68 reviews
Background
Back in July 2020 things were starting to look back to a semi normal routine. After months of lockdown, my family and I decided we would go to Chicago. Naturally, because I love airplanes I decided to fly and see how things were going. The alternative was to drive 5 – 6 hours.
Flight path courtesy of flightradar24
Flight info
Airline: American Eagle operated by Envoy
Flight No: 3481
Seat Number: 14A (an all economy aircraft)
Route: EVV to ORD
Plane: ERJ 145
Duration: 1 hour 8 mins
Booking:
I booked this flight paying cash. It was booked relatively late, so I didn’t score any of the pandemic deals.
Transport to airport:
I live near to Evansville Regional airport, so I took my personal car to the airport. Airport parking is cheap at $8 per day.
An Uber or Lyft will suffice getting to Evansville Regional airport. Some area hotels also offer free shuttle service.
Day of Travel
I checked in online using AA’s app. I do wish they would provide boarding times on their mobile boarding pass. So, I went directly to security and that was a breeze at such a small airport even without TSA precheck.
Before Boarding:
The gate agent informed all passengers to get snacks and drinks at the terminal before departure as there would be no inflight service due to the pandemic.
Flight:
The flight seemed to have a 50% load. I found that surprising considering this was the height of the pandemic. The flight left and arrived on time at an empty ORD. Flights bound to ORD from Evansville often fly over Indianapolis then turn towards Chicago. They do that due to arrival patterns at Chicago ORD.
Seat
The seat was comfortable American Eagle ERJ-145 planes are arranged in a 1 – 2 configurations. I was lucky enough to score a throne seat. The seat was a little tight but good value for a short regional hop to Chicago. Unfortunately, the ground crew didn’t do a good job of cleaning as I did spot a few stains here and there.
Service:
Due to the pandemic, there was no service. However, generally on this route there would be a snack and drink. United Airlines though on the same route doesn’t provide anything except for water. United Airlines terminated this route on January 4, 2022, due to crew shortages. The flight attendant was average.
Arrival
Soon enough we made our way to Chicago. We flew in from the south and one of the first signs of Chicago was Midway airport
Touch Down in Chicago
Empty Chicago ORD
Wow that’s an empty flight board. Compared to how it normally looks. I’m glad we have made more progress since then and are on our way to normalcy.
The plane that brought me from Evansville. When my flight pulled it was the only plane on that particular side of the concourse.
Empty United Area. United had no planes when I was around on that particular day, however, the day I flew back it looked normal on the United side.
I felt safe flying back in July 2020 on American Eagle. Masks were required as they are now and distancing could have improved. Cleaning then and now could be improved. I used my own wipes to wipe down my seat.
Thanks for reading or watching! I will be posting more trip reports in the future.
Next report will be over a flight I took in flagship business on American aboard the 787 traveling to Honolulu, Hawaii.
2 Comments
p.s. you had everything in the tourism bonus section, which is meant for bonus pics from the destination (i.e. non flight-related) so the report wasn't showing up correctly. I moved everything out of that section for you so it could show up properly. For your next report, if you don't want a bonus photos section, you can just remove the section by closing it from the X before you write your report. Otherwise looks like you've got the hang of it! Here's a tutorial just in case: https://flight-report.com/en/help/
Looking forward to that Flagship Business flight to Hawaii. Will be interesting to see the difference with TATL Flagship Business, if any since I haven't been to Hawaii during the pandemic. That reminds me, I should plan a trip since it's only a 5h flight for me ?
Welcome to Flight-Report!
Thank you for the warm welcome and the reply!!!! Yeah I was having a little bit of trouble with that in the editor. Thank you so much for fixing it.
I'm excited to share it with everyone! It was a fun experience but no spoilers :) As you will see in multiple upcoming flight reports. I don't mind flying one bit.
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