All photo courtesy Amazing Travel Photos
A few weeks ago, at the end of July, we flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was glad to be leaving Phoenix, the Valley of the Sun, where the temperature reaches 40 to 47 degrees Celsius during the day. (104 F to 117 F).
I was driving had a rented Nissan Versa hatchback from Hertz which was about $250 for a week. The Versa was a very nice little car, I would recommend it. It had plenty of room and was real convenient to load bags into the hatchback. Here’s the Nissan Versa, which we took on a trip from Phoenix up to Sedona for sightseeing.
Our flight was scheduled to depart at about 10:30 AM, so we headed off for Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at about 8 AM. We were staying in Tempe, not too far from ASU. Sky Harbor Airport, which extends from 24th Street to 44th Street on the north side of the Rio Salado, was only about a fifteen-minute drive.
Once you get to the airport, follow signs to Rental Car Return. The car rental center is all the way at the west end of the airport on E Sky Harbor Circle just south of E Buckeye Rd. In fact, the car rental center is outside of the airport. In fact, It is almost in downtown Phoenix. You can practically throw a baseball and hit Chase Field (home field of the Diamndbacks) from the car rental center. There’s a free shuttle bus for car rental customers to get to the terminals. We were flying on Frontier Airlines, which I recall was Terminal 2.
We got to the terminal about 9 AM, checked in at the Frontier ticket counter and checked one bag. They now charge $20 to check one bag!
The lines through TSA screening were not long so we got through quickly. We headed for our gate to await departure. We had good seats by the window looking out onto our gate. We watched our plane land and pulling up to the gate. Everything was on schedule. No dust storm (haboob) or monsoon today in Phoenix!
Soon, we boarded our plane, stowed our one carry-on bag per person, and took out seats. I had a window seat on the starboard side of the airplane.
Departure and takeoff was on time. Planes usually takeoff either to the east or to the west, depending on the prevailing wind. Today’s takeoff was to the east, so we didn’t fly over downtown Phoenix. Instead takeoff took us over Tempe and Mesa.
Soon after leaving the “Valley of the Sun” we flew over some really big mountains. But after a few minutes, we were above the clouds with not to much to see. (Unless one has a good imagination and sees clouds as ice cream castles in the air.)
Zoom in on the google map to see that Tempe and Mesa are east of Sky Harbor Airport. Clock “Ter” to view a terrain map to see where the mountains are northeast of Phoenix. Then scroll over to Milwuakee for the rest of the story.
The flight was uneventful. Refreshments were served, but no food. Soon we were over the Milwaukee area, heading north on the downwind leg of our approach. Lake Michigan on our starboard side. We passed by the Mitchell International Airport, where we would be landing in a few minutes.
The approach took us past downtown Milwaukee with some excellent views of the city. (See photo at top of page). The plane banked for the big turn into the final approach which gave those of us on the starboard side a chance to get some great aerial photos. You’re best chance for a good picture is when the plan is banked to turn. Be ready!
The landing was smooth and we arrived at our gate a little ahead of schedule.
Rating: Five Stars
On-time: Yes
Crew: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Address: 7001 Tower Rd. Denver CO 80249
Telephone: 800-432-1359 (24/7) TTY: 800-872-3608
Email: See here
website: http://www.frontierairlines.com/
The pilot, cockpit crew and cabin crew did an excellent job on this flight. I would give Frontier Airlines high marks for their service. Keep up the good work.
To see the all the Phoenix-to-Milwaukee Flight gallery
