Free Emirates First Class Tickets
Departure Airport: Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport (MSP/KMSP) 
Arrival Airport: Rochester International Airport (RST/KRST)
Aircraft: Embraer E175
Airline: Delta Connection (SkyWest)
Flight Time: 27 minutes
Server: Expert
I arrived at the airport quite early, around 6:00 AM. I was the first of my crew there, so had a few minutes to wait in the pilot’s lounge and get some coffee. My captain strolled in about 5 minutes later, and after some introductions and small talk, we began briefing for today’s first flight, a very short hop down to Rochester. It would be my leg to fly, which I appreciated. After the briefing, we quickly filled in the flight attendants then made our way down to the gate, at the opposite end of the airport. Our aircraft, N258SY, was just having its engine covers removed as we got there. It had been in Minneapolis since about 12:00 PM the previous day. Originally, it was planned to do a Traverse City turn later that day, but that was cancelled due to poor weather. After a few minutes of waiting, the jetbridge was re attached and we boarded. I stowed by bag and then made my way onto the ramp for the walk around, which turned up no issues.
As I concluded the walk around, passengers started taking their seats. It would be a totally full flight to Rochester today, so there was a slight holdup as a few customers ended up having to check their bags once we ran out of overhead bin space. Once the boarding door shut, I made my welcome aboard announcement.
*Ladies and gentlemen, this is your First Officer speaking. Welcome on board flight 3860, operated by a SkyWest Airlines crew and aircraft on behalf of Delta Connection. We’re expecting a very quick flight down to Rochester, 25 minutes from take off to touchdown. I do anticipate a few bumps throughout, so please do make sure your seatbelt is nice and snug. Weather in Rochester is very similar to here, 57 degrees with clear skies and winds out of the East. Once again, 25 minutes over to Rochester, should have you out of here shortly. Thank you."
After my announcement was concluded, we pushed back and taxied out to Runway 4.
We turned onto the runway and completed our final checks for takeoff. I gently brought the throttle to 85% marker. The aircraft shook as we raced down the 10,000 feet of pavement ahead. At 135 knots, I gingerly pulled back on the yoke and we leapt into the sky. The shaking stopped as the wheels left the ground behind.
I brought the gear up right as we passed the terminal where we were parked just minutes ago. It was a beautiful day for flying as we climbed out. The winds were minimal and our relatively light load meant we could climb quite rapidly.
Just a few minutes after takeoff, we reached our cruising altitude of 10,000 feet. As expected, there were a couple of bumps crossing out over the fringes of the Minneapolis - Saint Paul urban sprawl, where we navigated around some lingering storm clouds from the night prior.
Soon enough, we were descending into Rochester over the lush farms of Southern Minnesota.
Lined up and cleared for landing on RST’s Runway 3.
I made an absolutely horrendously hard landing on this 7,300’ strip of concrete. Unfortunately, this was just the start of a 3 day trip with this captain, and she would not let it go.
The upside of landing on Runway 3 is that it puts you out very close to the terminal, meaning I only had to taxi a couple hundred yards to our gate.
I bid farewell to our passengers as they disembarked, then chatted with the flight attendants for a bit while the aircraft was prepared for the return flight just 40 minutes later.
. Great job!