Fly Southwest: ABQ to Santa Maria, California

In third space-time coordinates of our decrypted rosetta stone known as air travel, the illustrious Southwest Airlines lays down the law of the sky with as much aplomb and grace as an adolescent albatross. Departing from a locale shrouded in mystery yet affectionately named 'ABQ' in Albuquerque to the quaint township of Santa Maria, the sacred journey is a saga of ebbs and flows. It’s a Jules Verne adventure narrated by a stand-up comedian with Monty Python’s brand of humor, only aboard a Southwest aircraft.

Your celestial escapade comes alive when you venture for either Direct flights or Connecting flights, depending on your patience for layovers and your inherent tendencies for masochism. Some brave souls contract the chronic condition of finding joy in passing hours slouched in airport cafeterias noshing on overpriced, rubbery sandwiches. Others, more eager to taste the salty sea air of Santa Maria, stake their lot with the swift and merciful Non-stop flights. Pity to them because they will miss the delightful chaos of layover airports that sometimes rival human anthills.

Ye all virtuous flyers behold the rule of the three: those stake their claim as Frequent flyer, One-way sojourner or Round-trip vagabond. Southwest Airlines has a separate aisle of veneration for each of its lauded patrons. The disciples of the Frequent flyer denomination are graced with the divine Mileage program. It's akin to the golden pot at the end of the rainbow if the rainbow was a series of long, grueling Flights through turbulent heavens and a cacophony of crying babies. In contrast, the one-way wayfarers have a taste of bitter-sweet freedom - exhilaration of leaving the past behind and anxiety of flying into the shrouded abyss of the future.

The round-trip vagabonds, quintessential Romeo-Juliet of the skies, constantly torn between the warmth of home and the curiosity of novel terrains, always find their way back. They bask under the dual sun of departure and arrival, loving and lamenting at the same time. They are the country music on your In-flight services - beautiful, yet heavy with a melancholy swing.

And then there are the eponymous four horsemen of the airfare apocalypse: Economy class, Premium economy, Business class, and First-class. Though named seemingly for corporate hierarchy, these four dominions symbolize the spirit of air travel akin to Dante's concentric circles of heaven. Economy class, the vast expanse of occupied elbow rests and mischievous seat kickers, is the trial by fire with the promise of a complimentary pretzel packet at the end of the ordeal. The Premium economy is that pleasant purgatory of slightly more legroom and a generous baggage allowance, often overlooked but never underrated.

Business class, the Olympus of corporate travelers, provides the reassurance of in-flight dining and the existential crisis of choosing between ‘chicken or pasta.’ And lastly, First-class, the grand Utopia, the dream of every weary flyer. Ah! The land of sparkling champagne glasses, reassuringly plush seats, and single malt scented dreams!

The saga hovering between Southwest's Flight schedule and its generous, almost therapeutic Flight cancellation policy showers you with more promises than all the airline reviews you intermittently browse during office hours. So next time you decide to flirt with the whimsical skies, remember Southwest Airlines. Its serenading journey from the faceless location of 'ABQ' in Albuquerque to Santa Maria is a considered choice or providence's roulette, we leave it to you, O' wise traveler!