Good morning, readers, from a Phillyist on a plane, killing time on the way to Louisville via Chicago. Yeah, I know that's really out of the way. But then, so is Louisville.

Air travel is generally hated by most people. Strangely, though, today's experience has been almost pleasant. Here's why:

(1) Tuesday afternoons in December are apparently an awesome time to fly. Business travelers are out of town, going about their midweek business, and vacationers are taking a break between holidays. Terminals D and E at the usually overcrowded Philadelphia International were ghost towns.

(2) Southwest Airlines has ditched their horrendous "cattle-call" boarding process! More about this, and three more photos, in the continuation.

For those unfamiliar with Southwest's boarding process, unlike other airlines, Southwest has never given specific seat assignments. Rather, they've used A, B, and C boarding groups, which has caused constant confusion and arguments as passengers in each group have squeezed and jostled in the crowded terminals for a space near the front of the lines. Having finally acted on all the complaints, the airline now has several signs dividing each boarding group into smaller subgroups of five people, based their exact order of check-in. It worked flawlessly today, but my flight, which was only 1/3 full, was an easy dress rehearsal.

(3) Nothing beats an empty flight, and I quickly expanded my mess of magazines, drinks, and electronics to fill the space around me.



Sadly, given the current quantity of junk I have strewn around my apartment, the mess reminded me of home.

(4) After about a week of continuously dreary weather, it was a nice surprise to actually see the sun, even if it was through a tiny window.



Turning the cell phones off and getting out of the office for the afternoon felt pretty good today. Just don't let me get too optimistic. After all, I did get caught on a runway for nine hours in June... but I was too dejected to write about it.

And now, back down to a cloudy reality.



Photos by author, SkyscraperSunset.com, December 11, 2007.