# Your shortest ever commercial flight? Smallest commercial airplane you've ridden in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 11, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912 "2014-12-11T03:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/61 "2014-12-12T01:11:28Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > My shortest flight was from Peoria, Illinois to Moline, IL, in the 1980s. It was actually one leg of a flight that continued on to Denver, IIRC. It had a straight-line distance of about 70 miles. I think they said the flight took about 19 or 20 minutes. I may have beaten you depending on that “about”. Colorado Springs to Denver or 72 miles. It was cheaper to fly that the connect in Denver for then driving to Denver and just fly that leg. Interestingly my stepson later had to book the same flight DEN-LAX and it was cheaper to get the flight starting in Denver so his mom drove him there while I was flying ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/62 "2014-12-12T01:18:26Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > I once flew in a jumbo jet from Oakland, CA to San Francisco, a distance of approximately 10 miles. This was the last leg of a flight from the East Coast. I can’t remember if this was a planned route or if there was some extenuating circumstance. I do remember the pilot saying words to the effect of “We’re cleared for landing at San Francisco International Airport. We’ll be taking off momentarily.” Since “momentarily” means “for a moment,” not “in a moment,” that has to be one of the few _correct_ uses of the term I’ve ever heard. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/63 "2014-12-12T01:22:00Z")
Another Cape Air vote. I fly the route monthly. Cessna 402, New Bedford, MA to Martha’s Vineyard. A whopping 17 miles long, the time depends on runway configuration. The longest trip was about 15 minutes, the shortest was 8 minutes. The 15 minute flight was an instrument approach in the most awful weather I’ve ever been in in an airplane. Brutal. Thought the wings were going to fall off. Landed beautifully, I have to give the pilot credit, she did a heck of a job. ---
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/64 "2014-12-12T01:34:30Z")
Shortest commercial flight I’ve ever taken was from Cleveland, and it landed…back in Cleveland, after mechanical failure. We were all rather jolly about the whole thing, even if it did get us stuck overnight in Cleveland. Smallest plane was an eight-seater from Harrisburg to Williamsport, PA. There were three of us on the plane, which made it seem cavernous–a less than half-full flight. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/65 "2014-12-12T01:36:40Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I think it was a [Saab 340](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_340). Forgot about those guys. Heh, just was on a couple of 340Bs last weekend. On the SJU-STT (St. Thomas, USVI) run, as a matter of fact. Lavish luxury compared to the Cessna 402C (where your regular-size carry-on is stored in a boot in the wing behind the engine pod and some of your checked luggage is inside the nose). The SAAB even has a lav! Let’s see, I’ve flown that one on routes as long as New York-Quebec and as short as STT-SJU and Boston-Portland(ME). The 402 I flew on an earlier STT roundtrip and it was fun, I got to ride shotgun on the outbound. Cool safety briefing of pointing where the extinguisher and the life raft were. Let’s see, I’ve done 9-seater on the 402, 19-seater on the DHC-6 Twin Otter, 30-34-seater in the 340, 36-40 seater in DHC Dash-8s and Embraer RJ135s, 40-50 seater in RJ145s and CRJs, 60+seater on ATRs. > [@bup](#): > > Smallest was an airplane designed to land on a short runway -[the island of Saba’s airstrip](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juancho_E._Yrausquin_Airport#mediaviewer/File:Saba_airport.jpg). I don’t remember what kind of plane it was, but I think the passenger seating was about 8 or 10. Maybe a [BN Islander](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten-Norman_Islander)? We see them often on runs to the short fields in the islands along with the 19-seat Twin Otter. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/66 "2014-12-12T02:04:41Z")
I just remembered. We used to operate a 727 between Colorado Springs COS & Pueblo PUB. That’s 37 statute miles or 32 nautical miles. When the wind was blowing the correct direction we could launch aimed right at the other airport’s runway. Redline on a 727 at low altitude was about 400 knots true. We did not spend much time in cruise. Such fun. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/67 "2014-12-12T02:09:17Z")
> [@JWT\_Kottekoe](#): > > I once flew in a jumbo jet from Oakland, CA to San Francisco, a distance of approximately 10 miles. I did the opposite in 1979 or 1980. United was offering a “fly any route, and get a free ticket anywhere”. A bunch of us bought those tickets and then used the resulting “free” ticket to fly to the east coast for the holidays. And it was kind of funny, because I think virtually every other person on the plane was doing the same thing, and the flight attendants knew it and even joked about it. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/68 "2014-12-12T02:43:41Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I think my shortest was Midway to Indianapolis, about 150 miles. It was an ATA (remember them?) turboprob with 1x2 seating and maybe 40 passengers or so. I used to fly all the time between Burbank and San Diego, when I was in college. People did this back then, because without today’s onerous TSA inspections, you could go from the curb to your gate in fifteen or twenty minutes, particularly with the intra-Californian airline PSA. This flight was about 130 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/69 "2014-12-12T02:50:43Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Malmö, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark. 25 or 30 miles, in a little twin-prop plane with a few dozen seats in it. The flight was very brief, but we were still served drinks. They used to do that on the flights from San Diego to L.A. or Burbank, too. Sometimes they’d even turn off the Fasten Seat Belts sign for about five minutes. ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/70 "2014-12-12T03:51:25Z")
Shortest flight and smallest plane for a commercial flight coincide for me. I collaborated with some people at Los Alamos while I was in grad school at Berekeley. Flew regular airline to ABQ, then the DOE-exclusive-contract Ross Aviation from ABQ to Los Alamos, about 90 miles. Think I did the round trip twice, and 3 of the 4 legs were on a DeHaviland Twin Otter (the other was on a slightly more crowded flight, so they pulled out a bigger turboprop). Seem to remember that being a 12 passenger job. On one of the flights, it was just me and the pilot and copilot. Very cozy. The landing in Los Alamos is pretty interesting, actually. The airport is on a finger mesa, with the runway ending pretty much right at the end of the mesa. So when you approach, you’re 2000 feet above the ground until you’re suddenly 10 feet off the ground, and then you touch down. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/71 "2014-12-12T04:37:05Z")
Smallest commercial plane was a four-seater Piper charter flight from McCarthy, AK down the Copper River. Shortest flight was either from Fajardo sea plane base in Puerto Rico to St. Thomas, VI, or on a DC3 from Anchorage to some town on the Kenai Peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/72 "2014-12-12T04:43:56Z")
Milwaukee to Detroit on a puddle jumper that seated 8 and had a door which folded out and down to block off one of the seats and part of the aisle, then you raised the seat to open the toilet. No I doidn’t use it, but somebody did, and they must have had a vindaloo for breakfast. I’ve never barfed on a plane, but that was the closest I’ve ever come. LOTS of turbulence over Lake Michigan. I was nauseous for hours after that one. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/73 "2014-12-12T19:50:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Driving to Orcas Island is a 62-mile drive, taking about 2½ hours and requiring queuing up for a ferry and taking the ferry over. It’s _much_ nicer to fly over in a few minutes. 🙂 True dat - most Orcasites have AirCare which provides air evacuation to B’ham in the event of a medical emergency. As for short flights, 50 miles from Seattle to Oak Harbor (Whidbey Island) in a Britten-Norman Islander with fixed gear landing on the grass. Noisy, but sweet! > ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/74 "2014-12-12T20:29:25Z")
I know you’re really talking about part 135 operations but I have given lots of commercial flights in a two seat glider. Its hard to get much smaller than that. And we land at the same airport we take off from so its a pretty short flight. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/75 "2014-12-12T21:17:57Z")
I am pretty sure it would be Chicago to Grand Rapids. That was one of the dumbest trips I ever booked; I had to go from GR from Toronto, but there is no direct flight, so I had to fly from Toronto to O’Hare and then the GR. Because of a delay at O’Hare, the trip took nine hours. You can drive from Toronto to GR in six, easy. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/76 "2014-12-12T21:38:23Z")
Do turn-backs count? Over the years I’ve had a few. On the last one the cabin wouldn’t pressurize, so back to the airport 3 minutes out. Once only the nose got off the ground, but I guess that’s not really a flight. MD80s both of those times. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/77 "2014-12-12T22:03:48Z")
Shortest flight would probably be multiple trips between Ontario, CA and Las Vegas (about 42 minutes in the air). No leveling off – just an up-and-down. The smallest commercial plane I flew would have been from Cleveland to Columbus, OH, but I don’t remember much about the plane itself other than that it was a turbo prop, and I spent the flight holding on for dear life. ETA: I just found a travel calculator that says my shortest flight would have been the ones my mom and I took between San Jose and Lake Tahoe, at 31 minutes. This would have been about 25 years ago. If I recall correctly, they no longer allow big jets to land at the airport in Lake Tahoe. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/78 "2014-12-12T22:19:09Z")
Charlotte to Myrtle Beach. It was a 19-seater prop plane and it flew back and forth mid flight like Og was playing “[Jump Around](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0jvnEhINJI)”. “Flight Attendant… are these flights _always_ this… smooth…?” “I wouldn’t know; this is my first flight after the one where I broke my back last year…” ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/79 "2014-12-13T00:58:28Z")
Probably my shortest commercial flight was Saskatoon to Regina, Sask, a distance of about 145 miles. The plane was a 5 seat twin prop Cessna. The pilot and 4 passengers. I sat in the copilot seat. Technically, it was a charter, but we had tickets for an earlier scheduled flight that the airline (Athabaska Air) had no record of and the four of us, traveling together as it happened, were put in the charter and they took our paid tickets as payment. This was 20 years ago. The shortest air trip I ever took was 7 miles, from Lake Charles (LA) air base to Lake Charles airport. My brother was the pilot and it was a 2 seat T-34, an old WWII single engine trainer. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912/80 "2014-12-13T01:52:51Z")
I once flew from National Airport (just outside Washington DC) to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Seriously. 'Twas a dark and stormy night. The flight to New York was somewhat delayed but we took off. We flew for about an hour then started to descend… … and were dismayed to hear we were landing at BWI, **not** LGU. Yeah, they took off, then were told by traffic control to circle for a bit because of a weather front, then finally told we had to land because the weather wasn’t letting up. Only National had (still has?) a strict landing curfew of 10 or 11 PM and it was past that. So we landed at BWI, and they bussed us back to National. Shortest commercial flight would have been the first leg of a one from RDU in North Carolina, to Texas (I think). We took off from RDU, landed briefly at Greensboro, then finished the trip. Smallest plane was a Dash-8 or something - 3 seats across - from National to Harrisburg PA. Not worth the flight unless you were connecting from elsewhere which I was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-shortest-ever-commercial-flight-smallest-commercial-airplane-youve-ridden-in/706912.md?page=5)