Is this what airline travel is these days?

[Geek King]

I will say that Southwest has a decent reputation, and that their CEO helped start the business trend of firing the 1% of customers that are (literally) more trouble than they're worth.

[Jester]

Key West to Houston flight was fine. No complaints at all. I got stuck in a middle seat, but since I'm flying a buddy pass, I was one of the last to be boarded, so that's to be expected. But everything was easy peasy, everyone was very pleasant, and the gate agent even happened to be a Sun Devil....she saw my ASU shirt and said, "Go Devils!" Baggage claim seemed to take longer than I'm used to, but then, getting from the gate to the baggage claim was a much shorter journey than most airports (I flew into Hobby), so that might have something to do with it. But it didn't take excessively long, and I got my bag and went off to get my rental car.

Leg 1 complete, Southwest gets high marks. I'll report back when I get back to Florida.

(Sadly, my return is going to be probably very fucked up....not on Southwest's part, but afterwards. As I was getting into Fort Lauderdale, something went horribly wrong with my truck, and while it made it to the parking lot where it will be for the next six days, it was overheated, and after talking to my Key West mechanic on the phone, he said it sounded like the drive belt went kablooey. So when I get back to Lauderdale, I get to drive (hopefully) or tow (hopefully not) the truck to the nearest service center and have them fix it. My mechanic estimates it will cost me about $100-150 if it is what he thinks it is. I have already contacted work, and took the day after I return off from work, as I may well end up spending unplanned extra time in Lauderdale. Crapola.)

[Andara Bledin]

If it's the belt I think it is (caused a very fast overheat?), then you won't be limping anywhere unless you want to risk damaging your engine. My car had a belt go out in the middle of the desert on the Sunday after Christmas ( >_< boy was that an expensive trip >_< ), and since it controlled both the alternator and the water pump, I wasn't going anywhere without it.

^-.-^

[PepperElf]

i haven't flown since i left the navy but... on my last flights i saw that meals were becoming pay-for options rather than "free/included in fare".

perhaps this is an extension of that?

[Jester]

Andara, my mechanic believes it is the drive belt, which controls all electronics....my power steering was gone, my gages were going haywire, and I overheated. So you're saying I should probably have it towed in?

Great. Meh. I'll worry about that on Monday.

Back on the subject of air travel, today I'll be boarding a perfectly good airplane that I'll never see land, as I'll be jumping out of it 14,000 feet over Texas.

[Andara Bledin]

Andara, my mechanic believes it is the drive belt, which controls all electronics....my power steering was gone, my gages were going haywire, and I overheated. So you're saying I should probably have it towed in?

It's different for every car (and sometimes across years in the same model), but in my case, if the overheat hadn't been a concern, the fact that the power drained and wasn't being regenerated made limping impossible.

But, mostly it's the overheat you have to be wary of, as even if it doesn't to major damage, it can do minor damage that can turn major further down the road, or will just make everything just a bit less efficient for the rest of the life of the engine. Although, as with all things electric, the temp gauge could have been lying. However, if it's just the gauge, it'll go wonky as soon as you start the car; if it's not just the gauge, it'll start at cold and then climb to overheat, in which case you know the pump's not running and you need the tow.

^-.-^

[wolfie]

Jester, I wouldn't be surprised if the issue were bigger than just a belt. Does this belt drive the A/C as well? I assume that since you live in Florida, you wouldn't get a vehicle without it.

If the belt drives the A/C, you could have an issue that happened to me a few years back, and a co-worker a couple weeks ago. The A/C compressor clutch consists of 2 parts: a rotating assembly, and (hidden underneath it) an electromagnet. When the bearings in the compressor go bad, the belt tension pulls the rotating assembly off-centre, where it rubs on the electromagnet, causing heat which further damages the bearings, and the heat and drag will chew up the belt. Proper fix involves replacing the A/C compressor, temporary fix involves replacing the rotating part of the compressor clutch (with the electromagnet REMOVED - and if this has happened you can assume the bearing in the rotating part is toast) to turn your A/C into an idler pulley. The temporary fix is ONLY if you need the vehicle operating before the compressor can be replaced (availability, finances, getting home - and back to your regular mechanic - from a road trip, etc.).

Another possibility (happened to a former supervisor) is that your water pump seized up, causing the vehicle to throw the belt. In this case, you need a new water pump.

Third major suspect is the tensioner. They're fairly cheap - may as well get it replaced when you get the new belt, just in case.

[Jester]

Frankly I have no idea what the problem is, other than what has been suggested. I am, as I've said many times, mechanically disinclined. But rather than gamble with my truck's future, I am simply going to get it towed to the nearest service station, which is only 2 miles away.

Time to find out if the lizard is as good as Flo with such things, since I switched insurance companies last year.

[Peppergirl]

Late to the party on this, IPF, but since this is my full time job, I can pretty much tell you what is and isn't normal.

The checked baggage thing - All are doing it except Southwest. It's definitely wreaking havoc on the carry-on bag thing. People are carrying more and more shit on the planes, causing all sorts of delays and issues in and of itself.

The seating thing - Happens all the time. Probably wasn't a matter of it being booked on Orbitz, but possibly an aircraft change that affected the seating chart between the time your mom booked it and the actual travel time. If you book very far in advance, this happens disturbingly often. In fact, I myself get screamed at over it quite a bit. It sucks.

The snack thing - that is an absolute FIRST for me and again, I do this full time for a living. My curiosity is peaked and I'm telling my co-workers about this, just to see if anyone else has heard. Might be a new low.

As for Frontier vs Southwest? Southwest, hands down. No airline is perfect, but Frontier has always been a pain in my ass. I could make a list of reasons why, but I'd bore everyone to tears. Suffice it to say that if any problems occur, Southwest is generally one of the more responsive carriers and usually doesn't hit travelers with obscene penalties if a change is needed or something unforeseen happens. They just charge a difference in fare if applicable.

Downside to Southwest? They don't partner with ANY other carriers, so if you do get stranded somewhere on a southwest flight, you're at their mercy because they will only place you on THEIR next available flight, as their tickets are non-transferrable to any other carrier.

Ok - I've probably put you all to sleep by now, so I'll stop.

Irv - PM me for additiona details if you wish or if you have any questions. I'll help if I can.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Oh! One more thing I forgot.

Our flight back to Milwaukee landed and I was at the carousel looking for our bags. They were nowhere to be found.

Then out of the corner of my eye I saw three suitcases in a corner near a desk with an attendant. They were our suitcases.

I asked the attendant how they got there and she told me "They came in on an earlier flight."

I guess at the time I was happy I wouldn't have to wait at the carousel any more, but I have no idea how long our bags were sitting there. Anybody could have ganked them while the attendant's back was turned. This is another thing I'm wondering about.

[Peppergirl]

Hmmm - did you get to the airport very early? If so, there's a slight chance they put your bags on an earlier flight rather than the one you were on.

Stupid, though - and yes - someone could have easily swiped them.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Yes. Yes we did. So early, in fact, that the counter person wouldn't take them at first, saying there's a TSA rule they can't check baggage earlier than 4 hours before departure.

This is another thing my mother is ugly about.

[Jester]

Trip over. My report on Southwest, flying standby on a buddy pass:

No muss, no fuss, no complaints, everything was jake.

End of report. What more needs to be said?