Spiff

I am booked on American Eagle in an Aerospatiale ATR72(AT7). A couple of questions:

Does Eagle board these things from the front or the rear in MIA? Also, how much leg room is there in row 1?

Thanks!

Doppy

Eagle typically boards all at once, while on extremely, extremely rare occassions they'll preboard elites.

I don't know if I've ever flown that model, but row 1 on most turboprops has good legroom because it's typically right behind the main aircraft door, with no bulkhead in the way. So you get a pretty good space to stretch out in.

d

Dalguy

The ATR42 and ATR72 both board from the rear as there is a cargo compartment right behind the cockpit and in front of the main cabin. Row one does have the most leg room, but if you have wide hips don't sit there as it has the unmovable arm rests due to the tray tables. Row one is also the only exit row on the aircraft. In Miami all boardings are via bus, so no prboarding is usually done.

Spiff

Anyone know how the debarking process goes in MCO?

Thanks again for your help!

bonzaiflyer

I always try to get the 2nd to the last row on the ATRs if the flight is an hour or less. The legroom isn't that big an issue for a short trip (unless your 6'6" or so), it's getting off after the trip. If you're in the front and it's full, it takes forever for all the people to get off. Not that it matters a whole lot, but the last row doesn't recline the whole 1" that the other rows do.

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Not sure where I'm going, but I'm gettting there fast.

Dalguy

I have only boarded in MCO... but it is down a set of stairs, walk across the ramp, and then up the short set of stairs built into the boarding door into the rear of the plane.

martin33

ATR doors are at the back. Saab doors are at the front. Fortunately both are going going gone over the next 5 years or so.

Eagle boarding is all-bus at MIA and SJU, all-jetbridge at ORD, a mixture at LAX. Non-hub airports can be either.

Usually with jetbridge boarding there is an elite/Group 1 call first, then all rows.
With a bus it's "Y'all come!"

beerup

7 years later and the ATR's still flying

tom911

Avoid Bumping Very Old Threads - link to this guideline

videomaker

So, really what you're saying here is you don't think the fact these planes are still in the air is a "compelling reason" to bump a seven-year-old thread?

Spiff

Wow, a blast from the past. I was *such* a n00b!

beerup

I came across the thread because I will be flying on an ATR 72 for the first time in a couple of weeks. I was interested in how much extra legroom there is in row 1 and whether this would be worth the extra wait when deplaning through the back door - Seatguru and Seatexpert weren't especially useful for gauging these points. This old thread did not come up on my FT searches but I found it through a Google search. Despite being short, the thread gave me all the information I needed. Even though it is seven years old, I believe the information is up to date as I am pretty sure the ATR hasn't been refurbished since 2002. Therefore I would say a compelling reason to bump the thread is so others looking for this information will now find it. Sorry for not stating my reasons earlier.

videomaker

You're to be commended for searching before starting a new thread. But after you found the old one and it answered your question--and, apparently, nothing has changed--I'm still not seeing the reason to bump it back to Page One news.

JDiver

OK, we normally do not bump threads older than two years old, unless there is a "compelling reason." Some of us are compelled to fly on the rattletrap ATRs, and they are still out there, completely unchanged (at least outside of the cockpit) - so this thread will be allowed to remain active in preference to starting a new thread.

/Moderator

And remember ATRs may be overloaded under some conditions (useful load / gross weight issues vs. density altitude and runway length, for instance,) so baggage and even passengers with confirmed seats can be left behind. Plan well, arrive early...

dstan

Info and thread now added to the wiki.