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Everything You Wanted to Know About Where to Sit on a United Express CRJ-700

Old Mar 5, 2013, 2:29 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
The CRJ-700 is essentially a stretch CRJ-200 / CL-65.


FIRST CLASS CABIN
First Class is two rows of 1+2 seating. The lefthand side is A and the two righthand seats are D(Aisle) and F(Window). Seat width is given as 19". The paired seats have a wide armrest, but not as wide as that found on the domestic First seat. Probably an inch less or so, and no sculpted little "tray" for drinks.

Pitch is officially given as 37" and this looks to be about right for Row 2. Row 1 has about 40" or so.

There are overhead bins along the right side of the First Class cabin, and they are the same size as those on the CRJ-200. Anything bigger then a laptop bag/briefcase/purse will need to be gate checked.

ECONOMY CABIN
The seats are 2+2 and are covered in blue leather (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). E+ seating is rows 7-9 and row 18 and have 34 inch pitch. All other economy rows have 30" pitch.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About Where to Sit on a United Express CRJ-700

Old Dec 12, 2002, 8:59 am
  #1  
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Where to Sit on a United Express CRJ-700

Last night I was on a Mesa CRJ-700 from BNA to DEN. People have been asking "what's it like?" and "where should I sit?", so I thought I would bring you the next installment in our series of PSAs - Public Seating Announcements.

The CRJ-700 is essentially a stretch CRJ-200 / CL-65. While I am sure there are real differences across all three planes, as a general passenger, you'll never notice them, so forgive me the comment.

The CRJ-700 is operated for UAX by at least Skywest and Mesa.

First Class is two rows of 1+2 seating. The lefthand side is A and the two righthand seats are D(Aisle) and F(Window). Beware the EasyCheckin Seatmap. It shows 1/2AD as a pair and 1/2F as the single (like Business Class on the 777s, which MEC's seatmap shows as 2+2+2+1 or something odd like that as I recall). I was auto-assigned 2D when my upgrade cleared at 72 hours and when I used Mr. Easy Checkin, I picked 1F. I soon realized this was not right, so I snagged 1A at the gate. The fellow in 2F got caught out as well, as he was looking for the single (2A - which was available, but he decided to keep 2F since 2D was empty, as well).

Seat width is given as 19", same as the 767-300 Domestic First Class seat or the 767-200/767-300 Business Class seat. The paired seats have a wide armrest, but not as wide as that found on the domestic First seat. Probably an inch less or so, and no sculpted little "tray" for drinks.

Pitch is officially given as 37" and this looks to be about right for Row 2. Row 1 has about 40" or so. It's not quite as generous as Row 1 in the "reconfiged" A319/A320 or the two-class 777, but I could fully stretch out my legs (I am 6' 2"). My flight had three seats filled. I was in 1A.

The seat design is different from the domestic United First seat. I find it more comfortable, personally. Better back and leg support (the cushions wrap around the front a bit). It is covered in blue leather (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and the recline is probably about 45° or so - less then the domestic First seat. However, the "natural" recline (when the seat is in the full "up" position) is more then the domestic First seat and I found it more comfortable. I believe the headrest is moveable, but it is flat with the seatback so I did not need to raise it like I do with the domestic First seat headrest, which always pinches me in the back when down. The headrest does not have wings (that I could see).

There are overhead bins along the right side of the First Class cabin, and they are the same size as those on the CL-65. So anything bigger then a laptop bag/briefcase/purse will need to be gate checked. We boarded and deplaned via a jetway at BNA and DEN. The overhead lighting and climate-control modules are really nicely done, and are also found on new CL-65s (I flew a brand new AWAC CL-65 from ORD-BNA in the new UA colors). Each module has two lights and two vents, so if sitting in 1A or 2A, you have plenty of light and air.

There is a small closet behind Row 2, and then the Economy Cabin begins. The seats are 2+2 and are covered in blue leather (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Seat design is similar to the ex-SHT 737s, but better then what one finds on the CL-65. Seat width is given as 17.2" but I did not try them. Pitch is given as 31". It looks tight, but not "CRJ Tight" if you know what I mean. More like regular Economy on a 757-200. Shorter people can cross their legs. The front cushion wraps down a bit, so it probably provides a little more support and comfort then the CL-65 seats.

Row 3 has excellent legroom - not quite as much as Row 1, but probably 38" or so (so think 1AB on a 733 or 735). Row 12 is the Exit Row, and is also quite good (35" or so - think Economy Plus). So Row 3 and Row 12 are the rows you want to gun for. I forgot to check to see if overhead bins were on the left side of the plane in Economy.

Windows are indeed "mainline jet height", though about a third smaller in area. The cabin is right at 6' 2" (I can feel my hair brushing the top of the ceiling) and the width / style is pure CL-65 (hence the reason I call it a "stretch CRJ" even if it might not truly be one). Galley is exactly the same as that found on the CL-65, so it's drinks and snack mix, only. They did have glassware for First.

I find it probably the second best use of 500 milers in the Fleet (after Business Class on the 747/777). The two hours just breezed by. It was much better then doing the reverse last year in 1B on a CL-65, to be sure.

Addition - It appears that all CRJ-700 regional jets in service with United Express carriers will be configured with First Class and Economy Plus seating. SkyWest planes with a registration of N715SK or higher almost definately are two-class configuration, and the lower registries are being reconfigured currently. Mesa planes came with First at delivery, but I don't believe we have a Mesa rep on FT so I don't know how the Economy Plus conversion is going.

Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; Aug 7, 2008 at 12:39 pm
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Old Oct 28, 2003, 9:06 pm
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Everything You Wanted to Know About Where to Sit on the CRJ700

Today I took UA7146 LAX to PHX, in F (!), operated by Mesa Airlines. The aircraft is a 70-seat (or so) Canadair Regional Jet 700-series. A few observations:

F is six seats, two rows of three across (as you all know, coach in the CRJ is four across in a 2-2 configuration). So, obviously, in a row, one seat must be by itself, while two are together. A big question is the A seat the seat by itself, or is the F seat the one by itself?? This turned out to be more of a conundrum than one would think. Seatmap.com indicates that the F seat is the seat by itself (both a window and an aisle seat). But, united.com indicates that the A seat is the one by itself. A quick call to the 1K line also indicates that the A seat is the one by itself. So, its all settled, right? WRONG. Upon checking in, Mr. EasyCheckIn indicates that the F seat is by itself.

So which is it?

The 1K line is right (thank goodness all those hard-earned miles have paid off!). The A seat is the one by itself.

However, the over-head bin space (always an issue on regional jets) is non-existent in half of the F cabin. Literally. The bins are locked closed on the A side of the plane (only in F). Dont know why.

For those of you used to the 50-seat CRJ, F-class on the 70-seater is a completely different experience. The cabin almost feels spacious!! Any of you who have been on Americans MD80s will find it very familiar: the seat pitch, width, even the material (leather) is very similar. For those of you who have not been on AAs ubiquitous MD80s, the seats are a bit hard, but theyre in blue leather (as are the coach seats). Curiously, the seats are short that is, Im only 56, and if I lean back the head of the seat is below the top of my head (this does not happen on mainline seats I never care if the headrest actually extends, because I never need it). Seat width is a tad narrower than 737 F-class seats, but beats the heck out of the regular CRJ (coach) seats, and is about the same as MD80 F seats. Pitch is about 36-37 in my estimation perhaps just a touch short of 737 or 320/319 F-class pitch (but no annoying box under the seat in front of you). The recline is very generous, and is about what youd expect in regular domestic F-class.

Service. There were two flight attendants, both of whom were very attentive. There was a pre-flight beverage offered (and not just the orange juice or water routine a huge improvement over mainline, if you ask me). The service in-flight was akin to the old Shuttle service: the FA worked F-class first, then serviced a portion of the coach cabin before coming back to service the front cabin again. Plastic cups for all beverages.

The aircraft itself was very new. It even had that new car/airplane smell. The FAs said that they had just been trained on it, and that they were only two months into their UA contract.

All in all, a very worthwhile aircraft!! While its not anywhere close to a 737 (or even an MD80), it is certainly far more pleasant than the regular CRJ. And, I would take F-class on this CRJ before coach on any of the aforementioned aircraft.

Sadly, the FA told me that Mesa is thinking about ditching the F-cabin due to lack of demand (there was only one other passenger in the 6-seat F-cabin with me today). I certainly hope they find a way to keep it it represents such a huge improvement over the regular CRJ.

Perhaps Ill start booking on UA again to Phoenix. After they got rid of the 737s to PHX, I tried the CRJ service but I got much better service on (gasp!) Southwest, so I was starting to defect. Now, however, Im starting to think Ive got another option (dont even talk to me about America West I get better service on WN than I do in HPs F-class!!).

Anyway, thanks for reading. Hope this info is helpful.
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Old Oct 28, 2003, 10:12 pm
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Lootsy1031 - You should consider sending your comments to United (and to Mesa). I'm sure they would love to hear how much you enjoyed the F-class service on a CRJ and how that will actually drive service to UA over Southwest...

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Old Oct 28, 2003, 10:54 pm
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Does anyone know offhand (or know where to find) the routes that these planes fly currently?
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Old Oct 28, 2003, 11:17 pm
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Thanks for the review. I (I think) look forward to flying at some point on the F+RJ, as opposed to the F'in-RJ. I have flown way to many miles/segments on the F'in-RJ this year, and really need to start flying on the F+RJ
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Old Oct 29, 2003, 7:31 am
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Lootsy1031:
Sadly, the FA told me that Mesa is thinking about ditching the F-cabin due to lack of demand (there was only one other passenger in the 6-seat F-cabin with me today). I certainly hope they find a way to keep it it represents such a huge improvement over the regular CRJ.

</font>
Mesa/United might want to advertise that they are bringin out F class on the RJs. I'm sure there are travel agents and customers who see UX and immediately book away from that flight. If they published the routes and advertised, they would probably see more demand for F on the RJs. When I flew ONT-DEN last week, I had no idea that there was F on the RJ until they asked me if I wanted to upgrade at check-in.
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Old Oct 29, 2003, 10:38 am
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My knowledge of the current routes Mesa's CRJ700's are deployed on (based ex-DEN):

DEN-PDX
DEN-STL
DEN-EUG
DEN-BNA
DEN-ONT
DEN-SLC (although starting 31OCT this is oddly replaced by a SkyWest CRJ200)
PDX-LAX
LAX-PHX

There may be a few I'm missing, but again, that's what I remember (and double-checking the timetable )

Happy Travels!
Kai

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My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer, SkyWest Airlines, or those of our major partners, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines & Continental Airlines respectively.
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 10:01 am
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CRJ700 on Sky West

It appears I have a quick trip DEN-SLC on a CRJ 700 operated by Sky West. As soon as I saw CR700, I had hoped that it would be the Mesa version with F Class, but alas that does not appear to be the case

Does anyone have any reviews on the single class CR700. I tried the search for this forum but that appears to still be on vacation.

Is it anymore comfortable/more pitch etc than the regular CRJ?
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 10:10 am
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www.seatguru.com provides a good review of this plane.

Exit rows don't provide a little more legroom, but I like row 1 aisles to get the hell off the plane first.
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 10:13 am
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The seatguru version is a two class (mesa version) The single class skywest version is nowhere on united.com or seatguru. I am guessing it is relatively new.
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 10:49 am
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Originally Posted by NeoOfTheCRS
The seatguru version is a two class (mesa version) The single class skywest version is nowhere on united.com or seatguru. I am guessing it is relatively new.
Sorry! Mis-read your post. I've been on these a few times. Nothing special. I still hold to the fact that row 1 is the best because you get off this thing first.

Here is a seatmap: http://www.skywest.com/about/crj700.php
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 4:51 pm
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Yeah. 1B or 1C since you can probably angle your feet into the galley when the FAs aren't working.
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 6:13 pm
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Can the CRJ700s be connected to Jetways or do we still have to use stairs?
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Old Apr 8, 2004, 6:24 pm
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Sorry to go off topic, but an hour ago I was at In 'N Out Burger at LAX, sittin' on the lawn downing my Double-Double, watching the planes come in so low, slow and close you can practically touch 'em...and one of the CRJs painted in the new United Express livery came right on over. Sure looked good!
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Old Apr 9, 2004, 1:48 am
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Originally Posted by Indurain
Can the CRJ700s be connected to Jetways or do we still have to use stairs?
Certainly at STL you can use a jetway to get on a CRJ700.
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