Today we are on the way to Oregon. Ginny's dad passed away Friday. The funeral is tomorrow. We were in Reykjavik when we got the news. As a result, in the past six weeks we have flown 14 flights on airplanes, mostly on Delta. Today we flew on to Southwest to Portland. What a difference. On Delta it is a mad scramble to find overhead bin space because they charge to check a bag. This really sucks. Their loading methodology is stupid because you board by priority (frequent travelers, etc.) which means that there is no seat order. The resulting chaos is due to people who are trying to find overhead space in the forward seats block the entire boarding process. In years past, airlines would board by seat row starting with the rear seats. It was interesting watching the cabin crew beseeching passengers to get out of the way to allow for an on time departure. It is always pandemonium.

On Southwest, you are assigned a number and you queue up to board the plane. It is very orderly. What makes it even more efficient is that you are allowed to check two bags for free, so people are no incentivized to carry all their crap onto the airplane and stuff it in the overhead. This has a very positive effect on the boarding process. There is plenty of overhead space so it is a snap to put your stuff up there and sit down. Boarding is faster and the cabin staff doesn't have to scream over the PA system for the passengers to hurry up. Additionally, the whole Southwest staff is very friendly. That is such a nice thing to experience.

Of course there are no meals served on domestic flights any more. Southwest serves up a lot of packaged snacks of which you can choose as many as you wish whenever you wish. We decided to bring our meal with us. Yup, Subway sandwiches, our favorite. We had leveled out at cruising altitude. The flight attendants has brought beverages and I ate my sandwich. Nirvana! Easily amused, remember.