I wrote a song about a tortilla
Actually, it’s more of a wrap
Departure Airport: Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC/KSLC) @PhorzaSky summon
Arrival Airport: Yellowstone Airport (WYS/KWYS)
Aircraft: Bombardier CRJ-700
Airline: SkyWest dba Delta Connection
Flight Time: 38 minutes
Server: Expert
I showed up at the beautiful Salt Lake CIty International Airport about a couple hours before my flight. Getting there was quick and easy with the free hotel shuttle, and the airport was relatively empty. I had no bag to check, so I was able to go right to TSA, which took all of 4 minutes. Once I was through, I had a pretty quick walk to my gate in the A concourse, which left me with ample time to take in the airport amenities. I got a halfway decent sandwich, and soon enough, it was time to board.
Boarding was an extremely speedy process, as the flight was not even half full. They didn’t even bother really calling out groups, since that would probably take longer. I was greeted at the end of the jetway by the very friendly crew, and I took my seat right up at the front of this CRJ-700, in First Class with a nice view in front of the wing. The boarding door was closed, and the captain began her welcome announcement.
“From the flight deck, we’d like to welcome you onboard Delta Air Lines flight 4248 operated by a SkyWest aircraft and crew with service up to West Yellowstone. We’re looking at a very quick hop up there, filed for 38 minutes. We did just come in from nearby, up in Idaho Falls, and it was a pretty bumpy ride for the entirety of the flight, so I do expect more of the same. Weather on the ground in West Yellowstone is pleasant, with clear skies and a temperature of 81 degrees. Pretty gusty winds out of the Northeast though, so that will make for a choppy approach. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.”
The pushback commenced shortly after the captain concluded her announcement, and the safety briefing tape was started just after that. Once the engines were up and running, it was a quick taxi out to Runway 34L, where we watched a very cool Delta A350 in from Seoul land before taking off.
On the extremely bumpy climbout, we got some amazing views of the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. I intentionally booked the left side, hoping that the runway configuration would be right for this scenery.
We arrived at our cruising altitude of 27,000 feet just a few minutes after taking off, just across the Utah - Idaho border. The WiFi was non-functional today, and there’s nothing in the name of IFE on the CRJs, so I took this opportunity to look around my seat. It was very cushy, with a tray table stored in the armrest. There was a complimentary small bottle of water in the seatback pocket, which would be the extent of the service on today’s flight. It was still quite turbulent, to the point where it was a bit of a challenge to drink the water without spilling it on my lap. The legroom was pretty good, definitely good enough for the short flights this CRJ-700 does.
We started our descent over the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, just East of Idaho Falls. The flight attendants opted not to come through the cabin to collect trash, rather have the passengers pass a trash bag from the front to back so they didn’t have to stand up in the rough air.
The scenery turned from manicured farmlands into rugged wilderness very quickly as we passed into Montana. West Yellowstone’s runway is situated right on the very edge of Yellowstone National Park, just 3 miles from the Wyoming border. West Yellowstone itself is a very small town with just over 1,000 residents, but it receives a fair number of daily flights from Salt Lake City and Denver given its status as a gateway to the national park.
Despite the intense crosswinds that caused a few nasty drops on the approach, we had a surprisingly smooth touchdown on West Yellowstone’s Runway 1.
We had to hold short of the parking stand for a few minutes, as we had to wait for the sole marshaller on duty to finish assisting a NetJets Challenger 350 that had just come in from Minneapolis park before coming to guide us in. Once we were off, it was a quick walk into the tiny terminal to start my wonderful Yellowstone vacation!
