Cities that have lost mainline service
 

In the past few months, with cuts in flights and retirements of DC-9s, a lot of cities that I fly have lost (or will soon lose) mainline service. For example:
LAN - only CRJ-200s to DTW and MSP -- no more first class
FNT - only CRJ-200s and Saabs to DTW and MSP, CR7s to ATL -- no more first class
AZO - only CRJ-200s and Saabs to DTW and MSP -- no more first class
MBS - only CRJ-200s to DTW and MSP - no more first class

The loss of mainline service, upgrade opportunities, and having to fly these dreaded CRJs is really unfortunate. I understand capacity cuts are needed, but where are all the mainline aircraft going? What other cities have lost, or will soon be losing, mainline service? Have any cities gained mainline service recently?

Also, the loss of an F cabin means the loss of the Plat Gaurantee. For FNT-DTW, that's an easy 1000 RDMs for a very short flight, which most people would have no issue sitting in Y for.

Mainline service is going down, as a lot of the fleet cuts happening this year will be DC-9-30/40s and the 5500-series 757s from the NW side (I think the DL side is losing some MD-80s and older 757s, plus 767-300s).

Unfortunately, the DC-9 was more or less the perfect plane for many of those under-250 mile hops from MSP/DTW to cities in the midwest - right amount of capacity, DC-9 built to take a beating from those up-and-down runs, etc. Now that those 100/100 seaters are going down, as well as 757s, you have A320s being shifted onto those 757 routes, with A319s filling those A320s, with the remaining -9s filling those A319s. That leaves CRJs, and the ALPA agreement only allows so many 76-seat regional jets. Wasn't as much of a problem pre-merger, but with the merger, those planes need to be spread out, and DL wants to use them in JFK/ATL/SLC as well. Given those constraints, some routes are falling to CRJs.

Yeah, they're annoying, but an aisle seat in the front of them is tolerable for a 30 minute flight. MSP and DTW don't have so much traffic (a la ATL/JFK) where it's going to be 30 minutes of taxi time before the flight - it's often no more than 5-10 minutes of taxi time at MSP/DTW for me, add 5-10 minutes or so if deicing is necessary. Tolerable enough in a CRJ, especially as there's no real need to pre-board as bags get pink-tagged.

Flight I have to BZN was mainline now ERJ. I did research and no more mainline.

BZN does still see one weekly mainline flight - a 737-800 nonstop to Atlanta.

If only there were a limit of 30 minutes for a regional jet flight. But, with DL trying to set the endurance record for longest sustained regional jet flight, count on increasing discomfort.:td::td::td:

ATL to IAH, 8:35am to 9:44am, Nonstop, 2 hr 09 min, Delta 933, CRJ 900, operated by Pinnacle Airlines

MSP to AUS, 2:20pm to 5:04pm, Nonstop, 2 hr 44 min, Delta 3819, CRJ 900, operated by Mesaba Aviation

MSP to YYC, 2:15pm to 4:07pm, Nonstop, 2 hr 52 min, Delta 2597, Embraer 175, operated by Compass Airlines

DTW to IAH, 3:15pm to 5:16pm, Nonstop, 3 hr 01 min , Delta 4251, CRJ 900, operated by Mesaba Aviation

MSP to BOI, 11:15am to 1:36pm, Nonstop, 3 hr 21 min, Delta 3490, CRJ 900, operated by Mesaba Aviation

ATL to GDL, 6:40pm to 9:40pm, Nonstop, 4 hr 0 min, Delta 5945, Embraer 175, operated by Shuttle America

JFK to DFW, 7:30pm to 10:40pm, Nonstop, 4 hr 10 min, Delta 6675, CRJ 900, operated by Comair

Anyone know of a longer regional jet flight on DL/NWA, than JFK to DFW?

I could bump: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...flight-11.html

Tin cans are for recycling, not for flying in 2+ hours at a time.

I have done MSP-YVR in a CRJ-900. More miles than JFK-DFW, although a shorter scheduled time.

Not all RJs are created equal and not all RJs are ill-suited for longer flights. I have no problem with any of the flights above as I almost always fly in F (or in row 5). And the 175 is not bad in either cabin.

I will not fly a CRJ-200 for any length of time.

BTR used to be a mix of DC-9's and CRJ-200's. We've been all CRJ for the better part of the last year.

CRJ-900 and EMB-175 are not bad in F (which I get more often than not as a Plat). Rather be on an E-175 in coach than an A320/737/757/MD-80 as well.

E-175s are much closer to a 737/A320 than a CRJ in comfort. Even the CRJ-900s are a huge improvement over the -200s.

I can tolerate a CRJ-200 on a short hop - 300 miles or so is tolerable to me. CRJs on CVG-MSP can get rough though. I did MSP-GSO-MSP on a CRJ earlier this year (924 miles) and I only survived due to being in 1B on both flights. And I'm not a big guy (5'6", 140 lbs) - I can only feel for someone that's taller/bigger than me.

The CRJ900 and ERJ 175 planes are rather nice, and not equal to other CRJ's whatsoever. At least they have first class and are new!

I believe that GRB mainline is being phased out. All the flights I saw in September looked like CRJs.

This is exactly why they SHOULD eliminate mainline service at places that are close to other hubs.

Sorry, but I disagree. I would rather that instead of a CRJ at 9AM and another at 11:30AM, that they schedule an A320 or A319 at 10AM! The more mainline the better!!

Like others, I will do whatever is necessary to avoid the CRJ's at all cost. They should be sent back to Canada where they came from, rather than sending the 9's to the desert :D

I understand this but they are using CRJs on much longer routes. And while the tide has turned a little bit on smaller more frequent flights...that is still what most in the public want...flights from everywhere to everywhere at the time that they want to fly.

I agree with you. I would rather have more flights in and out of MSN than have mainline planes. Although I'd like it if more of the larger RJs came into service.