Review of American Airlines flight Chicago → Minneapolis in Economy

Airline American Airlines
Flight AA4319
Class Economy
Seat 16F
Aircraft Embraer E-175
Flight time 01:15
Take-off 27 Jun 15, 12:05
Arrival at 27 Jun 15, 13:20
AA   #68 out of 92 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 569 reviews
aussenrist
By 2144
Published on 30th September 2015
Hi and welcome to this second installment of my flight reports!

The routing for this trip was as follows:
1. CX806 HKG-ORD B777-300ER [http://flight-report.com/en/report-11725.html]
2. AA4319 ORD-MSP Embraer E-175 [You are here!]
3. AA3067 MSN-ORD Embraer E-145 [http://flight-report.com/en/report-11836.html]
4. AA2323 ORD-DCA B737-800 [http://flight-report.com/en/report-11913.html]
5. AA2239 DCA-ORD B737-800 [http://flight-report.com/en/report-12041.html]
6. CX807 ORD- HKG B777-300ER [http://flight-report.com/en/report-12515.html]

Background

Initially I planned to take Delta flight to Twin Cities as MSP is one of the Delta’s Hub. But later I changed my mind to American because:
a. as stated before American flights are eligible flight segments for renewing my Marco Polo Club membership
b. miles flown from American can be 100% credited to Cathay Asia Miles!

Flight Report

On the second day I woke up around 8am, packed my travel gear and then had breakfast in the hostel
photo IMG_20150627_084948 copyphoto IMG_20150627_084916

After breakfast I had my hostel check out and met my friend in order to put my suitcase at his apartment (he just lives next to the hostel!). Then I took the CTA Blue Line to O’Hare

I arrived O’Hare at around 11am.

The check-in counters in Terminal 3, American Terminal.
photo IMG_20150627_110006 copy

I had already checked in through kiosk the day before and I only had my backpack and a small messenger bag with no check-in baggage. So I immediately proceeded to TSA checking.

The checking queue was very long with many Japanese because both American and Japan Airlines had flights to Narita at noon. In the queue I was even mistaken for a Japanese =P. Lucky it was very smooth and did not wait too long.

This was my first time to have TSA check and I was a little bit awkward for the procedure. But the TSA staff were very nice and guided me how to pass the full body scanner.

After checking I still had time, I refilled my bottle and walked around inside the terminal
photo DSCF1310 copyphoto DSCF1311 copyphoto DSCF1321 copy

And made some plane spotting. An American 737-8
photo DSCF1322 copy

It was very excited to see the Hong Kong SAR Flag in O’Hare!!!
photo IMG_20150627_112511 copy

What a beautiful sky! I like it :D (in Hong Kong you cannot see the blue sky always)
photo DSCF1313 copy

Arrived at the gate, still not ready
photo DSCF1325 copy

The plane which brought me to Minneapolis. It is a narrowbody jet
photo DSCF1323 copy

Passengers sat aside and waited
photo DSCF1326 copy

I also created my own flight meal
photo IMG_20150627_114548

Around 11:40 boarding started. I was in group 2 and had to wait more time for boarding
photo IMG_20150627_114419 copy

Boarding
photo IMG_20150627_114820

Walking through the cabin. It the meantime a baby in First Class kept crying loudly and his parent took a long time to appease him (until took off). Was he afraid of flying? :P
photo IMG_20150627_114856 copy

Economy class seats
photo IMG_20150627_115043

I found my seat and quickly settled down. The seat pitch and legroom are adequate even I put all of my belongings under the seat. Later a businessman came in and sat next to me
photo IMG_20150627_120121

View from the wing
photo IMG_20150627_115214

Safety instruction card. This flight was operated by Republic Airlines
photo IMG_20150627_115402photo IMG_20150627_115355

There were totally 2 FAs on the plane and they presented safety instructions during pushed back
photo IMG_20150627_120259 copy

Some airport spotting during taxiing.
photo IMG_20150627_120747

Control Tower
photo IMG_20150627_120641

United Concourse C
photo IMG_20150627_121210

We finally took off! Far view of the Loop
photo IMG_20150627_122256photo IMG_20150627_122246

Beverages service started when we passed Milwaukee WI. I chose water and started my “lunch”. The businessman ordered coffee and reviewed his documents.
photo IMG_20150627_124736

We were now flying over the America's Dairyland!
photo IMG_20150627_130606

About to land. Far view of Saint-Paul Downtown
photo IMG_20150627_131351

We landed. Welcome to the Land of 10,000 Lakes!
photo IMG_20150627_131534

Disembarking
photo IMG_20150627_132131 copy

We arrived at Terminal 1 Concourse E.
photo IMG_20150627_132446 copyphoto IMG_20150627_133218 copy

Passing through the Concourse.
photo DSCF1329 copy

It was interesting to see Japanese Signs in the airport everywhere
photo IMG_20150627_133628 copy

I took the people mover to the Metro station
photo IMG_20150627_135435 copy

Then I took the light rail to my first sightseeing spot: Fort Snelling
photo IMG_20150627_140236 copyphoto IMG_20150627_140522

And this is the flight report.














Below are the tourist bonus of travelling in the Twin Cities. Enjoy!

Delta joined the Twin Cities Pride the day after the Constitution guaranteed a right to same-sex marriage!
photo DSCF1469 copy

Did I travel to Japan??? =P
photo DSCF1800 copy

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory has been established for 100 Years!
photo DSCF1783 copy

Minneapolis is once the Flour Milling Capital of the World
photo DSCF1573 copyphoto DSCF1509 copy

You can find Peanuts everywhere in Twin Cities.
photo DSCF1690 copy

Minnesota State Capitol but under renovation
photo DSCF1760 copy

The Landmark Center in Saint Paul
photo DSCF1656 copy

St Anthony Falls and Stone Arch Bridge on Mississippi
photo PANO_20150628_151705 copy

University of Minnesota Twin Cities
photo IMG_20150630_101338 copy

Thank you for reading this report!
See more

Verdict

American Airlines

7.4/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering7.0

Chicago - ORD

8.6/10
Efficiency9.0
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5

Minneapolis - MSP

9.0/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0

Conclusion

I am satisfied with this regional flight. Flight on time and crew services are in standard. MSP has clear signs to ground transportation which you can travel to the downtowns and tourist attractions effortlessly.

Information on the route Chicago (ORD) → Minneapolis (MSP)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 7 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Chicago (ORD) → Minneapolis (MSP).

Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Delta Air Lines avec 7.4/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 1 heures et 28 minutes.

  More information

6 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 147821 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6425 Comments
    It's interesting to see non-Americans' impressions of U.S. domestic flights--I would expect to see low grades from someone coming from Asia and probably used to a much higher level of service. So it's nice to see that you enjoyed the flight. E-jets are comfortable in general. I used to live in Minnesota for a several years and really liked it there. Minneapolis Pride was always a lot of fun. MSP Has a lot of signs in Japanese from when it was a Northwest Airlines hub before the merger with Delta. NWA had a big operation to Japan/Asia. Very nice photos! Thanks for sharing!
    • Comment 326279 by
      aussenrist AUTHOR 225 Comments
      Thanks for your comment Kévin!

      Maybe I just finished the 14.5-hour TPAC flight to Chicago the day before. So this 1-hour flight is too easy for me. =P
      It seems that Delta now concentrates operations to Japan/Asia from other hubs i.e. LAX/JFK/DTW especially SEA. In MSP Delta only has flight to Tokyo.
  • Comment 147854 by
    whitelight44 346 Comments
    Great report with great pictures. Thanks for sharing :)
  • Comment 148557 by
    NGO85 GOLD 1917 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this FR with us!

    This was my first time to have TSA check and I was a little bit awkward for the procedure.
    - Welcome to the fun of traveling in the USA.

    in Hong Kong you cannot see the blue sky always
    - In Chicago, it's probably a treat to see a blue sky ;)

    As Kevin mentioned, interesting to get your perspective on domestic US flights. You are very generous with your rating of O'Hare. Given the length of this flight, there probably wouldn't be too much difference in service standards from Asia (free drink). On longer domestic flights is where the disparity really starts to show. E-Jets are always a pleasure to fly on with good seat pitch and a 2-2 configuration.

    Minneapolis is a city I've never been to before, so thank you for the bonus.
    • Comment 327030 by
      aussenrist AUTHOR 225 Comments
      Thanks for your comment NGO85!

      - Especially the process of passing TSA checkpoint :P

      - Not only Chicago, I really enjoy seeing the blue sky in the USA :D

      - Indeed before this trip I rarely have air travel. I only had 4 flights before and the last time I flew was 5 years ago. I already lost the memories about these flights. Moreover, compared with the long haul TPAC flights this time, all the domestic US flights I took didn’t last long i.e. more than one and a half hours, so overall I was satisfactory with them (except delay issue on one flight!). Maybe next time I would be able to experience the disparity when having the longer domestic flights.

      - Minneapolis is a nice place and you are recommended to go there!

Login to post a comment.