Just looked out the window and saw my suitcase traveling up the conveyor belt into the cargo bay. Woo! I'll have clothes for the weekend! No, they don't usually manage to lose my luggage, but it's nice to know that the bag got transferred successfully.
A 40ish woman who I noticed was having trouble with her bag at the gate needed help to get the thing, which while small looks like it weighs a ton, down the aisle and then into an overhead compartment. It barely fit, and a ground tech had to come on board to help the flight attendant get that bin closed. Oops!
It was nice to notice that the US Airways Shuttle folks go out of their way to make passengers feel comfy and pampered. Even if I'm not traveling on a Shuttle flight (probably just NYC to DC or Boston), I don't mind sneaking over there now that I know what's up. I'll be less likely to avoid traveling through LaGuardia in the future, especially in seasons when weather's likely to be good. (The delays are worst when the weather's bad, thanks to three major airports and several minor ones just a handful of miles apart in the NY metro area.)
And, now that we're airborne, I can say what a treat it was to take off with a beautiful view of Manhattan, then Westchester, and New Jersey as we flew west. Did those of you in the area see me waving as I flew overhead?