A trip on Midwest Express and Skyway Airlines.

nwa757 · Post by **nwa757** » 24 May 2004, 01:20

Hi I took this trip in the summer of 2000 so the details are a bit sketchy. I went out to Phoenix, AZ to see my grandpa and my grandma who had recently moved to Phoenix, AZ. I took this trip with Midwest Express (now Midwest Airlines) to see what the other airlines had to offer.

Skyway Airlines The Midwest Express Connection
Green Bay, WI to Milwaukee, WI
Fairchild-Dornier 328 Jet

I was so excited to fly Midwest Express I could hardly wait. The time had actually come. We went to Austin Straubel Intl. at around 5:00 or so. We had a swift check-in and went straight to the gate. Once we arrived at the gate, I saw our beautiful, new 328 Jet. I could tell it was just waiting for me to sit in it's comfey, leather seats

.

Then, they started boarding the aircraft. Our row got called and off we went. Because of the 328's engines being so close to the boarding door, It can't use jetways, so we had to board outside. That was fine with me. We had to walk down some stairs that took us down to the lower-level and then go through a door to the ramp. Once we got down stairs, I saw something very strange. Northwest's Green Bay offices were down here right next to the Skyway gate. So every time someone flies Skyway out of GRB, they see the big red NW compass logo (I don't know if it is still there any more though).

Okay, enough about boarding, I'll tell you about the flight. We boarded the 328 jet and we taxied out to the runway. We took off and had a real smooth flight. On our approach into the Milwaukee area. We went low through the towns of Port Washington, Sheboygan, and Germantown. It was a lovely flight.

We de-planned the aircraft the same way as boarding, and went to find our gate for our Midwest Express flight.

Here is a Skyway Airlines (Midwest Express Connection) 328 Jet: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/556280/L/

Here is the inteior of a Skyway Airlines 328 Jet: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/241963/L/

Midwest Express Airlines
Milwaukee, WI to Phoenix, AZ
McDonnell Douglas MD-88

We finnaly found our gate after searching for about a half hour. The gates in Milwaukee are, believe it or not, not numbered in numerical order. Very strange!

We boarded this MD-88 through a jetway. I was kind of dissapointed that we couldn't board this flight outside. Oh well. We got abord this MD-88 and found our seats. We taxied out for departure. We took off pretty fast (not as fast as those NW 757s I am used to though!) and got past the cloud cover in Milwaukee rather quickly. After take off, we were served a choice of eggs or a Belgian waffles (do you guys and girls in Belgium just call them waffles or do you call them Belgian waffles?). I chose the Belgian waffle. It was delicious! Those people at LSG Skychefs sure do a good job! The flight went smoothly and we landed in Phoenix.

We deplaned at an ATA gate because there allready was another MD-80 sitting at the Midwest Express gate. We went down stairs to get our luggage. It took a while to get our bags because Midwest Express shares a carousel with American and an American flight had to get their bags at the same time as ours did.

Here is a Midwest Express MD-80 in PHX: http://www.airliners.net/open.file/353820/L/

I will post part 2 sometime soon. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions.

Post by **sn26567** » 24 May 2004, 09:40

Thanks for nice report, Trevor. What a lucky man you were to fly a Dornier 328 jet. Despite my long experience of flying it never happened to me.

nwa757 · Post by **nwa757** » 26 May 2004, 03:19

sn26567 wrote:Thanks for nice report, Trevor. What a lucky man you were to fly a Dornier 328 jet. Despite my long experience of flying it never happened to me.

Yea. I was pretty lucky since they are so rare now. But Midwest Connect still operates them to many regional destinations out of Milwaukee, including Green Bay. They were going to be replaced in the near future, but since Midwest is in an economic turmoil, they have deffered delivery of the Embraer ERJ-145s that were going to replace them until 2008. So it looks like the Dornier will stick around for a while yet.

Have you ever been on a 328 turboprop before?

If you want more info on Midwest's 328 Jets go to: http://www.midwestairlines.com/corporat ... 328jet.asp

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 26 May 2004, 21:24

Thanks for this very nice report Trevor

not as fast as those NW 757s I am used to though!)

the B757 is a powerfull beast indeed

Chris

Comet · Post by **Comet** » 27 May 2004, 11:28

Great report Trevor. I have never seen a Dornier 328JET, but I have seen the prop version at London City, where it is operated by Scot Airways.

And the 757 is indeed very powerful, I have seen some awesome take off performances from those beauties!

C-117 · Post by **C-117** » 28 May 2004, 19:05

Indeed! The 328 is a sweet looking jet and has a sharp profile. I especially like the 1 - 2 seating arrangement. Cabin looks roomy and the overheads are larger than expected. The leather seats - now that's class. I wonder if any of the regionals in South America fly them?

Cheers!

killerwhale65 · Post by **killerwhale65** » 28 May 2004, 19:20

thanks for the nice report!

btw, we just call them "waffles", not "Belgian waffles". Just like we say "sprouts" and not "Brussels sprouts" or say "fries", and not "french fries" (that are actually Belgian and not French!)

nwa757 · Post by **nwa757** » 29 May 2004, 19:21

I am very happ that you all enjoyed my trip report.

C-117 wrote:Indeed! The 328 is a sweet looking jet and has a sharp profile. I especially like the 1 - 2 seating arrangement. Cabin looks roomy and the overheads are larger than expected. The leather seats - now that's class.

I'd agree 100%. The interiors of 328s are just amazing. They feel so comfortable. I didn't feel like I was flying in a RJ at all. Too bad Fairchild-Dornier is out of business

. They really made a supurb product.