Connection at ORD
After arriving from IAD, all we had to do was just stand by at gate B2 and wait for our plane to be serviced, as our connecting flight to PDX was on the same A321Neo, N24513. I needed some more coffee after the very small cup I had on the previous flight, so I headed down to the McDonald’s to get that and a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, as we would not be getting anything substantial on the plane. It was right in the middle of the morning rush at ORD, but the crew at that McDonald's was extremely efficient at getting everybody's orders out in a timely manner. After not too long, it was time for boarding for not just our flight, but two others that shared the three gates at that endcap in Terminal 1–an E75 to MTY and a 753 to LAX. That part of the terminal can definitely get busy with multiple flights going in close quarters, and they even made an announcement on the plane that "if Portland is not part of your travel plans, please come forward so we can get you sorted out."
Much better views of the ramp than the IAD terminal—this was our plane.
The Flight
Once onboard, I headed back to 39A and just got settled in with another movie. I was very glad to have a window seat for this leg, as you will see later in this report. It took quite a while to get off the gate as we were waiting for connecting passengers, and even once we did, we stopped for several minutes in that area between the B and C-gates. As this was my first time flying through ORD, I didn't realize how long the taxis would be, and this one was taking very long–it's a massive airfield and one taxiway/runway was under construction. We were way past our scheduled departure time when we finally got off the tarmac, and we took off about 45 minutes behind schedule. The captain came on after takeoff and explained that "this was a long taxi, even by O'Hare standards" and that we would probably arrive late into PDX.
The 753 next to us was headed to LAX as UA 1044, and the E75 behind was headed to GSP as UA 3556
This 739 was headed to AUS as UA 2369
This 737 was JAC-bound as UA 1741
This 739 was boarding for TVC
Another 737, this one headed for ATL
Nonetheless, I was just relaxing as we didn't have anywhere we desperately needed to be right after arriving in Portland. I put on "I'm Still Here," and looked out the window as we moved past the cloud cover over Wisconsin and into clear skies over Minnesota. Service was just the same as it was on IAD-ORD, and I had another stroopwafel but with cranberry juice this time–they gave me the whole can too! Throughout the flight, the crew came by doing water runs, which was appreciated, but on my DL flight from IAD-SEA in late 2023, the crew did two formal drink services. At least they didn't completely disappear. The views out the window, however, were what made this flight. It was a perfect day over the Rockies westward, and I'll just let the pictures do the talking.
Coon Valley, WI
La Crosse, WI, just about to cross the Mighty Mississippi
About to pass over Rochester, MN
Owatonna, MN
Mankato, MN, home of Minnesota State University
New Ulm, MN
Marshall, MN and its airport
I loved how I could have a split screen of the moving map and the content I was watching
“I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui),” the Oscar-winning Brazilian film about a congressman who was disappeared during the country’s military dictatorship and his wife’s attempts to get justice
Another stroopwafel but cranberry juice this time
Crossing the Missouri River over South Dakota
Gothenburg off in the distance! (sort of)
Getting ready to cross the Rockies, this was over the Northern Cheyenne and Crow Indian reservations
Fort Smith, MT (with the Black Canyon the body of water)
Big Pryor Mountain in MT
Rock Creek, with Silver Run Creek, Castle Mountain and Granite Peak off in the distance
Silver Run Peak, Castle Mountain, Granite Peak & Mt. Wood East
Sheep Mountain & Squaw Mountain, along the Montana/Idaho line
Parker Mountain
Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, with Enterprise and Joseph, OR & Wallowa Lake
Before we knew it, we were passing Mount Hood, which meant that it was time to make our final descent into PDX. The last time I was in Portland was in late 2013, but we flew in on an evening flight, so we didn't get any of those stunning views. It was a straight shot along the Columbia River into PDX, and we touched down right at noon.
Passing by Mount Hood, in all its glory
Just crossed the Cascades and on final descent
Off in the distance is Mount Tabor
We parked next to this UA A319, which had just arrived from IAH and was turning around to head back to base. Mount Hood is somewhat visible in the distance.
Post-flight
After de-boarding, the first thing we saw was the famous PDX carpet and I had to get the iconic photo of me standing on it. The airport is still very much under renovation so lots of the corridors still felt quite makeshift, but the main atrium in the arrivals was so nice and air when we made it out there. My aunt was waiting there for us and since we didn’t have any bags to check, we were soon in her car and off to lunch in her neighborhood.
Concourse E, which is dominated by UA and WN
The atrium reminded me somewhat of CPH
FI 752 getting ready to depart for KEF in a couple hours
Atrium of the departures/arrivals area
View from the short-term parking deck
