The Highs and Lows of Taking Flight with Air Choice One
Back Row (L to R) Leslie of The Gym Mom, Loni of Lifestyles of the Pantsless, Laura of Life on Skyview, Sara of Travel with Sara Front Row (L to R) Beth Ann of It’s Just Life, Jeni of Jeni Eats, me, and Libbey from the Clear Lake Chamber
I had the amazing opportunity to take a mini vacation to Chicago with a few of the North Iowa Bloggers. Our journey started off at the Mason City Airport. We have a new air carrier at our little airport – Air Choice One.
Photo Credit: Mason City Airport
Mason City is about 18 miles south of Northwood and it’s easy to get to off I35. That’s much closer than the hour and 45 minutes to Minneapolis. My favorite feature has to be the free parking. I love that I can drive to the airport, leave my car parked there, and not come home to a $50+ fee for parking (plus the fuel it will take to get home).
Me and Jeni at Them People
Not only is there free parking, but they have a great little diner called Them People. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and are very reasonably priced.
Our plane
We are a small airport so Air Choice one is not like some of the bigger airlines. I think that’s a great thing, but there are some drawbacks that you need to know and I’ll be sharing with you.
Flying over Iowa
The Highs
I already talked about the free parking and because you’re flying out of Mason City you don’t have the hassle and long lines like bigger airports.
Flying Over Chicago
You can take a direct flight from Iowa to Chicago and St Louis for a very reasonable rate. This makes it really easy to take a day trip or weekend trip.
Taking a pic from the back seat of the plane where i sat with Jeni
Jeni and me in the back seat of the plane
I also love that it’s a small weekend so if you go with a group (our 8 bloggers filled the plane) you have the plane to yourself. The fact that it’s a small plane brings me to the lows …
Posing with our pilots before take off
The Lows
Because it’s a small plane there are a few things you have to remember. First, there’s no bathroom. Thankfully their short flights, but it’s something to consider if your bladder is on the smaller side.
Also if you are connecting to a different airline you need to allow time to leave security, check your bag in at that airline and re-enter through security. The same goes for the flight back as Air Choice One does not have partnership with the other airlines.
Also, you have to consider weather. It’s a small plane so it can not fly over storms. Weather happens and it’s not controllable so prepare to have your flight cancelled if it’s stormy. This happened to us on our flight home and we were able to fly out the following day.
What I think
I had an enjoyable flight and would definitely fly with them again. If it was for a conference, or major event I didn’t want to miss I would go with a larger airline. If your plans are fluid or you just want to get away I’d totally go with Air Choice One.
Connect with them:
Air Choice One
Mason City Airport
Them People
Clear Lake Chamber
I had such fun with you and spending a few extra hours together waiting in the airport for our flight on Saturday was actually a lot of fun with the “drama” going on around us. Thanks for making me a part of YOUR adventure1