So, almost a month ago, my daughters and I took our first international trip since coming to the US 9 years ago...
First leg was from the Minneapolis St Paul (MSP) Airport (which was the nicest experience of all the airports we visited this time.) This airport is the 16th busiest airport in the USA and serves as a major hub for Delta as well as the home airport for Sun Country Airlines.
Here, a United flight is being guided into the gate in front of where we were waiting (not our flight.)
Watching, we learned that the two long yellow lines were for different planes. The shorter planes used one line while longer planes would use the other line. One of the jobs of the ground crew is to make sure the plane finds the right line.
An hour or so later, the plane left again - on its way to some other airport... (A Delta flight taxiing towards its gate ahead of the United flight.)
Another United flight. I used to know the planes a bit better, but it's been a long time since I've practiced... and airbus planes are more frequent in the US than they were back then. If I had to guess, I'd say this was a 737 - especially as that seems to be the main choice between Minneapolis and Chicago.
Spirit airlines flight being pushed out onto the apron (the area around the gates). Spirit only flies Airbus A320s, so that's what this would be... This is not an airline I'm familiar with.
Moments later, the Spirit flight is ready to leave - a nice shot with the setting sun giving it a healthy glow.
Two Alaska Airlines planes passing each other. The foreground plane appears to be an Embraer 175 that seats 76 comfortable passengers for short to mid-range flights. The background plane is probably a 737 as that definitely forms the bulk of the Alaska fleet. Historically, this airline flew mostly up and down the Pacific Coast, so it's nice to see it in Minnesota.
Delta craft of all sizes are here - unsurprisingly as Delta runs the second largest fleet in the world at over 800 planes. This is definitely a smaller one - I'm guessing at an Airbus A220.
JetBlue is another new one for me - apparently, they've only been around since 2020 - a brave move, I think! This plane should be an Embraer E190...
Apparently, JetBlue have fun naming their planes, so in cropping the image again, I find...
There we are... Her name is Blue Streak - which also confirms on their website that she is, indeed, an Embraer E190.
At last, our delayed United A320 lands...
Guided into the gate, on the other line...
They did a commendable job in getting the plane turned around for our flight. I don't know why they were late getting in, but that sort of thing happens all the time. Soon, we were on the plane and my youngest shot a video of the plane taking off.
She also grabbed one more nice picture of the flight as we headed towards Chicago - which I'll cover next time... hopefully in a few days, but we're very busy at the moment, so it might take longer than usual!
Photos taken by myself (and 
Previous issues (miscellaneous photography):
Fire-breathing log
The Year's Wheel Turns Autumnal
River Sparkles
Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble, TeePublic, PicFair and DeviantArt.)
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