Originally Posted by
Alpha Golf
From the NYT US Shuttle article:
US Airways also plans to switch the planes... to smaller regional jets known as Embraer 190s
“Business travelers hate regional jets,” said Joe Brancatelli, editor of JoeSentMe, a Web site dedicated to air travel. “The more you downsize the equipment, the more people feel it’s not worth it to fly.”
Personally, I prefer E-jet to any other narrowbody. Aaaah, Joe...
I love the E-Jets - with the air carriers I use it is typically the E-170 or E-175.
I have no problems flying in an E-175 for 3 hours, even in coach. FWIW, I had a 4+ hr ride in economy on an E-175 just this year. I was flying JFK to MEM, about a 2 hr flight but we circled for an hour, and then diverted for a gas N' go because of a t-storm cell sitting over MEM. Once we did reach MEM I had been on the plane for just over 4 hours and I found the ride quite comfortable, even with the diversion.
Most of my E-175 flights are about an hour to 90 minutes in length, but I honestly don't mind longer flights on this particular bird. It's no different than a mainline bird in many respects and if I'm not upgraded, the 2x2 seating in economy is quite nice.
Only drawback is overhead space when you have a roll-a-board and are the last passenger to board, but this can be a problem on a mainline jet as well.
As usual, Joe doesn't have a bloody idea what he's talking about.