I came across some cheap flights, and I decided to do one last day trip in 2020. My first flights for the day would be on a DL CRJ-700 and an E170. It has been a while since I was on a Delta Embraer. I also would be flying on Frontier, which I have only flown a few times. My last flight would be on a jetBlue A320. I used some miles for my DL flight. The frontier flight was $21, and the jetBlue flight back was $43. The only flight DL had that would get me to CLE in time for the Frontier flight, was departing at 6am. It also had been quite a while since I had an early morning flight. On the day of the flight, I set my alarm for 4am. Luckily at that time of the morning there were not many cars on the road, so it was a quick drive to the airport. I was walking in around 5am. It was pouring rain when I got to the airport. It had been raining all night long. Which really is not bad considering it was the end of December in Upstate New York. I was also glad it wasn’t snowing, this meant we would not have to get deiced.



The DL check in counter was empty. There was my flight to DTW, and a 717 to ATL that morning



There was only one line open at security, they were using the precheck line. There were only a few people ahead of me, so the wait was not long. I was at the gate by 5:10am. The crew showed up at 5:20am, and boarding started about 10 minutes later

Delta Connection “Endeavor” 4668
Syracuse, NY (SYR) – Detroit, MI (DTW)
Bombardier CRJ-700
N354CA
Seat 14A
Scheduled Departure Time – 6:00am
Actual Departure Time- 6:05am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 7:45am
Actual Arrival Time- 7:04am
59 minutes



N354CA at gate 23. I had originally been scheduled to fly on a 900, but the night before it was downgraded to a 700. This was my first time flying on an Endeavor CRJ-700.





Before we pushed back, the captain made her announcement with the details of the flight. She told us we could expect about an hour flight. She was also anticipating the possibility of turbulence throughout the flight. The weather in DTW was calling for 2sm vis with light snow and gusty winds at the time of our arrival. She said we should not have any problems getting in though. Lastly, she added that the First Officer was also a woman, and it is not often that two women get to fly together. We pushed back a few minutes before 6am, and were taxiing to the runway shortly after.



The flight was only about half full. So, it was a short takeoff roll. After a few seconds we were climbing into the rain and low ceilings.






There was some occasional turbulence, as we climbed through the clouds to 30,000ft. Once we leveled off, the flight attendants handed out pre packaged bags with snacks and bottles of water





About 20 minutes before landing, we started the descent. It was back into the clouds, and a few bumps in the descent. It was colder in DTW, so instead of rain there was snow. During the descent, the flight attendant made an announcement. He read off all the connecting flights, and what gate they were leaving from. It has been a few years at least, since a flight attendant read off all the connecting flights. Usually they just tell you to check, once your in the terminal.



Final 22L





We were one of the first arrivals of the morning. It was still dark when we landed, and we slowly taxied to the gate. We arrived about 40 minutes early. Once we reached our gate, we came to a stop. We were missing a ground crew, so we had to wait a few minutes short of the gate



N354CA spent a few hours on the ground, before flying right back to Syracuse



Delta Connection “Republic” 5759
Detroit, MI (DTW) – Cleveland, OH (CLE)
Embraer E170
N874RW
Seat 3A
Scheduled Departure Time – 10:15am
Actual Departure Time- 11:03am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 11:10am
Actual Arrival Time- 11:25am
22 minutes



N874RW arriving from Cleveland







A few hours later by the time we were departing, the plane was covered in snow. Once we pushed back, we taxied over to get deiced. It ended up taking about 30 minutes. After this we taxied to runway 22L and took off, 7 minutes before we were scheduled to land in CLE





3A, next to N923XJ going to Grand Rapids. They pushed back right at the same time as us, and were also sitting next to us in the Deice pad





Taking off



This was the shortest flight I have ever taken. The entire flight was 22 minutes, and we only climbed up to 10,000ft. After 8 minutes at cruise, we were already descending



Final 24R





As we were taxiing into the gate, the flight attendant made an announcement. She said that there were about 25 people on our flight, who had their flight cancelled in Detroit earlier in the day. They were continuing on to Atlanta. They were holding the plane at the gate right next to ours. They asked anyone who was not taking this flight, to remain seated until those people got off

N874RW at gate B4, before flying back to Detroit







I had a few hours in Cleveland, before my next flight of the day to Orlando

N874RW waiting to get deiced



N423WN departing to Nashville



N357NB to Atlanta



N607NK taxiing to get deiced, before its flight to Orlando



N105HQ to Charlotte



The E170 I flew in on, holding short



N360NW spent the day in CLE



N36272 was at CLE from the previous day. It was definitely in need of getting sprayed, before its flight to Fort Lauderdale



N930NK arriving from Tampa



My Frontier Airbus N358FR, arriving from Tampa







Frontier 1045
Cleveland, OH (CLE) – Orlando, FL (MCO)
Airbus A320
N358FR
Seat 16A
Scheduled Departure Time – 1:59pm
Actual Departure Time- 2:48pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 4:31pm
Actual Arrival Time- 4:45pm
1 hour 57 minutes





The plane was running a little bit late. It landed at 1:15pm, and pulled into the gate 15 minutes later. As soon as everyone from the pervious flight had deplaned, boarding started. The flight was pretty full, and there were only a few open seats. It took a while to get everyone onboard. We ended up pushing back 20 minutes late. The snow had lightened up since it arrived, but while the plane was on the ground it had still been lightly snowing. That meant, a second trip to the deicing pad for the day was in store.





16A, next to N930NK that was departing right before us to Fort Meyers







Two trucks came around and sprayed us. After about 15 minutes, we were taxiing to 24L







About 15 minutes after takeoff, we leveled off at 36,000ft, and the clouds cleared. It was clear the rest of the flight down. The flight attendants said they would not be doing a service. The only thing they were offering were a limited number of bottles of water for $2.99, and they would be first come, first serve



Cruising



As we started descending it got a little bumpy



Descending on the CWRLD4 arrival







Final 36L





Pulling into the gate, with N341FR coming in right behind us from Providence. N334FR is at the gate, about to push back for a flight out to Los Angeles



N358FR before its next flight up to Islip



N273JB at gate 3, after arriving from Richmond



N796JB at gate 5, getting ready to pushback for a flight to Puerto Rico



I had a few hours until my last flight of the day. I decided to go out to the parking garage for a little while. It was around 50 degrees outside. I was hoping it would be a little warmer, but still nicer than it was in New York.



XA-AMA taxiing to the gate, after arriving from Mexico City



N583JB departed at 5am the next morning to San Juan, N597JB was getting ready for the long flight out to San Francisco



American had a 777-300, N730AN going to Dallas



N796JB departing to San Juan



N358FR the plane I had flown down from Cleveland pushing back



And then taking off



N267JB to Richmond



N636NK pushing back to New Orleans



By the time it got dark, it was time to head back inside





N621JB to Salt Lake City



jetBlue 656
Orlando, FL (MCO) – Syracuse, NY (SYR)
Airbus A320
N641JB
Seat 6A
Scheduled Departure Time – 8:50pm
Actual Departure Time- 8:47pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 11:26pm
Actual Arrival Time- 11:00pm
2 hours 13 minutes





N641JB at gate 9, after arriving from JFK. This would be my second time on this plane. I flew it 12 years ago back in 2008, from Puerto Plata to JFK



Boarding started really early at 8:00pm. There was around 20 people on this flight, so everyone was on board really quickly. The captain made an announcement that everyone was here, and they were going to try to leave 20-30 minutes early



We pushed back about 20 minutes early, and the engines were started. Shortly after this we started the taxi to runway 36R



“jetBlue 656 fly runway heading, 36R cleared for takeoff”





We climbed up to 39,000ft, where we stayed for the entire flight up to SYR. The flight attendants came through with drinks and snacks. It was a smooth and uneventful flight back up to New York



We started the descent over central Pennsylvania. Which is pretty typical, but It was a pretty steep descent. We were coming down at 4100fpm. We got down pretty early. We ended up staying at 11,000ft for a little while, before continuing the descent



Despite the steep descent, we were still high and fast as we were turning final. The pilots still had the spoilers out and gear up, when we were only a few miles out





Pulling into the gate, on the airport webcam



N641JB spent the night at gate 1, before flying back down to Orlando the next morning







These were the last flights I took in 2020, hopefully 2021 will be a better year. Happy New Year!

Wow, another cool day-excursion!... Interesting that SYR would have so many mainline flights...

There's something about these domestic flights amid the snow... as homely as apple pie... Thanks for sharing!

Best Flight Report of yours!

MarcoPoloWorld wrote:

Wow, another cool day-excursion!... Interesting that SYR would have so many mainline flights...

There's something about these domestic flights amid the snow... as homely as apple pie... Thanks for sharing!

We actually don't have as many mainline flights as we used to. Now we have the jetBlue A320 to MCO, and a Delta 717 to ATL. We used to have an American 737 or Airbus to CLT, and sometimes UA mainline to ORD

DrAustin wrote:

Best Flight Report of yours!

Thank you for reading it

There was something majestic about the planes in among the snow in Cleveland. It was a joy to read this TR

Enjoyed the winter weather photos with a little Florida sunshine mixed in! Is it more, or did the seats on your Frontier flight look extra thin -- how was the comfort?

brucetiki wrote:

There was something majestic about the planes in among the snow in Cleveland. It was a joy to read this TR

Thanks for reading it

roadrunner165 wrote:

Enjoyed the winter weather photos with a little Florida sunshine mixed in! Is it more, or did the seats on your Frontier flight look extra thin -- how was the comfort?

It was a nice variety from the cold, to the sun! I'm flying tomorrow and it should be similar, starting off cold and snowy, and ending a little warmer. This was my first time flying Frontier in over 2 years. I don't really remember the other flights I've taken on them that well, but I think it was similar to the last flight I took. I flew on one of their A319s once, and this 320 was a little better and in much better shape overall.