I had plans to go visit my sister in Portland, OR, for a few days. For the flight up, I had a flight booked on Delta with a layover in SLC. My first flight ended up being delayed. It had a mechanical issue in SLC, and had never left. I got the notification as I was driving to the airport. The only other flight the app was showing, was not leaving until 7pm. It was around 930am, and I did not want to have to come back later. I figured I would go to the counter, and see if there were any other options. It was a busy day in PHX, and a lot of the flights were oversold. The only flight that was departing with seats available, was a flight with a connection in Minneapolis. It was a little out of the way, but at least I would get to depart around the time I was planning, and would not have to wait until later in the day.



Delta 160
Phoenix, AZ (PHX) – Minneapolis, MN (MSP)
Boeing 737-800
N3736C
Seat 12A
Scheduled Departure Time – 11:30am
Actual Departure Time- 11:39am
Scheduled Arrival Time – 4:36pm
Actual Arrival Time- 4:15pm
2 hours 36 minutes



N3736C at gate 19, after arriving from New York - JFK





Boarding started 30 minutes, ahead of our scheduled departure time. One of the last people to board was an FA, commuting to MSP. She had several bags with her. By the time she had boarded, all the overhead bins were full. She started to open all the bins, looking for space. One of the flight attendants working the flight came up to her, and said to there was no room left. The commuting flight attendant ignored her, and continued to go row by row looking for space. The other flight attendant said in an annoyed tone, that she would need to gate check the bags, or take another flight. After this was taken care of, the doors were closed and we started to pushback.

Pushing next to N829DN, preparing to depart to Detroit



Taking off 25R



Our flight was completely full. With the 110 degree temperature, we used the majority of runway 25R



Climbing out of PHX, on the YOTES5 departure



We leveled off at 35,000ft. It was a little bumpy, as the flight attendants came through with drinks and snacks. Over Colorado, we encountered more turbulence. We climbed up to 37,000ft and it smoothed out





We started descending into MSP, 30 minutes before landing





Final 12R





Touchdown



N3736C at gate G13, before its next flight to San Diego



My next flight was departing from gate C1. It was a little over an hour, until boarding was supposed to start.

Delta 1411
Minneapolis, MN (MSP) – Portland, OR (PDX)
Boeing 737-900
N814DN
Seat 22A
Scheduled Departure Time – 5:56pm
Actual Departure Time- 6:01pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 7:41pm
Actual Arrival Time- 7:22pm
3 hours 21 minutes



Boarding



22A, next to N332NB getting ready to depart to New York – LaGuardia



It was another full flight to Portland. Everyone had boarded, and we were ready to go by 5:45pm. The captain made an announcement, about the details of our flight. He mentioned there was some thunderstorms over Montana. We ended up deviating to the north around the weather. A few minutes later, the door was closed. We started to pushback at 5:52pm, 4 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure time.

Taxiing to 12L



Taking off



Climbing out of MSP



We initially climbed up to 34,000ft. About half way through the flight, we climbed up to 36,000ft. The flight attendants on this flight seemed very enthusiastic about their jobs. As they came through with the service, they made conversation with a lot of passengers. They would ask why you were traveling, as well as how your experience on Delta had been. They mentioned it was their first time in Portland, and they had a 24 hour layover. The person on the aisle lived in Portland, and gave them some suggestions on things to do. They ended up coming through with drinks and snacks twice during the flight.



Cruising





Deviating around the weather



We started descending into PDX a little over 30 minutes before landing





Descending into PDX



I was listening to ATC during the descent. When we checked in with Portland Approach, the pilots advised them that we would be doing an Autoland. The controller thanked him, for letting them know. He then gave us a heading and instructions to intercept the 28R localizer.

Final 28R



We touched down hard, with heavy breaking on 28R at 7:22pm. We exited the runway, and it was a quick taxi right into the ramp. We pulled into gate D5, 2 minutes after landing.

N814DN at gate D5. It spent a few hours at PDX, and left later that evening for the redeye flight to JFK



After a few days in Portland, I was flying back to Phoenix. This time on Southwest. I got to PDX, an hour and a half before my flight.

WN check in



Southwest 4152
Portland, OR (PDX) – San Jose, CA (SJC)
Boeing 737-700
N226WN
Seat 9A
Scheduled Departure Time – 7:15pm
Actual Departure Time- 7:26pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 9:00pm
Actual Arrival Time- 8:46pm
1 hour 20 minutes



N226WN arriving from Denver



N226WN at gate C12





It was a quick turn. As passengers from the previous flight were deplaning, announcements were already being made about lining up in your group. I was in group A, so I was in the first group to board. A few minutes after all the passengers had deplaned, boarding started.

Boarding



The flight was only about half full, and i ended up having the middle seat next to me open. I luck out a lot, when I fly Southwest. More often than not, the middle next to me stays open. The door was closed at 7:14pm, one minute ahead of our scheduled departure time. We pushed back a few minutes later. Once the engines were running, we began the taxi to runway 28R.

Pushing back



Taxiing to 28R, with N614SK departing for the short flight up to Seattle



Taking off







Climbing out of PDX



We climbed up to 39,000ft, for the short flight down to San Jose



Before we even leveled off, the flight attendants came through and took drink orders. They then came and handed drinks out. After this, snacks were handed out. Shortly after the service was done, we started the descent into SJC





Cruising





Starting the descent



Descending via the BRIXX2 arrival



Final 30L



Touchdown



It was a quick taxi to the gate. We pulled into gate 25, 4 minutes after landing



N226WN, before its last flight of the night over to Las Vegas



I only had about 30 minutes, before boarding started before my next flight.

Southwest 3904
San Jose, CA (SJC) – Phoenix, AZ (PHX)
Boeing 737-700
N7718B
Seat 5A
Scheduled Departure Time – 9:50pm
Actual Departure Time- 9:52pm
Scheduled Arrival Time – 11:40pm
Actual Arrival Time- 11:16pm
1 hour 24 minutes



N7718B pulling into the gate, after the flight up from Burbank



5A



This flight also was not full. I again got lucky, and no one sat in the middle seat. Boarding went pretty quick, and everyone took their seats quickly. The door was closed, and we started to push back 6 minutes early. Once the engines were started, we quickly taxied to runway 30R and took off without any delay.

Cleared for takeoff







Cruising at 41,000ft



Just like on the first flight, flight attendants did the same service as we flew towards PHX.

Descending into PHX via the HYDRR1 arrival, we flew straight in and landed to the east on runway 7R



Final 7R



Touchdown



Pulling into the gate



N7718B at gate D4. It spent the night in Phoenix, and flew early the next morning to Denver



I only had a carry on with me, so I did not need to wait for a bag. After a quick train ride to where I left my car, I was driving home.

Lovely!