hereweyo

Anyone in So. Cal looking to get a quick domestic mileage run on Delta; they have LAX to Fairbanks on sale for about $250. If you opt for the scenic route via MSP & ANC you will knock out 9.000 MQM at 2.7 cents per. Quick turns are available in October. Fewer dates are available in Nov. & Dec. Happy Travels!

MNSWEEps

I don't see any Dec dates... :-(

Zorak

12/6 to ANC instead of FAI.

hereweyo

Departure Dec 6 & Dec 8 looks avail but only for 2, 3 or 4 day trips.

yasmas

There are also various days to ANC too. It seems every year around this time this fair or similar <.3 pops up. I have never done this MR; are there any trip reports of something or best things to do if you stay a day or a few?

BHammy

I did my first MR to ANC last year: CHA-ATL-LAX, overnight, LAX-MSP-ANC and return. Took two of my daughters (picked up one in LAX from SAN) for the 1.5 days we were up there. Used all 4 of my RUCs, cleared on all of them (although the leg from MSP-LAX cleared only 5 mins before boarding)

Remember Dec in ANC or FAI is dark and cold. -6°F is something I remember from living in MN, but not after 18 years in TN...=<COLD

But the dark is one of the reasons I liked the run: Northern lights!

I had just seen the Southern lights in Queenstown, NZ the month before, so getting to see the northern was great! We had to drive a couple hours north of ANC to Denali NP to get away from the clouds over ANC, but was so worth it! Saw more moose on the drive than other cars once out of town (we left the hotel at midnight)

The other main thing we did was visit the Wildlife Conservation Center down in Portage (about an hour south of ANC) where it's kinda like a small zoo but they also take in injured animals which is my oldest daughter's major in college.

RustyC

I was in FAI two weeks ago. Really beautiful with the long views full of gold-leafed Aspen trees and evergreens. It's underrated as a leaf spot. There was also one night with a clear enough sky to see an alpenglow Denali from Parks ridge at 100 or so miles away.

Thanks to climate change the warmer times are pushing later into September, so you can try cheating a bit and going 2, 3 or possibly 4 weeks after Labor Day without the snow & ice, whereas in times past if it was after Sept. 20 or so you were just asking for it. No guarantees but that's the trend. May also see the aurora, though months like November and December are better for that.

kxc262

Just finished this run. LAX-MSP-ANC and back. It was exhausting. There were a lot of people who were at the airport with sleeping bags (they came prepared!) but I'm pretty sure those people were not doing the MR since they did not board the return flight. There isn't much open at night but there are a couple of chairs where you can lie down. Bring a hoodie or jacket since it is cold at the airport. Was sitting in first for the trip there and economy on the way back.

RustyC

MSP-FAI and v.v. used to be a great flight to get at the very end of the season (i.e. that weekend after Labor Day), as it only ran seasonally and upgrades were pretty easy because of not many competing elites.

I notice that ANC lodging costs got pretty ridiculous this year. I think my low-water mark was about a decade ago when Alaska was out of favor and I once got an ESA suite at $37+/nt. That's not happening these days.

Quokka

The Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott Anchorage Midtown was $58 this past Friday.

Renes Points

Really? I would never consider a ANC run again until I saw this post cuz all the birds are NWA dessert rat wana-bee jets. Txs. Hum....

kxc262

Dang maybe I missed this? I saw it for $90s more or less. Cheapest one I could find really was Crowne Plaza and even that was $77 on Hotwire.

At least the plane was a refurb 757 ^

Quokka

The Crowne Plaza (which is next door to the The Fairfield Inn & Suites) has been consistently available for $76-$77 via Priceline Express Deals for the last week or two. The $58 for the Fairfield Inn and Suites ANC comes and goes. I see it's available next weekend though.

The ESA Anchorage midtown has been running around $71. I like the other hotels better, but that ESA does have the advantage of being across the street (and within buzzer range) of the Moose's Tooth Pub & Pizzeria