Columnist Muriel Stevens: The ups and downs of air travel

Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at [email protected] or 259-4080.

It's no secret that traveling by air is no longer a pleasure. It's difficult to remember that in days past I was a happy traveler who never anticipated problems. Not now. Whenever possible I book nonstop flights, hoping that if I don't have to change planes I can avoid missing connecting flights and having my luggage end up in Timbuktu.

I always worry about short hops. A friend recently spent seven hours at LAX waiting for the computers to kick in so she could take a one-hour flight to Las Vegas. Fortunately, a recent weekend trip to San Diego was mostly OK. My America West flight departed on time and I had the assigned seat I wanted. I had no complaints.

I don't like so-called "people's airlines" that don't give seat assignments. Saves money, says the airline. So how come their fare was $40 more to San Diego than America West's? Because they allot very few seats at the lower prices. And you've got to book way in advance. Of course, Southwest has the most flights to San Diego, so in order to fly America West I had to adjust my schedule to theirs. This meant that I would return home much later than I wanted to, and begin the week two steps behind.

But I was hopeful that my luck would hold up and that the return flight would depart on time. It didn't -- not just for me, but for the passengers continuing on to Philadelphia on what they thought was a direct flight. First came a strange message from the check-in desk informing us that in order to be on time the plane had to forgo having catering service at a previous stop, so if we were thirsty we should go to a food outlet and buy a drink. Oh yes, we would also depart a little late, about 20 minutes.

I only sweat things I can change, so I settled down with a book while waiting. The plane wasn't much later than promised, but minutes before arriving in Las Vegas those passengers going to Philadelphia learned they would have to leave the plane to transfer to another. An agent at the gate would advise them. No explanation, no word about when this new flight would depart, no nothin'. So much for direct flights.

I was so happy to be home that I never took the time to question the agent about how long the Philadelphians would be further delayed. Would their luggage go with them (another delay)? Would the new flight keep them sitting at the Las Vegas airport for hours? No matter how short the delay, they would arrive home much later than expected and much grumpier. Par for the course, these days.

Nordstrom always fine: The few days in between my flights were wonderful, especially shopping at Nordstrom. I can't wait until this terrific department store opens in Las Vegas.

It is expected by 2002, on the stretch of land between the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. What makes Nordstrom so special? Superior service, liberal return policies and the selection of merchandise, especially shoes. In just minutes I found every shoe I wanted and more.

I gladly overcome my frustrations with flying when my destination includes a Nordstrom.

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