In Smaller Planes, Low And Slow Is The Best Way To Go

No new passengers climbed aboard at Port Angeles, so our cheerful flight attendant, Jenene Pugh, decided to hold a quiz on the way to Victoria instead of repeating the standard safety briefing.

“What,” she said, “are the three things you should do in case of an emergency landing?”

None of the 10 remaining passengers could remember, of course, so as punishment Pugh threatened to withhold all peanuts on the 20-minute flight.

Flight attendants with a sense of humor are only one of the fringe benefits of flying on a smaller plane.

And if you’ve come to view an airplane ride as an anxious, crowded, uncomfortable, unfriendly ordeal - instead of the exciting, luxurious adventure that it was in earlier days of air travel - you might try a different size of transportation.

Over the past few months, I’ve made a variety of flights around the Northwest on Horizon Air, the regional carrier owned by Alaska Airlines. I’ve flown to Portland, to Seattle, to Port Angeles, to Victoria, and from Vancouver, British Columbia.

And on a nice day, there’s no question: I’d much rather fly lower, slower and smaller.

Most of my flights were on the airline’s Dash-8, a 37-seat plane with twin turboprop engines. It’s an experience that’s almost luxurious.

You get free coffee at the gate (this sounds trivial, but since airport coffee typically starts around $2, it’s a nice touch).

You don’t have to cram your carry-on luggage into an overhead compartment already occupied by three garment bags; instead, you put it on a cart as you climb aboard.

You won’t get stuck in the middle seat because there are no middle seats; it’s a two-and-one seat configuration.

You get more leg room and leather seats (usually). You get one flight attendant for - typically - 20 passengers, which means you don’t feel guilty about asking for another drink, or more ice.

You don’t spend time in an endless roll down the runway, wondering if your plane is ever going to get off the ground, because these little planes lift off in nothing flat. And you get great views and time to enjoy them.

These planes typically cruise at 15,000 feet and 300 miles per hour (compared to 20,000 feet and 525 mph for jets), so you get a better view of the ground and more time for viewing.

Flying to Portland, for example, the plane banks left at Moses Lake, offering a spectacular look at Mount Rainier, then chugs down the scenic Columbia Gorge, where the browns and grays of Eastern Washington gradually give way to lush green foothills as the plane skims over Oregon for a landing.

Flying northwest from Sea-Tac, there’s an up-close view of the San Juan islands and the Hood Canal bridge, with the Olympics so close on the left that you can practically touch them. Heading on to Victoria, you can choose mountain or ocean views.

And returning from Vancouver at night is like riding on a magic carpet (well, a slightly buzzy magic carpet), skimming above millions of lights, with a bird’s-eye view of Seattle’s skyscrapers at the end.

Or you might find yourself stopping for 15 minutes at a little airport like Port Angeles, where there’s time to stretch your legs, inhale some fresh ocean air, admire the nearby mountains of Olympic National Park, and watch an ancient, one-engine propeller plane (admittedly, bearing a Federal Express logo) floating down the runway.

Passengers are friendlier on these small planes, because you feel like a group instead of a mob. You can usually switch seats for a better view.

It takes two minutes to deplane, grab your carry-on and go. And it’s fun to walk to your plane outdoors, instead of through a sealed walkway, listening to the sound and fury of a modern airport.

Yes, it’s true that - statistically - these smaller planes are less safe than the big ones.

But all commercial aviation is incredibly safe compared to the other risks we take in everyday life: traveling in a car, jaywalking, riding a bicycle, driving up our cholesterol with a double cheeseburger.

In the United States, about 2,100 of these smaller aircraft are flown by regional airlines; they make 12,000 flights a day and are hardly falling out of the skies.

So if what you need most from a plane trip is to get from Point A to Point B in the shortest time and the least comfort, then by all means buy a ticket on a big plane.

But if you’ve got a few minutes to spare, try the low and slow approach and put some fun back in flying.