I haven't flown in 5 or 6 years and wasn't really looking forward to experiencing the "joy" that is an airport. I've always heard you have to be at the airport two hours in advance and with our flight being at 6:30am that means being there are 4:30am. Luckily, the traffic at this hour was minimal and getting in was a breeze. Additionally, the airport seemed pretty dead. Not too many other flyers going at this hour on a Friday morning. We were able to go through the full body scanners relatively quickly and then wait around for our plane. (We headed on over to La Grand Orange - see review: http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-grande-orange-phoenix#hrid:9E12RVBuQNPZY0ZGfq2Mog) Finding our gate was easy, but seemed to be the last gate for section C. There was plenty of seating and the wait wasn't too terrible. We boarded on time and took off. I would recommend getting a direct flight, as ours was not and the wait became an extended 3 hour stay.
The return flight was just as easy breezy. We landed on time, I was able to get out of the plane quickly, and then I easily made it to the baggage area to claim my luggage. My ride was waiting outside to pick me up, so we were on our way. Overall, it was a good experience.