Originally Posted by
jinglish
As far as the PE config, the E175s already have the first three economy rows designated as Preferred Plus with extra legroom. They won't actually have to modify the aircraft interior unless they're changing F on the Embraers too.
I doubt they're changing F on the E175s. The 12F/64Y 76-seat configuration that most US carriers use is already a low-density configuration due to 76-seat scope clauses; I assume (but don't know) that AS can't go to more seats. They certainly could physically be configured as 9F/68Y (which would be a more typical F/Y ratio), but most airline pilot contracts don't allow 77-seat planes to be operated by regional affiliates. Again, I don't know specifically about AS, but the fact that they chose 12F/64Y with the initial delivery suggests that 76 seats is their limit unless there's some other reason they chose that premium-heavy configuration.