On Christmas Eve, 2017, we were scheduled to fly to MSP and then to TPA for our Christmas vacation in Florida on Delta.
On our way to the airport, we saw our plane land on the inbound flight from MSP at 9:42 AM.
Check-in was not a hassle at FAR since the airport was empty at the time. Our flight was the only flight to depart at this hour. Security was even faster because of TSA PreCheck.
After we cleared security I saw our plane at Gate 2: A Delta Connection CRJ-900 operated by Endeavor AIr. Delta flies from MSP to FAR and from ATL seasonally as well. Hector International Airport has 5 gates. Delta uses gates 1 and 2. United, American, and Allegiant are the three other airlines that fly to Fargo. On weekday's and Sunday Delta usually has up to 8 daily departures, but on Saturday they usually only have 4 or 5. FAR is also home to FedEx Express' North Dakota operations.
This particular CRJ-900 was N902XJ, a former Northwest Airlink bird delivered on 20/06/2007 and operated for Mesaba and Pinnacle airlines before joining Endeavor Air in 2013. Pinnacle Airlines rebranded as Endeavor Air and became a subsidiary of Delta.
Soon enough boarding started and I made my way on to seat 15A.
I checked the fleet section in Delta's in-flight magazine and there was a special section dedicated to Delta's 747's which were sadly retired in December. :(
We pushed back on time and began our taxi to runway 36 for departure. Runway 18/36 is the longest runway in North Dakota, over 9,000 feet long. FAR has three runways, equivalent to the number of runways at PEK. ;)
Our takeoff roll was quick and we were airborne by the time we passed the terminal.
The skies were cloudy but we reached the top of the clouds at around 11;09 AM where the sky was clear blue.
Since the flight was too short, Delta has opted to not serve snacks and drinks on this route, though if you had a request you could ask the flight attendants.
This CRJ was equipped with WiFi and had personal entertainment streaming to your device. I did not use it but it seems pretty nice.
We began our descent into MSP around 11:40 AM.
The weather in Minneapolis was cloudy and snowy as well.
We landed on Runway 30R at 11:49. Runway 30R passed by the MSP hotel under construction and the long Concourse C.
As we were taxiing I spotted the TWA heritage livery American 737 (N915NN) which I previously saw at MSP but wasn't able to take a picture of. :)
We arrived at gate C23 at 11:54. We then began our long walk to Concourse G to our 737-800 flight to Tampa. (No trip-report)
