Review of American Eagle flight Madison → Chicago in Economy

Airline American Eagle
Flight AA3067
Class Economy
Seat 11A
Aircraft Embraer ERJ145
Flight time 00:40
Take-off 02 Jul 15, 16:05
Arrival at 02 Jul 15, 16:45
MQ 67 reviews
aussenrist
By 1797
Published on 4th October 2015
Hi and welcome to this third 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 [http://flight-report.com/en/report-11769.html]
3. AA3067 MSN-ORD Embraer E-145 [You are here!]
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

After the Twin Cities I travelled to Madison WI. Due to my travel budget I could not afford one more flight. Therefore I travelled to Madison by Megabus and it took 6 hours to get there! But it just costed USD23 and I again survived from it!
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My next stop is Washington DC. This is the first part of my flight from Madison to Washington DC since I needed to stopover at ORD.

Originally during booking I was assigned to seat 11C. Luckily having online check-in the day before flight I found that 11A, the signal windows seat was empty so I immediately changed to it!
photo Plane Seat (2)

Flight Report

I departed from Capitol Square at 2pm and took the bus to the airport. Capitol Square is one of the major bus stops in Madison and you can find the bus to the airport easily.

Around 3pm I arrived the airport. Not many people outside. The sky again was so blue!
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Then I entered the terminal from the North entrance and it was the arrivals hall.

Baggage Claim
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Car Rental in the airport
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The Check in counters in MSN. No people???
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I walked to the kiosk and made my check in. Here are the boarding passes
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Later a ground staff from Delta counter came and helped people checked in baggage
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Delta counter and escalators to TSA checkpoint
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At that moment I was doubt if washing powder (which I bought in Minneapolis Hotel) could be carried on. Fortunately there was a TSA staff sat aside the terminal and having a break. Then I approached her and asked about that. She friendly answered my questions (Yes!) and even wished me had a joyful trip in the USA!

Then I proceeded to the TSA checkpoint. At that moment only my flight would be departed soon and there were just few people in the checkpoint. I passed it without waiting.

The airside of the terminal. It is very new, decent and tidy.
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You could have some last-minute souvenirs shopping in the airside
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In Wisconsin you needed to wear the very famous hat! =P
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Then I went to my boarding gate No. 12 which was located at the south end of the terminal.
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My plane was already here. It was a regional jet.
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The boarding counter. Staff were preparing for boarding
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Back view of Terminal from Gate 12
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Boarding started and walked along the jet bridge
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The plane door. The FA was preparing for the flight
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Walking to my seat. The aisle might be a little bit narrow for the others
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My seat was a window signal seat. Very good and I had extra legroom :D

View from the wing
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Cabin view from my seat
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The Safety instruction card
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The FA then introduced the flight and safety information. The flight would be last for 20 minutes! It was even shorter than my transportation time to my office in Hong Kong!

Pushing back
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We took off!
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Beverages services started immediately once the plane flew horizontally. I graciously declined it as it was a very short flight.
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Soon we were over Elgin IL
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Shortly the flight was about to land. The FA was very busy in collecting garbage and delivering connecting flights and gates information for reference

We landed! And the pilot made an announcement that due to no boarding gate available in the meantime we needed to wait for a while. Then the plane parked at apron near the United Hanger and waited along with other 2 AA regional jets
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10 minutes later we arrived at concourse G.
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The pilot and FA together greeted the passengers warmly during disembarking. Walking along the jet bridge and I returned to ORD again and waited for next flight.
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There is the first part of flight report to Washington DC.










Below are the tourist bonus of travelling in the City of Four Lakes. Enjoy!

You are recommended to travel in Madison on Wednesday because there will be an open market near the Capitol every Wednesday morning.
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And you can also meet the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's Concerts on the Square which are held every Wednesday evening! So many people!
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University of Wisconsin Madison
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The University Arboretum is very beautiful and I totally got relaxed here
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360-degree view of Lake Mendota
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We were waiting Scott Walker for meeting inside the Capitol :P
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Please behave properly when you see these cheeses!
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Thank you for reading this report!
See more

Verdict

American Eagle

7.5/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew8.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Meal/catering7.0

Madison - MSN

9.4/10
Efficiency10.0
Access8.5
Services9.0
Cleanliness10.0

Chicago - ORD

8.5/10
Efficiency8.5
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness8.5

Conclusion

I did not expect much for a 20-minutes flight but it was satisfactory. The crew was approachable and professional. Flight on time and seat was OK. MSN airport is very clean, decent and comfortable and it does not look like a regional airport.

Related

8 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 148342 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6731 Comments
    It's always good to get the single seat side on ERJs. I've done this flight before, as well as Milwaukee to ORD--very very short flights. Thanks for sharing
  • Comment 148458 by
    Chibcha SILVER 555 Comments
    Wow, that airport was really deserted! I agree with KévinDC, the ERJ 1X2 config is awesome when flying alone. I wouldn't have thought this flight was so short BTW!!!

    Great pictures of Madison and of this short flight, thanks for sharing!
  • Comment 148551 by
    Nick 171 Comments
    Thanks for the full report on such a short flight! MSN looks much nicer than I would have guessed. Also, thanks for including the quick Megabus review!
  • Comment 148809 by
    NGO85 SILVER 1977 Comments
    Thanks for the FR!

    MSN looks a lot bigger than I expected, I guess I always just assume it is a college town and forget it is also the capitol.

    New livery, but old interior. I actually don’t like the single seats on the ERJ, I find that the legroom is often impeded by the curvature of the plane. Very impressive that AA offers drinks on a flight this short, definitely would not have expected that.
    • Comment 327187 by
      aussenrist AUTHOR 225 Comments
      Thanks for your comment and sharing NGO85!

      - Maybe a lot of international students come here so the airport need to be modern and decent :)

      - I think single seats on the ERJ still have an advantage is that you can put your leg to aisle as a compensation for limited legroom (assume no one walk around :P). BTW I am not familiar with the practices in US. Are drinks not often provided for these short flights?

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