OK, kind of a amateur question:

A lot of my travel has tended toward RJs as of late. And 95%+ of the time they are packed (DCA-CMH, DCA-IAH, etc.). So at what point does an airline upgrade the equipment?
Does it have to do with the metal owned by the sub-carrier(Chataqua, for example)?
Every week in CMH, there are three flights that leave within 20 minutes of eachother from the same gate area and I have flown from there to all three destinations (PHL, LGA, DCA). Each time they are packed, often offering free tickets for giving up seats. It looks like they could easily fill, say, a E170 as opposed to the crummy little E145s that serve these routes.

Just curious.

Thanks

Yours is, indeed, a pressing question that many of us are wondering. So many routes out there now flown with ERJs (ickk! the worst of the lot) were long serviced with 734s. I think all of us would far prefer the comfort of a full sized a/c or be reasonably pleased with E70s or the new E90s on most regional routes. And, that may well come to pass with the continued phase out of the RJs and movement towards the new generation EMBs.

That said, I think we are in the midst of a phenomenon whereby domestic carriers are happy to be at full capacity on so many routes and making money by allowing these routes to be flown by third party contractors. UA and DL on the east coast are shadows of what they once were, just like US. It's RJ city --- and, like US, their flights are packed to the gills, too. I think we're going to see them want to run at 90%+ capacity for a LONG TIME TO COME.

Sadly, they seem to prefer that model to one whereby the full potential of many routes could actually be realized. One might guess the model they are using now allows them to minimize their fare discounting consistently and perhaps their revenue models suggest that is the best plan. No good for me and you, but in the short term best for them. :(

Will the RJ's continue to ply the skies in light of the current fuel costs? Or will more airlines seek to renegotiate/purchase orders in favor of more fuel efficient E70-90's & 787's (which, thank the lord, also offer nice pax amenities!)? I thought Jet Blue was going to shake things up with their new E90 fleet, but they seem to be in a spot of bother at the moment...
Kendall

Any 787s ordered by anyone are going to end up on intercontinental routes. They cost way too much and have way too much range to waste on flights like PHL-CMH, or even PHL-PHX. Comfort and amenities on the 787? Heck, they just announced nine-wide seating will be virtually standard on those jets. They won't be any better than anything existing - seat mile cost is the mantra of the day. E-Jets are another matter.

Seriously a good question. Most of my US flying seems to be on routes served by the CRJ/ERJ. Little tiny planes usually packed to capacity.

The E70 is sooo much more comfortable. Would like to see more of these.

Any 787s ordered by anyone are going to end up on intercontinental routes. They cost way too much and have way too much range to waste on flights like PHL-CMH, or even PHL-PHX. Comfort and amenities on the 787? Heck, they just announced nine-wide seating will be virtually standard on those jets. They won't be any better than anything existing - seat mile cost is the mantra of the day. E-Jets are another matter.
US will be the launch customer of the Airbus 350. Given Airbus' signifigant financing of the merger, I would not anticipate seeing 787s coming onboard anytime soon. Used 757s - well that is a different story.

Many of the bigger planes were repossed by the lenders. We just don't have the bigger size planes we need right now.

Considering I spend a fair amount of time on Dash-8's, anything bigger would be a treat!

Two very easy ways:

1-Have a last name of Parker.

2-Fly a real airline!