This is a post dated entry, but I figure late is better than never. I didn’t even finish it actually, or remember what happened later that flight, but I figure it might be worth a read.

If not, don’t!

My trip finished at 1600 in Salt Lake, the Skywest flight at 1640 was packed the gills and chances are if there’s even a cloud betwene SLC and PHX, they’re going to pull of passengers, jumpseater first, to put extra gas on.

I’d elaborate about my “love affair” with the CRJ-50’s performance and reliability from a jumpseaters perspective, but it’s a little too early to go to the “dark side”.

Anyway, I head over to America West, which is one of the best airlines in the world to commute on. They have a 1630 flight and usually aren’t too upset when I show up last minute to ask for the jumpseat. There are plenty of seats so I’m able to take a seat in the back of the A-320 heading for Phoenix.

Any seat in back except for row 23, seats a, b and c.

How come? It looks like the flight was so turbulent arriving into Salt Lake, that someone who apparently had a very full meal decided to unleash it all over these seats and they didn’t have the opportunity (read: time) to deep clean the area.

The whole rear of the aircraft smelled like a frat house when some genius decides to mix shots of booze with taco bell.

There’s also a mother and child sitting behind the seat that’s screaming his lungs out between sharp kicks at the seat back in front of him. My earplugs can block out the screams, and I’m lucky because he’s not sitting directly behind me, but the person sitting there is taking it like a champ.

I’m in uniform and the kid is obviously annoying a lot of people so they keep glaring at me as if I have some sort of power because I’m wearing epaulets, but there’s not a darned thing I can do.

About 40 minutes into the flight, we start to hold because of weather on the arrival to Sky Harbor.

I feel the engines speed up again as we’re leaving the hold, but I can see the edge of the Mogollon Rim to the south of us so I know we’re not heading for Phoenix, we’re probably diverting to Las Vegas.