Last year I did 34 segments on UA CRJ-200s and this year so far I'm at 27. So I just love life. I think United believes I should marry Gate B-95 at DEN as it's always trying to get us together...

Row 2 is always blocked up to day of departure for weight and balance. As mentioned upthread, the plane is nose heavy by nature and average standard passenger weights have gone up since the plane went into service. Row 1 I find claustrophobic especially in the window seat as the bulkhead is awfully near and the fixed armrests make the seat feel noticeably tighter.

I usually book the aisle in row 3. The reason? Since row 2 is often not booked (and especially if no standbys), many SkyWest crews will let someone in 1 or 3 move into 2 to "spread out" if you have a seat-mate as I believe it's the same weight and balance zone. When I've been in 3 with a seatmate, I'm about 50/50 with the offer of row 2 (or I ask if they're doing the headcount and it's empty, but many especially the DEN senior crews that like to do the overnights to places like Rock Springs and Cheyenne and Farmington just offer it).

And to think back when these went into service in the mid to late 90s and it was the greatest thing.... it was a jet (sure beat the EMB-120, in some peoples opinions - not mine) and opened up a lot of new non-stop routes or at minimum more frequency. I endured one once PHX-DSM on America West Express/Mesa. 3.5 hours of just.... ugh. But it didn't feel so horrible then maybe for lack of comparison to todays larger CRJ/E-Jets. The CRJ-700 and even -900 were all coach when introduced.

I'll still prefer an ERJ-145 over a CRJ-200 on a long flight. Continental was great for those.... like EWR-OMA.