Regionals offer better service than mainline
 

An observation:

I fly quite a bit in the north east corridor; DCA, BWI, JFK, BOS, RDU, etc. I'd estimate those flights are 50/50 mainline versus regional carriers. And almost always, the regionals offer superior service in the cabin over the genuine article.

Case in point: Just did YUL-JFK-DCA. I was in F for YUL-JFK -- very nice service, a PDB, hung our coats, two drinks in flight etc. JFK-DCA, by contrast, was mainline, on an A319. The flight was only five minutes shorter, but there was ZERO beverage service. Not even water. And yes, this goes for F. (And in case you're wondering, there wasn't a bump in flight.)

This was not a unique occurrence. I've noticed often that regional crews totally outhustle their mainline brethren.

Give me an Endeavor CRJ-900 over an A319 on a short hop any day of the week!

I've never experienced a drought in F on a Delta mainline jet on the DCA-JFK route; I can't remember a trip in the past 12 months where I didn't get a PDB and at least one drink aloft (I was 100% on upgrades on this particular route in both directions). However, the seating on a CRJ-900 in F is better than on a 717, where if you are in rows 2 or 3 and the person in front of you reclines you have less than 2 cellphone lengths between your forehead and the back of the seat in front of you. The 319s generally have live TV, which is nice.

I've had some really good crews on regional jets this year, but I've also had some really fine crews on the Big D also. I had a really good year in the air in 2018; let's hope for more in 2019.

The only disappointment I had was that I was at JFK 5 times in 2018, and not once was the T4 Skydeck open.

Yet on my Airbus flight from Chicago to MSP last week, I managed to get 3 round of drink service in the front. For every time someone has a positive experience on a regional and a negative on mainline, someone else can probably give a story of the positive mainline experience but negative regional service they had. Usually crews end up being serviceable, sometimes you get a crew that lays a goose. Whether thats on a regional or mainline, try not to read too much into it. Now if we want to talk about mechanical delays or cancellations, I avoid most regional flights like the plague anymore...

I actually just booked an F ticket that involves a CRJ 900 on Endeavour. I was debating between the regional into one airport or mainline DL into another. The CRJ900 flight was slightly cheaper and a better schedule for me. Gives me something to look forward to :)

I seem to get the same level of service on Delta mainline vs Delta Connection.
This is in contrast to AA, which I fly a few times a year, where I find I get very good service on AA mainline and poor on American Eagle flights.

Just wondering, anyone ever see any difference between the different regional carriers?
My fights on Delta regionals are split between SkyWest and Endevor and I've never noticed any difference in service between the two.

Less free booze on the plane = more bottom line. I have had several flights this year where it feels like I am begging for service. Regional and ML

I agree this probably has something to do with it,

Do the JWD certs do anything for regional employees, by the way?

For what it's worth, I find Sky West's crews better, on average, in first-class on regional flights than Endeavor. For example, my carry-on bag doesn't fit in the bins on the CRJ-700 -- sometimes it's also a tight fit on the CRJ-900, if the bag is heavily packed -- and Endeavor crews never let me put it in the closet. Sky West crews never say "no."

I've flown Delta mainline on the 717 for the short, 1-hour flights between DTW–DCA and DTW–ORD and gotten drinks in plastic cups in first-class. I've never seen Sky West or Endeavor serve in plastic, ever.

I've found the regionals to be hit or miss. I've been on Endeavor flights where they hung my coat. I've also been on Endeavor flights where the flight attendants completely ignored all of the coats, so I folded my coat, reached up, and stowed it in the overhead bins on the A side that don't fit anything else, meanwhile, all the passengers with suit jackets simply hung them off the seatback in front of them. Same experience with Republic; either hit or miss.

I haven't been on mainline with a coat yet, so I don't have a comparison.

I don't know if I would agree...just 2 days ago I was told by FA on regional that I had to put away my ipad until plane was in the air!

She also didn't dim the cabin lights (night flight) until we after plane started down runway to take off...she actually was announcing that she was turning off the cabin lights and the reading light button...while we were taking off.

I find a lot of the mainline crews with the exception of MSP and CVG based crews (although the latter are a rare occurrence) are increasingly jaded. Most of my regional flying is on CP and OO, which are very inconsistent, and when averaged out I do think mainline crews do provide better service on average. On one regional flight, I will have outstanding service with caring, attentive FAs that really go above and beyond, and the next two flights I walk away scratching my head, thinking wow this is a perfect situation for one of the Bill Engvall here's your sign jokes.