The Details
- Flight: WN5998
- Aircraft: B737-800
- Class: Economy
- Seat: 3A
- Route: Denver (DEN)-Indianapolis (IND)
- Distance: 1,000miles
- Duration: 1hr 54min
- Departure: 9:44 AM
- Arrival: 1:37 PM
The Preflight
After spending an amazing four days in Boulder for my sister-in-law’s wedding, it was time to head home to Indianapolis. There were a few non-stop options from Denver, with United, Frontier, and Southwest. I took a morning flight home while my wife stayed for several more bridesmaids’ activities. I arrived at 7:30 AM, two hours before my scheduled departure, to find Denver International incredibly busy on a Saturday in June with the check-in lines backing out into the terminal entrance for Southwest. Luckily, I was carry-on only and went straight to the TSA Precheck line.
I arrived just before the morning rush into the AMEX Centurion Lounge in Concourse C where most Southwest flights are located. After enjoying a quick breakfast omelet, I was headed to gate C46 and lined up for boarding. I did take advantage of an in-app upgrade to A-list boarding for $55 and got A14 (a significant upgrade from my original C group).
Our aircraft was a seven-year-old B737-800, registration N8527Q, delivered to Southwest in 2017. Boarding began 10 minutes later at 9:10 AM.
The Flight
Southwest offers a total of 175 economy seats onboard their B737-800s. Each of the Collins slimline seats is 17.6″ wide with a pitch of 32″.
I was able to get a window seat in the second row on the left side of the aircraft.
The seats were all fairly basic with a simple tray tablet at each seat. Southwest does not have any in-seat power on their B737-800s. THey are currently in the process of installing USB ports on their B737 MAXs. While there are no in-seat streaming services, Southwest does have an inflight streaming option to persoal devices with the onboard Wi-Fi.
We pushed back on time and took off at 9:44 AM.
Once in the air, the flight attendants came through with a beverage and snack service. I went with a Coke Zero served in a small cup with a lid.
The rest of the flight passed quickly as we cruised over the Midwest.
It was a beautiful day in Indy with great views of downtown on our approach.
We pulled into gate B20 13 minutes ahead of schedule at 1:37 PM.
Southwest offered an unremarkable but on-time flight between Denver and Indianapolis. For this day and departure time, Southwest offered a more affordable option than United (basic economy). I would gladly fly with Southwest again if they are the most economical option with the ability to have a carry-on as well as two checked bags included in the ticket unlike the two direct competitors United and Frontier on this route.