{"id":7401,"date":"2022-11-19T22:59:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-19T14:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/?p=7401"},"modified":"2023-05-24T09:32:07","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T01:32:07","slug":"20221119aa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119aa\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight Log of American Airlines Flight 2454 and 5879 from Washington DC to Midland\/Odessa via Dallas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The flights to west Texas for my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_175539.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_175539.jpg\" alt=\"Midland Odessa Airport\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Midland Odessa Airport<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/splide.min.2.4.21.js\"><\/script>\n<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/splide-skyblue.min.css\">\n<script>\ndocument.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', function () {\n    var secondarySlider1 = new Splide( '#splide-thumb-1', {\n   \t fixedWidth:100,height:75,gap:10,\n   \t focus:'center',keyboard:'focused',\n   \t cover:true,isNavigation:true,\n   \t breakpoints :{'600':{fixedWidth:56,height:42,pagination:false,arrows:false,gap:5,}},\n    } ).mount();\n    var primarySlider1 = new Splide( '#splide-major-1', {\n   \t type:'fade',pagination:false,arrows:false,\n    } );\n    primarySlider1.sync( secondarySlider1 ).mount();\n    var secondarySlider2 = new Splide( '#splide-thumb-2', {\n   \t fixedWidth:100,height:75,gap:10,\n   \t focus:'center',keyboard:'focused',\n   \t cover:true,isNavigation:true,\n   \t breakpoints :{'600':{fixedWidth:56,height:42,pagination:false,arrows:false,gap:5,}},\n    } ).mount();\n    var primarySlider2 = new Splide( '#splide-major-2', {\n   \t type:'fade',pagination:false,arrows:false,\n    } );\n    primarySlider2.sync( secondarySlider2 ).mount();\n} );\n<\/script><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Background\">Background<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Building renovations (that happened more frequently than I liked) at my workplace meant I could take the entire week of Thanksgiving off. I had been thinking of places to go for the week, and Big Bend National Park on the southern Texas border came to my attention. It featured some prominent mountains and impressive canyons amid a desert landscape. It&#8217;s one of the more remote national parks in the United States, that took more than 3 hours of driving to reach from the nearest commercial airport, Midland\/Odessa. <span style=\"font-size: small;\">(It&#8217;s not uncommon for people to drive an entire day from San Antonio or El Paso.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>With that, I found American Airlines was offering award flights at 6k miles per one-way between Washington DC and Midland\/Odessa &#x1F60E;, leaving the Saturday before Thanksgiving and returning the Friday after. Excluding time on the road, this would give me 4 nights and 3 whole days in Big Bend National Park, the right amount of time to explore the park. Given it should be peak travel time, this offer was a bit unbelievable. The only downside was that both trips involve two connections at Boston and Dallas, the Boston connection seemed like a way to price-discriminate as American Airlines offered a decent number of direct flights between Washington Reagan and Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Things got even better two days before departure, as American Airlines sent me an offer to &#8220;move flights at no charge&#8221;, and most of the options only involved one stop at Dallas. So, I made the change, and was ready to go.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Flight_AA2454_from_Washington_Reagan_to_Dallas_Fort_Worth\">Flight AA2454 from Washington Reagan to Dallas Fort Worth<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>On the morning of Nov 19, my friend offered to drive me to the metro station. A string of green lights and some stroke of luck meant I made it onto the train just before its doors were closed. With that, I made it to the airport just past 9am.<br \/>\nThe lodging situation in Big Bend National Park meant I brought lots of gear for this trip, with the baggage scale fluctuating between 50.5 and 51 lbs, which the checkin agent didn&#8217;t think twice before letting it through &#x1F92B;. And with that, I had time for breakfast at a PPS restaurant before boarding the flight.<\/p>\n<p>American Airlines 2454<br \/>\nWashington Reagan (DCA) &#8211; Dallas Fort Worth, TX (DFW)<br \/>\nBoeing 737-800 (N994NN)<br \/>\nSeat 9B<br \/>\nScheduled Departure &#8211; 11:00am<br \/>\nActual Departure\t&#8211; 11:13am<br \/>\nScheduled Arrival   &#8211; 1:39pm<br \/>\nActual Arrival  \t&#8211; 1:23pm<br \/>\n3 hours and 10 minutes<br \/>\nHere&#8217;s GPS tracking:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;aspect-ratio:3\/2;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wikiloc.com\/wikiloc\/spatialArtifacts.do?event=view&#038;id=135645100&#038;measures=off&#038;title=off&#038;near=off&#038;images=off&#038;maptype=H\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>American Airlines had a previous flight to Dallas that was delayed from 10am to 12pm &#x1F60F;, so my fortuitous choice of 11am flight that&#8217;s on time became pretty full, that meant I could <del>check<\/del> get rid of my carry-on bag which was cumbersome with my gear. Probably for the same reason, this flight was rather elite-heavy, with 31 people on the upgrade list.<\/p>\n<div class=\"splide\" id=\"splide-major-1\">\n<div class=\"splide__track\">\n<ul class=\"splide__list\">\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_095705.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_095705.jpg\" width=\"95%\" alt=\"Breakfast\" \/><\/a><\/br>Breakfast<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">From &#8220;American Tap Room&#8221;, a restaurant in Reagan National Airport that participated in PPS.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_133526.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_133526.jpg\" width=\"95%\" alt=\"American Airlines B738\" \/><\/a><\/br>American Airlines B738<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">N994NN, the plane that took me to Dallas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_125520.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_125520.jpg\" alt=\"Fields in West Tennessee\" \/><\/a><\/br>Fields in West Tennessee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"splide\" id=\"splide-thumb-1\">\n<div class=\"splide__track\">\n<ul class=\"splide__list\">\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_095705.jpg\" alt=\"Breakfast\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_133526.jpg\" alt=\"American Airlines B738\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_125520.jpg\" alt=\"Fields in West Tennessee\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><br \/>\nJavascript not enabled, unable to display slideshow.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#splide-major-1, #splide-thumb-1 { display:none; }\n<\/style>\n<details>\n<summary>Click here to display photos of the flight from Washington Reagan to Dallas Fort Worth.<\/summary>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_095705.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_095705.jpg\" alt=\"Breakfast\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Breakfast<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">From &#8220;American Tap Room&#8221;, a restaurant in Reagan National Airport that participated in PPS.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_133526.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_133526.jpg\" alt=\"American Airlines B738\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>American Airlines B738<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">N994NN, the plane that took me to Dallas.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_125520.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_125520.jpg\" alt=\"Fields in West Tennessee\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Fields in West Tennessee<\/p><\/div><br \/>\n<\/details>\n<p><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>I was sitting in a middle seat for this flight, so there wasn&#8217;t much to show. Except that we had a rather low cruising altitude of 7300m (approximately FL24).<\/p>\n<p>After landing in Dallas, I had about 3 hours before my connecting flight to Midland\/Odessa, more than enough time for me to get some good rest (and great food) from the Capital One lounge.<br \/>\nThere were some issues with the tram system at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, as it ended up operating one-way only on my way to the lounge. That meant, it&#8217;s abnormally crowded.<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Flight_AA5879_from_Dallas_Fort_Worth_to_MidlandOdessa\">Flight AA5879 from Dallas Fort Worth to Midland\/Odessa<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>By the time I left the Capital One lounge heading for my next flight to Midland\/Odessa, the tram issue was fixed. This next flight was slightly delayed due to the late arrival of the incoming flight, so I had some additional wait at the gate.<\/p>\n<p>American Airlines 5879 <span style=\"font-size: x-small;\">Operated by Mesa Airlines<\/span><br \/>\nDallas Fort Worth, TX (DFW) &#8211; Midland Odessa, TX (MAF)<br \/>\nBombardier CRJ-900 (N957LR)<br \/>\nScheduled Departure &#8211; 4:44pm<br \/>\nActual Departure\t&#8211; 5:00pm<br \/>\nScheduled Arrival   &#8211; 5:57pm<br \/>\nActual Arrival  \t&#8211; 5:53pm<br \/>\n53 minutes<br \/>\nHere&#8217;s GPS tracking:<\/p>\n<div style=\"width:100%;aspect-ratio:3\/2;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wikiloc.com\/wikiloc\/spatialArtifacts.do?event=view&#038;id=135645111&#038;measures=off&#038;title=off&#038;near=off&#038;images=off&#038;maptype=H\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"splide\" id=\"splide-major-2\">\n<div class=\"splide__track\">\n<ul class=\"splide__list\">\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_165401.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_165401.jpg\" width=\"94%\" alt=\"Elongated Shadow\" \/><\/a><\/br>Elongated Shadow<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">30 minutes before sunset, the shadow of this CRJ900 was disproportionately long on the ground.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_170626.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_170626.jpg\" width=\"94%\" alt=\"BNSF Intermodal Facility\" \/><\/a><\/br>BNSF Intermodal Facility<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">North of Fort Worth, Texas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_171124.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_171124.jpg\" alt=\"Weatherford, Texas\" \/><\/a><\/br>Weatherford, Texas<\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_173402.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_173402.jpg\" width=\"94%\" alt=\"Fields\" \/><\/a><\/br>Fields<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">With the clouds illuminated in the warm colors of sunset.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_173612.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_173612.jpg\" width=\"94%\" alt=\"Colorado River, Texas\" \/><\/a><\/br>Colorado River, Texas<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Under the clouds in the center-right was Colorado City, Texas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_174607C9.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_174607C9.jpg\" width=\"94%\" alt=\"West Texas Gas Plant\" \/><\/a><\/br>West Texas Gas Plant<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Flame from the burning of excessive gas rather visible in the center.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"splide\" id=\"splide-thumb-2\">\n<div class=\"splide__track\">\n<ul class=\"splide__list\">\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_165401.jpg\" alt=\"Elongated Shadow\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_170626.jpg\" alt=\"BNSF Intermodal Facility\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_171124.jpg\" alt=\"Weatherford, Texas\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_173402.jpg\" alt=\"Fields\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_173612.jpg\" alt=\"Colorado River, Texas\" \/><\/li>\n<li class=\"splide__slide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails-s\/20221119_174607C9.jpg\" alt=\"West Texas Gas Plant\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><noscript><br \/>\nJavascript not enabled, unable to display slideshow.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#splide-major-2, #splide-thumb-2 { display:none; }\n<\/style>\n<details>\n<summary>Click here to display photos of the flight from Dallas Fort Worth to Midland\/Odessa.<\/summary>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_165401.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_165401.jpg\" alt=\"Elongated Shadow\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Elongated Shadow<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">30 minutes before sunset, the shadow of this CRJ900 was disproportionately long on the ground.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_170626.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_170626.jpg\" alt=\"BNSF Intermodal Facility\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>BNSF Intermodal Facility<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">North of Fort Worth, Texas.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_171124.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_171124.jpg\" alt=\"Weatherford, Texas\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Weatherford, Texas<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_173402.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_173402.jpg\" alt=\"Fields\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Fields<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">With the clouds illuminated in the warm colors of sunset.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_173612.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_173612.jpg\" alt=\"Colorado River, Texas\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>Colorado River, Texas<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Under the clouds in the center-right was Colorado City, Texas.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><div style=\"width: 615px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/20221119_174607C9.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/2022\/11\/19\/thumbnails\/20221119_174607C9.jpg\" alt=\"West Texas Gas Plant\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/br>West Texas Gas Plant<\/br><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Flame from the burning of excessive gas rather visible in the center.<\/span><\/p><\/div><br \/>\n<\/details>\n<p><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Apart from that, this flight was a short hop accompanied by the enchanting colors of twilight.<\/p>\n<p>The cities of Midland and Odessa, Texas, were known for the massive oil and gas fields and reserves around them, and the energy industry they supported. As the plane approached Midland, the massive oil fields that dotted the landscape were an impressive and novel sight to me.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sEat4ihH7IY\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Midland\/Odessa was a small 5-gate airport. Its official name was &#8220;Midland International Air and Space Port&#8221;, the &#8220;space&#8221; part due to it being the first commercial airport to be licensed by the FAA to conduct space flights. Ironically, XCOR Aerospace, likely the only user of the &#8220;space&#8221; port, went out of business not long after the FAA designated the &#8220;space&#8221; port.<\/p>\n<p>For a small airport like this, I got my checked bags 24 minutes after our arrival at the gate, that&#8217;s above the 20-minute bar that Delta and Alaska set for the industry.<br \/>\nAfter that, I hailed a Lyft to take me to the hotel in Odessa. It ended up that Lyft matched with a driver just outside the terminal (while I was still checking the contents of my bags), that I grabbed a bag and ran out of the terminal, only to realize I had two checked bags a minute later. So after some more maddening dash, I was on the car to Odessa, concluding the day.<\/p>\n<p>END<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The flights to west Texas for my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,603,2],"tags":[188],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7401"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7401"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7588,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7401\/revisions\/7588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.huangyizhou.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}