Round about January in Minnesota, it gets cold. Really cold. So round about August of each year we pick somewhere warm to go. You betcha. Anything to avoid this for a weekend:


Photo0323 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

Trip prep:

Our criteria for the trip: warm, single segment flight. Coming out of MSP, that still leaves us a few options other than BigDaddyDelta, such as Sun Country (LA, Vegas, Palm Springs, Orlando, etc), American (Miami), even United has a direct to Frisco (some of you might be thinking,, “that‘s not very warm“. You‘re obviously not the ones scraping ice from the windows. Of your house. Daily.)

Thanks to the nice folks at SunTrust, we were sitting on a mound o’ SkyPesos, so we started there. Hawaii popped out when we looked for warm and direct, and amazingly in low award levels for both F and Y (weird, right?). Low awards would have included a layover in LAX, but we decided on direct flights, Y to the West, and F to the East, as westbound is daytime and eastbound is nighttime, on the ex-NWA 333s… Total bill came to 75K SkyPesos each, and a few dollars in fees. Fair enough.

Morning of departure:

Busy week of work, kids activities, checking the seatmap (exit row opened up! sweet!), daydreaming while tracking each day's action on flightaware (uh-oh, a divert to SEA!), and making a few trips to the bank...

Mrs. msp2anywhere and I had separate errands to run that morning, so we made plans to meet up at our usual park n' ride. The lot was full, we parked in separate areas, and played Marco Polo by cell phone while navigating the 12 foot snowpiles until we could see each other.

When we did, I was speechless.

Not because of her everlasting, stunning beauty. I was stunned because unbeknownst to me, she brought THE SUITCASE. Not the suitcase, which meets the carry-on criteria, but THE SUITCASE, which can fit a family of four (the people, not their clothes), and is a tight squeeze in the back of a ‘73 Ford Country Squire wagon.

“You didn’t tell me we were only carrying on.”

Then, just when I was about to I saw the ever-present Amex Skymiles ad on the Light Rail: “My card can”.

“My wife can’t but My Card Can…” Makes one heck of a catchy line, no? I make a note to send it in to the Amex marketing folks when we get back.

We hop on the lightrail with the rest of the MOA and MSP crowd. Hoodies (the clothing) and MSP badges abound.

At MSP:

The morning crowds had ebbed, and there was no wait at the luggage drop in the tunnel. We added her bag, gratis due to my lowly Silver status , and made our way through security. MSP graciously extends use of the employee checkpoint to military, and we cleared in under 5 minutes, into the Northstar Crossing, immediately adjacent to That Bathroom at MSP (which I’m convinced is a great name for a dance club) at 1005. One hour till boarding. We decide to tap dance our feet down to the C Concourse Skyclub.


Photo0325 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

The small sign to the left of the door foretold of the situation we would find beyond the frosted doors:

“The F/G Concourse Sky Club is temporary closed for renovation.”

There are four distinct areas of the MSP C Concourse Sky Club, and all were filled to overflowing when we walked in. Closest to the entrance, behind the check-in desk, are some rather open, bright seating areas with great views of the apron, taxiway, and 12L/31R. Next, heading towards the left, there are two areas of work stations/divided desks/etc. Farthest to the back is the bar and TV room, which is oddly set up in that to reach the bar you walk between the TV and the viewers, and you don’t realize it till you’re halfway across the TV, since it’s on the wall behind you. We luckily snagged some seats by the windows near the snacks.

B-fast was out when we arrived, with yogurt, granola, apples, bagels, and mini muffins on offer. The bar was open (though there was a line for the Summit EPA). I had skipped breakfast and enjoyed a mini-muffin (okay, I had two… last time I let the Mrs. proofread a TR!) , some yogurt, and OJ. Ok, yes, there was something else IN the OJ, but it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. Dushanbe, for instance. Daytime snacks appeared promptly at 1100 as we were departing. The full size Bischoff cookies are a step up. I take a few… Shh!


Photo0327 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

And now, a brief word from our sponsor: SunTrust. Hat tip to Rick at frugaltravelguy.com. We wouldn’t have done it without either of you!

We departed the now-emptying club just after 1100 for our walk to the G concourse, which started to feel like it was somewhere near Fargo. We passed the F n’ G concourse club entrance…


Photo0337 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

We sauntered up to G8, remembering that this was the same gate when we took the kids to Amsterdam. Kids. Where are the- oh yes, no kids this trip. Ahhh…

The line was loooooong but we invoked what's left of the FO/Silver SkyPriority and were gliding past the huddled masses yearning to breath free (warm air), when I spotted a TSAer doing a gate check. We made eye contact. I did my best to look unimportant and blend in with the crowd, then realized that ‘the crowd’ was standing still in a looooong line next to me and I was walking past them like a guy who’d just won the big door prize at the Kiwanis meeting. I start repeating to myself, “We’re not the droids you’re looking for. We can go about our business.“

Just as we made it to the Magic Carpet, I hear him say, to someone behind me, “Excuse me sir, may I see your boarding pass?”. Whew!

From the jetway:


Photo0338 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

DL2735
Airbus A330-300
10H, 10J Exit Row
Boarding at 1105
Actual flight time: 1217-1549 (local times)


Photo0344 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

10HJ were great seats: plenty of legroom, first drink/meal service, and we had some great chats with the FA. Seat guru had the seats pegged to a T; had to stow my bag three rows back, over the center, and yes, it gets a little cool, but I kept my jacket over my legs during the flight.

As we were getting settled the FA stopped by to say hi and point out how clean the emergency slide case was, “This isn’t a footrest”. Polite but firm. That would be the theme from the cabin crew, but they loosened up once we were airborne. They even accepted a few of my recently-expired drink chits; must have been my FT luggage tag. Or maybe it was the pleading, either way Gentleman Jack was my co-pilot.


Photo0348 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

Now that’s what I call leg room. Oh, and remember that the emergency slide isn’t a footrest.

We pushed and paused for the ritualistic MSP winter ethylene glycol christening, then taxied to 30L for a 1217 takeoff.


Photo0352 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

The Captain had predicted a choppy ride, and sure enough we were in and out of light-moderate chop for quite some time, the lunch service didn’t start until 1430 (Central time). Luckily, and surprisingly, we had carried a few items onboard for our own Starter course:


Photo0357 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

We both went with the chicken, which was perfectly fine. ‘Course, it had an extra hour to baste in the flight oven. Salad was crisp, bread was fresh. Bonus points: name the movie (which was great, even if taken at face value).


Photo0358 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

We indulged in our movie marathon, with the seatbelt sign on for most of the trip. We’d hit a pocket of rough air, the sign would come on, and then it’d be smooth sailing for another hour.

At one point the Captain came through the F cabin, taking the time to speak with each person. I find that to be classy; you obviously can’t do that on many flights (unless you send a jumpseater back as a proxy), but it’s a nice touch. When he cut through the galley he even chatted with us for a bit, and described how much fuel and time we happened to be saving by taking advantage of the favorable winds and southerly routing.

LA off the right wing, San Jose and Longbeach ports.


Photo0367 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

El Capitano chatting up the F class folk.


Photo0365 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

In a break between bumpy air the cabin crew really hustled and distributed the afternoon snack: white-meated sandwich, chips, cookies… oh, have a look for yourself. The FA even remembered my wife’s choice of beverage. See, I told you they warmed up. And of course I kept my feet off the slide.


Photo0373 by msp2anywhere, on Flickr

Just about when we finished our snack, we could hear the engines throttle back, we felt our ears pop ever so slightly, and the aircraft started to descend...

Stay tuned for Part II: HNL and Waikiki