3 hour flight in a regional jet (E175)

[Tweaker]

Hey guys,

I have a flight next week from San Diego to Austin, TX in an E175 regional jet. Supposed to be 3 hours...seems pretty long for a regional jet! I'm always a little nervous when I fly, and the smaller planes don't help.

What should I expect? Significantly more turbulence? Super uncomfortable? Or maybe it will be a better experience than a 737 (what almost all my flights are on).

Where are my flight junkies? Have any of you made this one before?

 

[dc007]

 

[CB91710]

I flew Frontier from LAX to Denver in a CRJ
I'm 6'3" and I felt like I was stuffed into a Pinto.
This was mid-2000s... I imagine they're probably stuffing 8 more people into the things now.
My knees were up around my ears.
It was a terrible experience.
Sorry.

 

[Tweaker]

That's about what I'm expecting...I feel crammed in a 737 so I can't imagine this being much better. All things considered, it's a pretty short flight. With the coronavirus madness, there could be a bit more room available. Guess I'll find out!

 

[cjpeck]

seats are the same size as a 37. Legroom depends on who the operator is. Good news is there aren't any middle seats on those Embrears. Flight won't be any more bumpy/susceptible to turbulence than other jets. They fly around or over weather anyways. I like the Embrears better than the Bombardier aircraft, they're noticeably quieter imo.
I've done a couple trips since the outbreak and it's been easy. Don't expect any in flight service; water or snacks ain't happenin'. I flew back from Cleveland on American and they passed out pre-packaged old school paper lunch bags with snacks and bottled water as you boarded. Southwest had nothing. At least the chica working the gate swung by early and let everyone know the situation while they had a chance to grab something from the concourse.
Since you're on a regional, you're most likely actually flying with Envoy or Mesa. Hope for Envoy.

 

[SteveC]

You're gonna hate this, but if it helps you in some way - like cancelling your flight and rebooking on an actual aircraft, then I've done my good deed for the day...

RJ's blow.... the 175 is the worst RJ on the planet. A three hour flight on a 175 will be excruciating. Ever hear the expression, "It's like trying to put 10 pounds of shit in 5 pound bag"? Well, you should be so lucky. They pack about 80 people on that thing. There is ZERO space between you and your seatmate.

There is one and only one way that you will not want to stand up after about 45 minutes in the air and walk to the front of the aircraft to open the door & put yourself out of your misery. You have to be in an "A" seat, up in F. There are only 3 such seats on that flying torture chamber. Pay whatever they ask for one of those seats, or abandon the flight.

Every other seat is awful; any window seat is the kiss of death. And god help you if you get a window seat way back in steerage. The curvature of the hull wil force you to lean into the pax in the aisle seat.

I hate 737's... they are the city bus of air travel. But, I would blow the entire crew on a 737, before I'd fly on the 175. Avoid it like the plague. Yes, Virginia. It is *that* bad.

Putting cattle on that POS for three hours should be a felony.

 

[Tweaker]

Some interesting feedback here...two seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum. The internet is a fascinating place!

I booked with Alaska Air and Horizon is operating the flight...it was one of two nonstop options. The other is southwest. At this point it doesn’t make financial sense to cancel and book with southwest so I’ll just deal with the 3 hours of misery.

 

[cjpeck]

a lot of it depends on the individual. Above average height, above average weight will reduce the comfort. Me? I'm 5'8" and of average weight. I've never had space issues on regional aircraft that I don't have on wide bodies. The actual seats on all of 'em suck donkey dicks.

 

[Tweaker]

That’s fair...every airplane seat I’ve been in isn’t very comfortable.

I’m 6’0 and 160 pounds...not super tall, probably average or slightly below average weight. I’ve never felt crammed in any airplane so I guess this one shouldn’t be too different. I only noticed because the seating map is 2x2 which is unique for me. I doubt they’ve blocked off any seats with the coronavirus stuff.

 

[ErictheRed]

Stop tweaking.

 

[SteveC]

I think one of the biggest issues with RJ "comfort" is the seat padding (both bottom and back) is almost non-existent. That's followed closely by the minimal cabin size. It's a 2x2 configuration, except that F is 1x2. It has extremely limited head room, standing is uncomfortable and the aisle is very narrow. It's just a tiny jet, that was not really intended for the durations the airlines stretch it to deliver.

The plane was designed for flights of not longer than 2 hours, hence the nomenclature "Regional Jet". It was an upgrade over the props, along with adding a bit of extra range. The airlines started pushing its range when their post-911 fuel contracts expired, and they needed to squeeze even more per-pax cost.

SAN -> AUS should be flown on a 737, minimum... ideally a 321-class aircraft.

 

[Tweaker]

I wish it was from tweaking...I’m a germ freak! Close quarters and I don’t get along.

Based on what I’ve seen across the web, the consensus is essentially what you said. Anything over 2 hours is too long. It’s funny because I go to Salt Lake City a few times a year and it’s 1.5hrs from San Diego. I’ve never flown it in a regional jet. But a longer leg to Austin...regional jet.

I’m sure it has to do with major hubs and all that. I could have gone with a layover in salt lake or Atlanta but didn’t really want to deal with that. I didn’t realize until after I booked that the seating configuration was different!

 

[LtDave32]

I hate 737's... they are the city bus of air travel.

This I wholeheartedly agree with. They absolutely SUCK. -Never again. Airbus 320, whatever Never again on a 737. I don't care if it's a 45 minute flight. Just.. NO.

But, I would blow the entire crew on a 737, before I'd fly on the 175. Avoid it like the plague. Yes, Virginia. It is *that* bad.

Then they must really be bad. Never flew on a 175.

 

[Tweaker]

If I remember, I’ll share my experience. I leave next Monday. If it’s hell, at least it’s only 2.5 hours of hell. I’ve done longer

 

[SteveC]

This I wholeheartedly agree with. They absolutely SUCK. -Never again. Airbus 300, whatever Never again on a 737. I don't care if it's a 45 minute flight. Just.. NO.




Then they must really be bad. Never flew on a 175.

I honestly think that the absolute best part of the last 12 months has been not getting on any airplane whatsoever. You know how much I used to fly. I've flown on probably every commercial aircraft on the planet, from the Concorde to the tiniest of props. No, I didn't get Captain Mustache to award me the AA lifetime achievement award. But, with over 2MM BUS (butt in seat) lifetime miles, I did my fair share of flying.

In all of that, I tried to, whenever possible, avoid three aircraft... the 175, the 737 and the 757. With the last two, if I could get a seat in front of the curtain, it was OK. But, in steerage - I'd rather walk... in the snow... uphill... both ways... pulling my rollerboard.

My favorite workhorse plane was the 321. In the day, they had 24 seats in F and if I booked on that plane, an upgrade was guaranteed. Then, fuel costs reduced F down to 16 F seats. Upgrades were not a sure thing, depending on route and TOD. But, the 321 had the best Exit Row seats... 9D/F. Two seats all alone by the Starboard mid-door. It was like your own little oasis. A transcon in those seats was still tough, but it was bearable.

Over the ponds, east & west, it was the 747, all day, every day. Upper Deck business class in Singapore Airlines. <sigh> Heaven, I'm in heaven. Going the other way to the EU was the 767 with lay-flats. Not as nice as the 747, but still wonderful. KLM would run the 747's, but you always had to deal with Schiphol airport, which sucked balls for passport control.

@Caleb - while not the rants you know and love, but still a li'l trip down memory lane.

Yea... if I never step on another plane in my life, I'll die happy.

 

[Tweaker]

Geez that’s a lot of miles!! I’ll be happy to never breach 20k. I hate flying...well, actually I hate traveling. Flying isn’t actually so bad, but combined with everything that goes with travel - I’d rather stay home. Sometimes that’s not an option I guess.

 

[LtDave32]

I honestly think that the absolute best part of the last 12 months has been not getting on any airplane whatsoever. You know how much I used to fly. I've flown on probably every commercial aircraft on the planet, from the Concorde to the tiniest of props. No, I didn't get Captain Mustache to award me the AA lifetime achievement award. But, with over 2MM BUS (butt in seat) lifetime miles, I did my fair share of flying.

In all of that, I tried to, whenever possible, avoid three aircraft... the 175, the 737 and the 757. With the last two, if I could get a seat in front of the curtain, it was OK. But, in steerage - I'd rather walk... in the snow... uphill... both ways... pulling my rollerboard.

My favorite workhorse plane was the 321. In the day, they had 24 seats in F and if I booked on that plane, an upgrade was guaranteed. Then, fuel costs reduced F down to 16 F seats. Upgrades were not a sure thing, depending on route and TOD. But, the 321 had the best Exit Row seats... 9D/F. Two seats all alone by the Starboard mid-door. It was like your own little oasis. A transcon in those seats was still tough, but it was bearable.

Over the ponds, east & west, it was the 747, all day, every day. Upper Deck business class in Singapore Airlines. <sigh> Heaven, I'm in heaven. Going the other way to the EU was the 767 with lay-flats. Not as nice as the 747, but still wonderful. KLM would run the 747's, but you always had to deal with Schiphol airport, which sucked balls for passport control.

@Caleb - while not the rants you know and love, but still a li'l trip down memory lane.

Yea... if I never step on another plane in my life, I'll die happy.

The wife booked a flight to OKC some weeks back. Family thing. She booked on Southwest, as money was an issue.

They served nothing but water. A lousy, 5 ounces of friggin' water. There wasn't even a magazine to read (But I was smart enough to bring a book on the flight home).

But the worst was the male flight attendant. As we were taxiing towards the terminal, he grabs the mic and starts singing.

He changed the lyrics to "Crazy" (Patsy Kline) to his own Southwest Airlines lyrics.

What's worse is he did two full verses. Fuck me.

♫ " And we're crazy for tryin', crazy for cryin', but not crazy for flying Southwest.. " ♫

Where does he get the balls to pull that shit on a captured, buckled-in audience? We can't up and walk away.

And he sucked. Bad. Like fucking drunk Karaoke.

As we departed the aircraft, he was giving the typical "bye, see you soon" drivel, and I came to a full stop, turned and looked at him, and shook my head at him in disgust, and said "not if I can help it".

The only saving grace was the aircraft wasn't even half full, so we had a row to ourselves.

The airports are empty. We had one layover on the way out and one on the way back. like a friggin' ghost town.

 

[LPCM&BFG]

The wife booked a flight to OKC some weeks back. Family thing. She booked on Southwest, as money was an issue.

They served nothing but water. A lousy, 5 ounces of friggin' water. There wasn't even a magazine to read (But I was smart enough to bring a book on the flight home).

But the worst was the male flight attendant. As we were taxiing towards the terminal, he grabs the mic and starts singing.

He changed the lyrics to "Crazy" (Patsy Kline) to his own Southwest Airlines lyrics.

What's worse is he did two full verses. Fuck me.

♫ " And we're crazy for tryin', crazy for cryin', but not crazy for flying Southwest.. " ♫

Where does he get the balls to pull that shit on a captured, buckled-in audience? We can't up and walk away.

And he sucked. Bad. Like fucking drunk Karaoke.

As we departed the aircraft, he was giving the typical "bye, see you soon" drivel, and I came to a full stop, turned and looked at him, and shook my head at him in disgust, and said "not if I can help it".

The only saving grace was the aircraft wasn't even half full, so we had a row to ourselves.

The airports are empty. We had one layover on the way out and one on the way back. like a friggin' ghost town.

Sounds more like he should have sung Gnarles Barkley's Crazy instead...

"I remember when, I remember when airplanes had leg room... hahaha, bless your soul.. you think the pilot's in control?"

 

[LtDave32]

God, his "lisp". He was as gay as could be. And that affected, woosy, fake lisp voice over the mic, singing..

I actually stuck my thumbs in my ears and pressed hard. It did seem to work, made it a tiny bit more tolerable.

I wanted to strangle him with a lamp cord.

You know those drop-down emergency oxygen masks and tubes? I had a fantasy about those tubes.

<hits the compartment door, mask and tubes drop down, I grab the tube and wrap it around the bastard's neck>

" You want crazy? How's this for fucking crazy? "

 

[meatball]

If it was a Spirit Airlines flight , you would have to fly On the wing ,