MSP Airport / Metropolitan Airports Commission

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xandrex
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby xandrex » February 5th, 2018, 12:19 pm

While I don't fly all that often, I've had a number of work and vacation trips recently that required me to book flights, including to NYC. I was surprised on all of these bookings to see Delta become much more competitively priced than in the past, so I ended up flying them for all of those trips. I flew Delta direct to Newark (I know that's not what you were looking for, but it was convenient for me since I was staying Hell's Kitchen) for barely over $200 round trip.

I also figure that since Delta is the main airline here, I'll probably end up on them more often than not, so I'll collect the handful of points they throw at me. But I'm definitely not a rewards/points chaser, so I can't help you there.

widin007
Nicollet Mall
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby widin007 » February 5th, 2018, 8:03 pm

I just snagged a round trip from SFO to MSP with Delta for $175. It was considerably cheaper than any other airline at SFO or LAX I could find, a nice surprise.

MattW
Rice Park
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby MattW » February 6th, 2018, 11:12 am

I have a question for you guys that know way more about airports/airlines than me (I know very little). Because my partner is from NYC, we plan on regularly visiting his friends/family there to the tune of 3-4 times a year. What airline(s) would you recommend using (or any other tips you have) for flying between MSP and JFK and/or LGA regularly? Trying to parse the different airline schedules and benefit programs is like reading Greek to me. :? Thanks for any help!
Every airline flies direct to NYC multiple times per day. If this is going to be the bulk of your travel, just go with what's cheapest. Watch out for United's basic economy. It's pretty miserable (no checked or carry on bags, seat assignment, basically flying Spirit)

Didier
Capella Tower
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Location: MSP

Re: MSP Airport

Postby Didier » February 6th, 2018, 12:29 pm

Living in Minneapolis, if you fly with any regularity it's hard to justify anything but Delta.

jebr
Nicollet Mall
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Location: St. Paul (East Side)

Re: MSP Airport

Postby jebr » February 6th, 2018, 1:17 pm

Living in Minneapolis, if you fly with any regularity it's hard to justify anything but Delta.
If the regularity is for business (especially if there's a number of unique destinations) I'd agree. However, as someone who's mainly a leisure traveler (but does fly a few times a year) I rarely fly Delta. If I need flexibility, I use Southwest, otherwise I pretty much go with whatever's cheapest (usually Spirit or Frontier, as I can fit everything into my backpack for that trip.) Southwest works really well as a leisure traveler out of MSP - their flexibility on their cheapest fares is way better than any of the other airlines cheap fares, flying out of Terminal 2/Humphrey is so much easier, and they do have a number of nonstops out of MSP to each region (allowing decent connections to the rest of their destination map.) I do use Frontier and Spirit when I have a day trip and I can get a really cheap fare, but if fares are equal (after considering any relevant bag fees, mainly with the ones that charge for anything above a personal item) I generally will prefer Southwest over the rest of the pack.

For someone who's only traveling 3-4 times a year and to a single destination, I'd seriously look at any airline offering non-stop flights there (or one-stop, if you're fine with a transfer) and find whichever one is cheapest or has the best value proposition.

MNdible
is great.
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby MNdible » February 6th, 2018, 2:24 pm

I've had pretty good luck with a dual track approach along the lines of what jebr has outlined above, maintaining active Delta and Southwest loyalty accounts. I will note that as of late (and it may just be a function of where I've been flying), Delta has in fact become quite competitive on price, so I've been flying them more even on my leisure routes.

I'll also note that, as I've gotten older, the appeal of the non-stop flight has increased a lot. More often than not, I'm willing to pay quite a bit more for the non-stop, given the savings in time and the elimination of a missed connection.

Last note: if you're flying a Frontier or Spirit, or even a Southwest, and if something goes wrong, you could be stuck somewhere for a long time, since they don't have nearly as robust of a flight schedule.

maxbaby
Landmark Center
Posts: 263
Joined: June 19th, 2012, 6:39 pm
Location: Woodbury, MN

Re: MSP Airport

Postby maxbaby » February 16th, 2018, 3:07 pm

MSP 2017 figures are in.
Passengers 38,034,341 up 1.4%
Operations 416,213 up 0.7%
Cargo 229,440 metric tons up 11%
60% local passengers and 40% connecting passengers
159 nonstop destinations of which 58 are served by multiple airlines

MNdible
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Location: Minneapolis

Re: MSP Airport

Postby MNdible » February 16th, 2018, 3:32 pm

These figures (from the MSP wikipedia page) demonstrate how radically the aircraft types have shifted over the last 15 years. Compare 2005 (just before Northewest filed for bankruptcy) with the 2017 numbers. Roughly the same number of passengers with 25% fewer aircraft.

Passengers Aircraft Movements
2001 33,733,725 Steady 501,522 Steady
2002 32,629,690 Decrease 507,669 Increase
2003 33,201,860 Increase 512,588 Increase
2004 36,713,173 Increase 541,093 Increase
2005 37,663,664 Increase 532,239 Decrease
2006 35,612,133 Decrease 475,668 Decrease
2007 35,157,322 Decrease 452,972 Decrease
2008 34,056,443 Decrease 450,044 Decrease
2009 32,378,599 Decrease 432,395 Decrease
2010 32,839,441 Decrease 437,075 Decrease
2011 33,118,499 Increase 436,506 Decrease
2012 33,170,960 Increase 425,332 Decrease
2013 33,897,335 Increase 431,418 Increase
2014 35,152,460 Increase 412,698 Decrease
2015 36,582,854 Increase 404,762 Decrease
2016 37,517,957 Increase 413,460 Increase
2017 38,034,431 Increase 416,213 Increase

MattW
Rice Park
Posts: 441
Joined: June 13th, 2015, 5:05 pm

Re: MSP Airport

Postby MattW » March 6th, 2018, 4:13 pm

The industry is completely different than it was 10-12 years ago. High fuel prices forced the airlines to figure out how to fly full airplanes. Now that fuel prices have gone back down, they still fly full airplanes but just hold onto the profit.

Bakken2016
Wells Fargo Center
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Location: North Loop

Re: MSP Airport

Postby Bakken2016 » March 7th, 2018, 8:41 am


go4guy
Foshay Tower
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby go4guy » March 8th, 2018, 6:24 pm

Of all the airports I have been to, MSP is one of the nicest.

And just catching up not his thread with regards to airline to choose. About 6 years ago, I decided I would only fly Delta and got the AmEx card and have never looked back. Have never paid for a bag, and get a few free flights free each year, and I only fly about 4 or 5 times a year. So well worth it. And the horror stories I have heard from airlines like Spirit and Frontier make me never want to leave Delta. I was a Sun Country fan, but they seem to be going the way of Frontier. Prices for Delta always seem to be pretty competitive as well. And the Bischoff cookies are the best!!!

MNdible
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Location: Minneapolis

Re: MSP Airport

Postby MNdible » March 9th, 2018, 10:30 am

Same caveat as when they won this last year: they were voted the best airport with between 25 and 40 million passengers in North America, which is great, but is actually a fairly small group. Probably only eight airports, depending on which passenger numbers you're looking at (and one of those is LaGuardia).

Also, it's entirely possible that MSP will surpass 40 million in 2018, meaning that they'll be fighting against the big dogs.

Tcmetro
Wells Fargo Center
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Location: Chicago (ex-Minneapolitan)

Re: MSP Airport

Postby Tcmetro » April 25th, 2018, 1:10 pm

Checking the latest Spirit Airlines timetable, it seems their MSP ORD service has been canceled.

https://www.spirit.com/content/Document ... PR2018.pdf

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FISHMANPET
IDS Center
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Location: Corcoran

Re: MSP Airport

Postby FISHMANPET » April 25th, 2018, 1:35 pm

Well that's weird, there's still a line on their map for that route, but it could also be a line connecting us with Baltimore that happens to pass exactly through the Chicago dot on the map.

sanchopanza
Metrodome
Posts: 78
Joined: June 4th, 2012, 6:15 am

Re: MSP Airport

Postby sanchopanza » May 30th, 2018, 4:18 pm

Does anybody know where I can find some pictures of the old Humphrey Terminal?
The one that was a converted hanger in 1986 (?) prior to the current terminal 2. Google didn't help.

Navin
City Center
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Joined: October 3rd, 2012, 9:24 am

Re: MSP Airport

Postby Navin » May 31st, 2018, 11:54 am

The friendly members of this FB group would have what you need...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1454826958107758/

uptowner
City Center
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Joined: June 26th, 2012, 11:10 am

Re: MSP Airport

Postby uptowner » June 12th, 2018, 9:03 pm

Rumor on airliners.net that a flight to Seoul will be announced soon.

DanPatchToget
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby DanPatchToget » June 12th, 2018, 11:25 pm

At this point its pretty much confirmed an announcement will be made tomorrow (Wednesday) on service to ICN. Also appears MSP-HND will stay.

MNdible
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Location: Minneapolis

Re: MSP Airport

Postby MNdible » June 13th, 2018, 9:25 am

That's a great pick-up for MSP, especially if they can hold onto the HND service.

exiled_antipodean
Landmark Center
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby exiled_antipodean » June 13th, 2018, 10:52 am

Delta would have to give up the Haneda slot if they stopped flying it. They can't just switch it to another US origin. This points to it being likely to continue.


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