This week Southwest Airlines rolled out new colors and paint jobs on their airplanes, but after taking a 40 minute survey it appears they are testing the waters on a modified first class as well or deciding what to do with the AirTran business class seats.
Most of the questions involved whether I was interested in having reserved seats with extra leg room or reserved seats with the seat next to me blocked. Â The latter reminds me of the type of business class found in Europe.
The survey also asked questions about inclusive pricing versus a la cart. Â At least none of the questions were about charging for carry on bags.
Southwest is no longer a low cost carrier. Â It is flying to major metropolitan airports, flying internationally, and appealing to business travelers with A-List and Rapid Rewards.
After flying between 150,000 and 200,000 miles every year since 2006, this year I barely flew 10% of that.  So it is with great sadness that I say farewell to United, my 1K status, free upgrades, free checked bags and fast lines at the airport.  I am now a free agent in the airline world, willing to fly whomever will get me from point A to point B the fastest, most conveniently and cheapest.
I miss flying around the world even when it meant delayed flights, missed connections and lost luggage. Â This week there were two cool videos that were posted to satisfy my flying needs. Â The first video is a behind the scenes look at what happens to your luggage from the time you check your bag to the time it is delivered to you.
The second video is a cool behind the scenes look at an average day at Denver International Airport, an airport I flew through way to often in my 5+ years flying United.
Recently inspired by an old Top Gear episode where the hosts, Clarkson, Hammond, May, and The Stig race across London in various modes of transportation, I faced a similar opportunity going to and from NYC. Â For the past 4 years I have had to travel regularly to NYC from DC for work and I go back and forth on how to travel between the two cities.
Last week I decided the time had come, it was time to see which mode of transportation was fastest home from NYC to DC. Â While we were not as scientific as the Top Gear crew, we definitely discovered whether flying is faster than the train.
We left midtown at 445PM, I was headed to LaGuardia for a Delta Shuttle flight at 630PM, my competitor left for Penn State trying to make the 5PM Acela train, but knew he would most likely take the 6PM Acela train.
It took me 45 minutes to get to the airport, just missing the 530PM shuttle, but enough time to grab a drink at the bar. Â It turned out that my racing companion made the 5PM train which meant that he would be south of Philly before I even left the ground. Â I was doubting my choice.
Finally it was time to board, and get under way. Â We took off on time and the pilot announced a flight time of 33 minutes. Â When we flew over downtown Baltimore 20 minutes later at 650PM, I knew I had taken a lead. Â We touched down and were at the gate by 710PM, the train well that was still 40 minutes from DC.
While I had to go through security at LaGuardia, had no Wi-Fi and had to sit in an airport for 45 minutes, I still got to DC 40 minutes faster than the train. Â Now the train has benefits, it was slightly cheaper than my plane ticket, I can get work done (a pro tip, sit close to the food car because that is where the wi-fi connection is strongest).
The uncontrollable factors in the race include the cab ride between the city and the airport and weather. I find that the cab ride out to the airport is always easier than into the city, so it may be the case where the train is faster when going to NYC. Â When the weather is bad (thunderstorms in the summer, snow in the winter) the train is a better bet than the plane. Â In this race, I had little traffic and perfect weather.
