I Slipped Into Islip!

I just spent a week in Boulder, where two of my daughters live. 

When I travel, I usually look for the lowest fares, on Yahoo Travel, Travelocity, Cheapoair, Orbitz, Kayak and others.  Then, I check individual airline.

Living on the North Fork has its pros and cons.  In the last week, with the sun finally out, I have enjoyed all of the pros and then some!

But traveling in and out of here is one of my biggest cons, and I do travel a lot.  Getting to Kennedy or La Guardia means having to bribe a friend (just kidding), plan the trip at a time when you can get a ride, and then spend the first part of your trip wondering how on earth you are ever going to repay such kindness.  I have taken the Jitney to Queens and connected with a car service.  Not a bad ride, unless the Jitney schedules don’t coincide with your flight schedules and you find yourself sitting at the airport for hours.  Coming back from a trip and taking the Jitney is another story.  Once, after a 14-hour flight from Argentina, I found myself waiting for the Jitney in front of some movie theatre in Queens for hours, and getting home even more exhausted!  Not a good deal.

This time, I decided to pay up a bit and take Southwest out of Islip. I have a dear friend who offered me a ride there, but I chose to “solo” it and pay for the long-term parking, which, compared to Kennedy or La Guardia is a walk in the park. 

I wanted to arrive at Islip with plenty of time to spare, just in case.  That was totally unnecessary!  From Cutchogue, it was an easy 45 minute drive.  The signs for the long term parking were clear and legible.  There was plenty of parking available.  I parked my car, walked two seconds to a little bus stop, and lo and behold, there was a shuttle, whose driver was kind enough to carry my small bag to the bus.  Five minutes later, we were at the terminal.

Those of us who have flown Southwest before know at the very least that it is a “fun” airline, whose crew wear casual clothes, usually bermudas and polo shirts on board.  I had pre-printed my boarding passes at home, and was therefore able to go straight to security.  Had I not had my boarding passes with me, I would have gone to the many “kiosks”, little check in centers where you could do it yourself without any problem.   If problems arose, there were plenty of Southwest employees standing by, ready to help.

Security was simple, but strict.  Just as it should be.  I actually caught many security staff “doing something right”, like smiling at passengers and putting them at ease!  Now, for those who have never flown Southwest, you are in for a treat at the gate.  There is no assigned seating on any Southwest flight I’ve ever flown.  For me, this usually means chaos, as each passenger wants to be first in, mainly to get the “best seats” and have enough room to store their bags.  This strikes me as funny, by the way, since the last time I checked, Southwest allows three free bags, and they get your bags back to you on arrival in record time.
At any rate, on of my pet peeves is how people start getting in line way ahead of the flight being called.  It makes me nervous; it makes me mad that despite announcements, people get crowded in by the gate.

I’m only five feet tall.  Most people in this world, even in Mars, are taller than me!  It gets really tough when you have to push your way through a crowd who think that if they don’t get on that plane fast, they are going to be slaughtered or something.  It gets smelly, it gets nasty, it gets to be a royal pain. 

Anyway, back to Southwest.  Those guys really have it all figured out.  Your boarding card has a letter and a number.  Mine said “A22”.  Right in front of the gate, there are two rows of columns, about seven feet high, and about six feet apart.  Each column has a series of numbers, such as 1-5, 6-11, etc.  The airline makes an announcement that all people with “A” on their boarding pass should stand in their proper places!  You would not believe how well this works.  People actually ask each other what number they have and let you go if yours is “22” and theirs is “23”.  This is how Southwest starts the boarding process.  No one complains!  Once all the “A”’s have gone through, the “B”’s are called, and then, voila!  you are done!  At every Southwest gate, the same is taking place.  I wonder why all the airlines don’t do it this way?

Now, I have to be honest, I did see some people with higher numbers than mine sneak ahead of me.  You can usually recognize them by the fact that they are keeping the boarding card close to the chest, or folding it in half, or keeping it in their pocket.  These scofflaws are few and far between.  I let them go, knowing full well that next time, they’ll get in line, so to speak.

Flying back to Islip a week later was just as easy and just as smooth.  The airport is clean and airy.  The staff is amazing, whether airline staff, cleaning staff, security personnel, or the same bus driver who was right there waiting for me as soon as I stepped out with my luggage. All of this makes me wonder why I am telling you all this, as I probably would be happier if Islip continued to be a well-kept secret!