Monday, September 03, 2007
Why do I put myself through this?
One of the D.C. area's three airports is located within about 10 miles of my apartment. Another one is located within about 10 miles of my office. And yet, 90 percent of the time, I choose to fly out of the third--Baltimore-Washington International Airport, which, as my boss has pointed out, is something of a misnomer because it's really nowhere near Washington at all. Whether I drive or take the Metro-bus combo, it typically takes me at least 2 hours to get to BWI--it's not uncommon for my journey to the airport to actually take longer than my flight to my final destination. As I sat in horrible D.C. rush hour traffic on Thursday afternoon, I asked myself the above question over and over: Why do I put myself through this?
The answer is pretty simple: Southwest. I love flying Southwest (and they, unfortunately, love flying out of BWI). It's not just that they're cheap, or have far better customer service than other airlines, or have (what I'm convinced are) roomier seats, or give you snack packs with word puzzles on long flights, or have an in-flight magazine that's actually really good, or that I've managed to master their open boarding process, or that I've earned three free tickets since I started flying them almost exclusively a few years ago. I guess it's a combination of all of that, but what it really comes down to is that when I had a horrible experience with another airline, they managed to make it all better. And since then, they've done nothing to suggest that they're in any way unworthy of my high esteem.
But lately, I've been wondering if my loyalty really needs to be so undying. Right now, for example, I'm on hour two of a seven-hour wait at the Kansas City International Airport simply because, unlike my boyfriend, who spent a small amount of money more on a flight that will get him into one of those centrally located D.C. airports at a reasonable hour, I insisted on booking the cheapest Southwest flight I could, even though that means that by the time I get home, he will have had hours to relax and recharge after our fabulous weekend reunion with my best friends in our college town. Meanwhile, I'll be covered in that film of exhaustion and general yuckiness that descends upon you when you spend seven hours in an airport.
Then again, thanks to my iBook and KCI's free wifi, I'll be all caught up on my blog reading, freelance work, Solitaire-playing and possibly even some TV-watching, which let's face it, is exactly what I'd be doing (albeit with more comfortable seating and about 5,000 fewer people) if I were spending these seven hours at home. So it looks like my loyalty to Southwest isn't going to fade anytime soon...or at least not until hour five, when I run out of Internet videos to amuse me.
UPDATE: It's five hours later. My flight has been delayed. I'm listening to "I Hate Everyone" by Get Set Go, which pretty much describes how I feel right now after sitting in an airport since noon. My feelings toward Southwest are going downhill at a pretty rapid clip.
One of the D.C. area's three airports is located within about 10 miles of my apartment. Another one is located within about 10 miles of my office. And yet, 90 percent of the time, I choose to fly out of the third--Baltimore-Washington International Airport, which, as my boss has pointed out, is something of a misnomer because it's really nowhere near Washington at all. Whether I drive or take the Metro-bus combo, it typically takes me at least 2 hours to get to BWI--it's not uncommon for my journey to the airport to actually take longer than my flight to my final destination. As I sat in horrible D.C. rush hour traffic on Thursday afternoon, I asked myself the above question over and over: Why do I put myself through this?
The answer is pretty simple: Southwest. I love flying Southwest (and they, unfortunately, love flying out of BWI). It's not just that they're cheap, or have far better customer service than other airlines, or have (what I'm convinced are) roomier seats, or give you snack packs with word puzzles on long flights, or have an in-flight magazine that's actually really good, or that I've managed to master their open boarding process, or that I've earned three free tickets since I started flying them almost exclusively a few years ago. I guess it's a combination of all of that, but what it really comes down to is that when I had a horrible experience with another airline, they managed to make it all better. And since then, they've done nothing to suggest that they're in any way unworthy of my high esteem.
But lately, I've been wondering if my loyalty really needs to be so undying. Right now, for example, I'm on hour two of a seven-hour wait at the Kansas City International Airport simply because, unlike my boyfriend, who spent a small amount of money more on a flight that will get him into one of those centrally located D.C. airports at a reasonable hour, I insisted on booking the cheapest Southwest flight I could, even though that means that by the time I get home, he will have had hours to relax and recharge after our fabulous weekend reunion with my best friends in our college town. Meanwhile, I'll be covered in that film of exhaustion and general yuckiness that descends upon you when you spend seven hours in an airport.
Then again, thanks to my iBook and KCI's free wifi, I'll be all caught up on my blog reading, freelance work, Solitaire-playing and possibly even some TV-watching, which let's face it, is exactly what I'd be doing (albeit with more comfortable seating and about 5,000 fewer people) if I were spending these seven hours at home. So it looks like my loyalty to Southwest isn't going to fade anytime soon...or at least not until hour five, when I run out of Internet videos to amuse me.
UPDATE: It's five hours later. My flight has been delayed. I'm listening to "I Hate Everyone" by Get Set Go, which pretty much describes how I feel right now after sitting in an airport since noon. My feelings toward Southwest are going downhill at a pretty rapid clip.
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