Minnesota Fun Fact
The clock face on the Minneapolis City Hall is larger than Big Ben’s
Departure Airport: Palm Springs International Airport (PSP/KPSP)
Arrival Airport: Denver International Airport (DEN/KDEN) @United403 summon
Aircraft: Embraer E175
Airline: SkyWest dba United Express
Flight Time: 1:41
Server: Expert
I arrived at Palm Springs’ small but bustling airport an hour before my scheduled departure at 11:45 AM. It’s a very pleasant terminal, with a lot of desert elements incorporated into the design. My flight today departed from the Agua Caliente Concourse, on the south side of the building. When I arrived, my plane was already there, having landed 20 minutes earlier from San Francisco. The boarding process began a few minutes after eleven, leaving us with plenty of time to settle in before pushback.
I was seated today in Economy Plus, which I paid $90 to upgrade to at check in for both legs of travel (to Denver and on to Aspen). We pushed back from the gate right on time, and the captain made the welcome announcement. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck. Your captain speaking. I’d like to welcome you aboard United Express flight 5438, operated today by SkyWest Airlines, with service from Palm Springs to Denver. We’re expecting about an hour and forty minutes in the air today. Weather looks pretty favorable en route, but they are forecasting rough air on and off throughout our flight so please do be mindful of the seatbelt sign. Currently, conditions in Denver are partly cloudy with a temperature of 45 degrees, winds light out of the south. I do expect to be at our gate a good ten minutes ahead of schedule. Once again, welcome aboard. We appreciate you choosing United Express and hope you enjoy the flight. Sit back, relax, and we’ll be underway shortly.”
Our taxi to 30L was quick and easy, with no line for takeoff. We rocketed off and turned due northeast. It was fairly bumpy as we climbed, a combination of the afternoon heat and nearby terrain, but the views were gorgeous.
The ride smoothed out near Las Vegas, and the seatbelt sign was turned off. The flight attendants started their way through the cabin, starting with the first class passengers, then moving on to me in Economy Plus. I got the only correct United snack (the Daelmans Stroopwafel) and a coffee. I was very lucky that my aircraft was equipped with the lightning-fast StarLink WiFi, which was free to access. It was extremely impressive for airplane WiFi. I was able to steam a Netflix show without any buffering at the same time I was responding to emails.
Our relatively low cruise of 31,000 feet was perfect for views of the canyons of Utah’s Zion National Park. Despite how barren it is, there’s actually a fair bit of agricultural activity in this part of the country.
The seatbelt sign was flipped back on as we passed into Colorado and joined the seemingly endless line of aircraft approaching the world’s sixth busiest airport. The Rockies are always beautiful no matter what time of year it is, but I’m excited for this view in a couple of weeks when everything is blanketed in snow.
I was extremely excited to see that ATC was vectoring us in for Denver’s runway 17R. 17R is very rarely used for arriving traffic, so this was a real treat. We turned final quite far from the airport, near Greeley.
The pilots absolutely greased the landing and were still able to make the first exit. “On behalf of United Airlines, SkyWest, and especially this Minneapolis based flight crew, we’d like to be the first to welcome you to Denver where the local time is 2:23 PM. There’s a one hour time difference from Palm Springs. We’ll be taxiing for the next few moments, and federal law requires that you stay seated with your seatbelt securely fastened until we reach the gate. You can find information on connecting flights on the United app, or one of the agents in the terminal would be more than happy to help with that. If Denver is your final destination, bags can be claimed at carousel four. Again, welcome to Denver and thank you for choosing United for your travels.”
We had to hold short of the gate for a few minutes while a flight to Colorado Springs pushed back, but we still were deplaning ahead of schedule. I had an hour and half to enjoy Denver before continuing on to Aspen, coincidentally with this exact aircraft. Overall, I’d say Economy Plus on United Express’ E175s is an extremely nice way to travel, especially on shorter hops like these.
