Leaving Las Vegas
Dec. 2nd, 2022 08:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerAs much as I hate Las Vegas it should be no surprise that my favorite thing to do in Vegas is leave Vegas. Alas the road home last night after wrapping up the trade show was longer than it should have been.
"A taxi shouldn't cost more than $40," I figured and went outside to check. A driver was pulling up right as I got to the taxi stand. Perfect: no waiting!
But then there was waiting. Waiting in traffic. It seemed like everyone wanted to go to the airport. Even the local streets were jammed. (From the Strip you don't want to take the freeway around to the airport. It's a taxi scam called long-hauling.)
It turned out the jams weren't exactly for the airport. I mentioned in a previous blog that National Finals Rodeo is in town. Everyone was going to one of the opening events of NFR at the stadium near the airport. Once we got past the stadium, the last mile or two into the airport flew by. And speaking of flying by, the security lines at LAS were nearly nil.
First they published that my flight would arrive 15 minutes late. Oh, it would still leave on time, they claimed. That made no sense. There was no reason for delay en route to SJC. I scanned for incoming aircraft and found that ours was running 25 minutes late.
Once our aircraft was ready to board we lost another 20 minutes due to post-boarding recalculations. "We're overweight," I heard the pilot say as he left the cockpit to go up the ramp to talk to someone in the terminal.
"Oh, great, are they going to throw some of us off?" I wondered. And I took it personally because I am overweight, and I was conspicuous sitting right there in row 1. 😂
The pilot later explained that an additional 500 lbs. of cargo was loaded unexpectedly at the last minute. He needed to file a new manifest with ops in the building. And then we needed to idle at the edge of the runway for a few minutes to burn off gas so we were light enough to take off. ...Uh, we were almost too heavy to take off? And the solution was to dump fuel? 😨
We landed at SJC 50 minutes late. 50 minutes may not seem like a lot on an absolute scale, but on a relative scale it's a lot. The scheduled flight time LAS-SJC is only 85 minutes. And the actual air time— takeoff to touchdown— is only 60 minutes.
I had chosen that seat in row 1 not only because it had a bit more legroom but also because I knew I could disembark quickly. Sure enough, I was 4th out the door. When I sit mid-cabin the wait seems interminable as all the slow people ahead remember to stand up, search around for which compartment they stuffed their bags in, struggle to lift down bags that are too heavy, then shuffle-step their way forward as if their time on this planet is not fleeting.
Being in row 1 meant I didn't have to wait for any of that.
Another benefit of being among the first off the aircraft is that I was ahead of a lot of the queue for calling a ride. Rides always cost more later at night (it was nearly 11pm), and when dozens of people exiting a plane all start calling rides with Uber and Lyft the price surges. I got a ride for about $23 plus tip, and the wait was brief. If I'd been 10 rows back in the aircraft I might have paid twice as much and had to wait for a car.
The ride home was smooth. I walked through my own front door at 11:05pm.
As always when traveling I wasn't ready to just tumble into bed. Even as tired and sore as I was I couldn't just fall asleep. I unpacked my bag, changed out of my smelly clothes (second hand smoke is still a noticeable thing in Vegas), and took a shower. Then, after a bit of puttering around on my computer, I was ready for sleep. It was just after midnight. I was out within minutes of my head hitting the pillow.
Delays Getting to the Airport
Lyft and Uber rides from my hotel to the airport were ridiculously expensive. I checked both apps, and they were showing surge prices of $50-60 before tip. Oh, but I could have done "wait and save" rate to get it for $40+tip if I was willing to wait 20 minutes. I wasn't willing to wait."A taxi shouldn't cost more than $40," I figured and went outside to check. A driver was pulling up right as I got to the taxi stand. Perfect: no waiting!
But then there was waiting. Waiting in traffic. It seemed like everyone wanted to go to the airport. Even the local streets were jammed. (From the Strip you don't want to take the freeway around to the airport. It's a taxi scam called long-hauling.)
It turned out the jams weren't exactly for the airport. I mentioned in a previous blog that National Finals Rodeo is in town. Everyone was going to one of the opening events of NFR at the stadium near the airport. Once we got past the stadium, the last mile or two into the airport flew by. And speaking of flying by, the security lines at LAS were nearly nil.
Delays at the Airport
My 8:30pm flight was tracking on time, Southwest Airlines assured me. But a quick check of flight operations at LAS showed that virtually everything was delayed. Indeed Southwest changed its tune— though only begrudgingly.First they published that my flight would arrive 15 minutes late. Oh, it would still leave on time, they claimed. That made no sense. There was no reason for delay en route to SJC. I scanned for incoming aircraft and found that ours was running 25 minutes late.
Once our aircraft was ready to board we lost another 20 minutes due to post-boarding recalculations. "We're overweight," I heard the pilot say as he left the cockpit to go up the ramp to talk to someone in the terminal.
"Oh, great, are they going to throw some of us off?" I wondered. And I took it personally because I am overweight, and I was conspicuous sitting right there in row 1. 😂
The pilot later explained that an additional 500 lbs. of cargo was loaded unexpectedly at the last minute. He needed to file a new manifest with ops in the building. And then we needed to idle at the edge of the runway for a few minutes to burn off gas so we were light enough to take off. ...Uh, we were almost too heavy to take off? And the solution was to dump fuel? 😨
We landed at SJC 50 minutes late. 50 minutes may not seem like a lot on an absolute scale, but on a relative scale it's a lot. The scheduled flight time LAS-SJC is only 85 minutes. And the actual air time— takeoff to touchdown— is only 60 minutes.
At Least Getting Home was Fast
Well, at least one thing worked well. The ride home was fast.I had chosen that seat in row 1 not only because it had a bit more legroom but also because I knew I could disembark quickly. Sure enough, I was 4th out the door. When I sit mid-cabin the wait seems interminable as all the slow people ahead remember to stand up, search around for which compartment they stuffed their bags in, struggle to lift down bags that are too heavy, then shuffle-step their way forward as if their time on this planet is not fleeting.
Being in row 1 meant I didn't have to wait for any of that.
Another benefit of being among the first off the aircraft is that I was ahead of a lot of the queue for calling a ride. Rides always cost more later at night (it was nearly 11pm), and when dozens of people exiting a plane all start calling rides with Uber and Lyft the price surges. I got a ride for about $23 plus tip, and the wait was brief. If I'd been 10 rows back in the aircraft I might have paid twice as much and had to wait for a car.
The ride home was smooth. I walked through my own front door at 11:05pm.
As always when traveling I wasn't ready to just tumble into bed. Even as tired and sore as I was I couldn't just fall asleep. I unpacked my bag, changed out of my smelly clothes (second hand smoke is still a noticeable thing in Vegas), and took a shower. Then, after a bit of puttering around on my computer, I was ready for sleep. It was just after midnight. I was out within minutes of my head hitting the pillow.
