RJ legs getting much longer......

[propjockey]

Re: Boyd group prediction

Let's recount the fun a Premier Executive United passenger will have when he arrives at DEN from SEA for his connection on the 6:30 departure to ATL. Yes, he gets the full-Monty RJ experience. He finds he has to wait in a gate area handling four other flights at the same time. He eventually has to schlep his carry-on down a dirty stairwell, cross a noisy and maybe snow-covered ramp. He has to leave his "carry-on" at the foot of the stairs, perhaps in a puddle.

From what I have seen walking up and down the concourses and taxiing around DEN, most of the RJs flying between major cities get full jetway service at "real" gates. Exception: SkyWest still has a lot of jet flights boarding out of the horseshoe, but most of these flights seem to be to 2nd tier (i.e. smaller market) cities where RJs were originally intended to fly.

Anyone hear any rumours about United's desire/plans to build a new commuter concourse that would replace the horseshoe? I heard they wanted to build something in DEN with "mini jetways" specifically designed to fit RJs. Truth or fiction?

 

[jumppilot03]

There are the "minni" jetways at MSP for the Mesaba SF-340's and the Pinnicle RJ's.

 

[flynryan15]

ERJ

Flew the ERJ from IAH_PIT took well over 3 hours and my a$$ was numb when I got off.

 

[DrinkSweetTea]

Here's my opinion on passenger comfort and space for US Air's aicraft:

Airbus
Dornier
CRJ
Boeing
ERJ
Dash 8
Saab (in the back)
1900
and the worst I've been on: J-41

These rankings are based on my perceived comfort and space, no regard given to noise level

Riiiight....No bias at all right? PSA has what type aircraft again? Dornier and CRJ hmmm...top of the list ....

Unfortunatly i believe the paying public prefers anything with jet engines vs anything with props. But then again i may be bias

 

[Intruder One]

Lets face it anything over 3hrs. in the back of anything s#cks,if its not first class I ain't going.

 

[Sniper@YourFeet]

anything over 3hrs . . . if its not first class I ain't going.

Livin' the dream, huh?

 

[Intruder One]

No its a fact....over 3hrs. and I'm not in first class I go back to the house!

 

[450]

The only mainline aircraft I find comfortable at US Air is the A320 series. I can't tell you how many times I've had to deadhead on a 100% full 757 or 737. Those Boeings are terribly cramped, especially if you're stuck in a middle seat.

Any large cabin jet is more comfortable than a freakin RJ with the exception of the middle seat. I can take a long flight in RJ's as long as there is an empty seat next to me but put me next to somebody else on a 3 hour flight or longer and it's brutal.

 

[rumorhasit]

Wow! IMHO, we are gonna reach a point of dimishing returns with these RJs. At first, RJs were cool, pax loved going from Albany, GA to ATL and from ATL to places like TRI and ROA in an RJ. Wow- a JET! is what they would say. People would aviod flying turboprops so they could get on a jet. Now, mgmt has gone to the extreme by placing these RJ's on routes that it was never designed to fly. The result, pax are gonna quit flying on a certain airline if they always end up in a small, cramped RJ for 3 freakin' hours!!!


very good point...I don't think these things were designed to go long distances...The seats are so uncomfortable for the pax and no entertainment options either(except the f/a)!!! I hope the carriers don't get crazy and extend the flight even longer....we are shooting our selves in the foot....

 

[Sam Fisher]

very good point...I don't think these things were designed to go long distances...The seats are so uncomfortable for the pax and no entertainment options either(except the f/a)!!! I hope the carriers don't get crazy and extend the flight even longer....we are shooting our selves in the foot....

You are still missing the point. If a business passenger has a choice of a nonstop on an RJ versus a connection on a Boeing/Airbus, he will choose the nonstop. Frequency and convenience are paramount to the business traveller...and remember, THEY are the ones who pay our salaries.

Sam

 

[SaladShooter]

You are still missing the point. If a business passenger has a choice of a nonstop on an RJ versus a connection on a Boeing/Airbus, he will choose the nonstop. Frequency and convenience are paramount to the business traveller...and remember, THEY are the ones who pay our salaries.

Sam


While I believe that people like to go point to point the most deciding factor in nearly all travel descions is the overall cost. This goes for the buisness traveler all the way down to the lesiure traveler. What will get me to my destination the cheapest and secondly the most efficently? Cost makes all the difference. SWA just announced the fourth quarter results, something like 37% of all travelers were for buisness, that is much higher than the previous quarter and much higher than the legacy airlines. SWA bounces you around from city to city until you get to your final destination and people flock to them. The cost is the deciding factor not just point to point.

By the way I believe the longer the flights are on the RJ's the more relient the major airlines will be on them. The more relient on the RJ's the less the major's will ever grow. Less growth means less new hires, means longer for us RJ drivers stuck in them and less of a chance at the majors. So I believe that using the RJ's for longer flights in neither productive for the airline nor is it productive for my career!

 

[Ailerongirl]

BTW -- the 70-seaters seem more spacious. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it also seems like you don't have to bend yourself in half to look out the windows.

That's becasue the floor of the 700 is 2" lower than the 200, for that reason.

 

[BlueCanoe]

It's called mainline flying for 1/3 the proper wages. If only those of you at CHQ, Mesa, and Skywest realized just how much damage you are doing to this profession. Hey at least you will get the upgrade, right?!?

Hey Alice,

Screw you.

Who do you fly for now? Are you a mainline guy? Did you come from a regional, or did you get the military E-Ticket because you have good eyes (note: My best friend is a military pilot, and I have nothing but the highest respect) and have no idea what it takes to get a flying job?

Know what? I don't care. When you guys who run your mouth start sending me $100k a year, and everyone else on my seniority list also, or pay off all of the debt by all the pilots on our seniority list, we'll strike over pay until I'm blue in the face.

I'll even bump one up. If you are finacially set, I'll take your job, then you can quit flying, and work as a talking head on a cable news channel. You meet the qualifications - running your mouth devoid of facts for ratings.

I don't run the company, but I, and a lot of others still need to work. I make no apologies for flying at a contract carrier.

Let me know your commute. Since we suck so bad, I sincerely hope you never have to use such a group of losers to get to work.

 

[jetexas]

I just wish the cockpit seats would recline back a little more.

 

[RichO]

I fly those little things and over 2 hours is too long......sure, you can go through the process to actually take a walk to the back....but, I do agree management is going too far with the usage of the RJ....What happen to being a regional jet?? Come to think of it, what the *ell happen to the days of flying in comfort....oh, yeah, degregulation....from a passenger standpoint, after an hr or 2, they're too small........the seats are smaller, just when you thought they couldn't make seats smaller they have..................I'll delay hours to ensure I get first just to avoid being crammed in back like a piece of mad cow.......anyways, just a few thoughts......

ps.....Many business travelers do business while flying, if they don't have the space to do any, they will choose another airline.......I tried using my laptop on an RJ the other day, and the screen couldn't even fold out all the way due to the closeness of the seat in front and the small tray table.....

PPS...and one last note, what the *ell is a military e-ticket.....???? Is that where you go to training for 2-3 years, and then you start flying conus and overseas, and then something happens and you start to leave for 1-2 years away from your family, living in a place where the only green you see is from a plot of grass someone planted in front of one of the makeshift buildings.............please, tell me more about this military e-ticket........and while you're at it, explain why you should make less money flying when your company is expanding and making more money???????.........(take cuts to ensure growth....there is a contradiction.......)