I saw the Orange County Fairgrounds. We went overwater at 1min58sec. We turned south then east and made landfall at 0:05 over Corona Del Mar. Then clouds increased. At 0:14 clouds broke and I saw Borrego Springs, CA. At 0:16 I got cup of soda. At 0:17 we went over the Salton Sea and I saw the Imperial Valley to the south. At 0:19 I saw the Algodones Dunes to the distance. At 0:20 I got pretzels then clouds increased. At 0:22 an announcement was made that service was suspended due to turbulence. We crossed the Colorado River into Arizona airspace at 0:27. Then clouds blocked view.
I thought I felt descent begin at 0:31. At 0:43 it was announced we were in a holding pattern as arrivals to PHX were stopped and there would be bumps. We circled over the deserts of western Arizona. At 1:10 it was announced we are going into PHX and it will get bumpy. Seatbelt sign stayed on the entire flight. At 1:17 I saw the junction of Interstate 10 and Arizona 85 to the west. At 1:26 we crossed Interstate 10 going east and I saw junction with Arizona Loop 202. At 1:28 we turned north then west and landed from the east to west. We arrived at the gate 1h19min late and we deplaned via jetway.
I had a considerable wait for the hotel shuttle but it finally came and I checked into hotel which was barely within the Phoenix city limits but actually closer to Tempe. I went to an Italian restaurant in a shopping centre across the street and had lasagna for evening rations. There was no inclement weather during my layover but it did get windy at at least one point. I spent the night in Phoenix, AZ.