First 717 flight on TW
 

Had a flight today STL-IAH that would not have been noteworthy except for the fact that it was my first ride on the 717. Overall, a very good first impression.

The plane looked and smelled like a new plane. I was seated in FC, which TWA configures with 16 seats at 4-across. The seats themselves are made out of a grey leather with red highlighting- I don't ever remember seeing leather on TW before, but it's a nice touch. The seats were wider than I had expected from what is basically a DC9, with a generous amount of pitch for a narrowbody- close to that found on TW's 757s. The seat cushion also tilts as the seat reclines- an interesting feature.

The interior of the 717 is bright and spacious feeling, with large overhead bins. On one side, the bins easily fit 3 of the roll-on bags, which makes for a lot more storage space than most smaller planes. The seats in the back are configured 2-3, with a small galley in both the front and rear, and I believe, 3 lavatories.

You can really feel the power of the 717 on takeoff, where it shoots off the runway. I also felt the sensation of going much faster than I usually do on a larger 757 or 767. Once airborne, the plane is extremely quiet and stable feeling.

Overall, a nice aircraft that should fill a very nice niche between the RJ market (with the added bonus of a real FC) and larger MD80/A320 type planes. The flight itself was uneventful, landing about 5 minutes late at IAH.

Glad to hear about the 717. I hope Boeing does well with it.

I think that the 717 will eventually find success. Certainly, after a few months of flying, the plane has exceeded expectations both in flight performance, dispatch rate and fuel efficiency. I believe that there will be a place for the 717 on shuttle-type routes and other short, high frequency that can sustain more than 50 seat RJs, as well as longer, thin routes that fall somewhere between mainline and RJ flying. I believe that TWA is planning to use the 717 on redeye flights from PHX-STL- guess the plane has the range to make it comfortably.