Endeavor Air CRJ900's

[CincyDavid]

We flew round trip CVG-TPA on what was initially supposed to be a Delta MD88, but about a month before departure, changed to a Delta Connection/Endeavor Air CRJ900. That is one tiny little bird. Banged my head on the doorway getting on the plane, had to duck under the "EXIT" sign in the aisle and squeezed into my window seat. Newer birds, N299PQ and N306PQ, both about 4 years old and nice flight crews but not somewhere I'd like to spend a lot of time.

On a more positive note, we had a great time in Siesta Key.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

It's sad to see the Mad Dog's get retired finally. Ultra reliable and durable, and great for hot and high climates. All planes now are pretty boring. Utilitarian.

 

[JustN89]

Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
It's sad to see the Mad Dog's get retired finally. Ultra reliable and durable, and great for hot and high climates. All planes now are pretty boring. Utilitarian.

The MD-80/88 is the last of the 3x2 seating aircraft, which I will be sad to see leave because it meant that I was less likely to get stuck with a middle seat.

However, that's about all that I will miss about those aircraft. While it's style and design is a throwback to some great days in aviation, these newer aircraft are just too nice to not enjoy.

 

[lyle]

I'm not a fan of the Bombardier CRJ's either, glorified, oversized business jets. Their new C series looks to be a homerun however. I've flown many miles in Embraer E-jets and if the C series is anything like these, then hallelujah! No more gate checking rollaboards because the CRJ has a glovebox for an overhead.

 

[CincyDavid]

Oh yeah, TONS of pink-tagged items that wouldn't fit in the overhead bins. And the obligatory 6 month old sitting right in front of me.

I enjoyed the few flights I've had on E-175s, I'd take that any day over these CRJs. Now, that new CS100, or whatever it's called, looks encouraging to me.

I did see a Delta 757 roll by while I was in the terminal...what a great-looking plane! Nice change from the A319-320-321 and 737 variants that I saw otherwise.

 

[Driz]

Doesn’t the travel industry refer to those RJs as The Barbie Dreamjet? I can see why. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to riding in a M 151 Jeep since I left the army. I’ve got little use for either and hope the jet is safer than the jeeps. Give me an Embriare any day. I think the seats in my old Cessna 150 were further apart than those RJ seats and definitely softer.

 

[maximus]

RJs serve a valuable role. Many markets are too small to justify using a 737 or A320. Take for example, IAH-LFT(Lafayette, LA). There's no way a mainline aircraft would be at full load on this segment, but the airline, United in this case can still make money and provide commercial airline service to that community by using an RJ. Anyone from anywhere in the world can get to Lafayette or vice versa. Everyone wins.

RJs aren't the most comfortable, but they certainly beat driving, riding on a bus, train or flying in a noisy turboprop.

The CL-65 which consists of the CRJ-200, 700 & 900 is loosely based off of the original Challenger. It wasn't a clean sheet design. The ERJ-135/145 is loosely based off the EMB-120 believe it or not.

The beloved E-Jet was a clean sheet design which a lot of thought and consideration went into.

That said, I don't see the C series holing much ground in the US. Bombardier is too late to the game. Same for the Mitsubishi MRJ.

 

[CincyDavid]

Maximus, good point, beats pedaling a Schwinn!

I have never been inside a small biz jet, hadn't really thought too much about the height of the cabin "tube". So I guess a Challenger or Citation would have a fancy interior but it's still tiny. I'm not sure how enthused I'd be about that either.

Given my financial state, chances are I'll never be a Net Jets or WheelsUp member so I should just get used to flying commercial.

 

[ms21043]

Originally Posted By: lyle
if the C series is anything like these, then hallelujah! No more gate checking rollaboards because the CRJ has a glovebox for an overhead.


The C Series is a very good airplane, so good that Boeing is afraid of them. They complained and the US government slapped a 300% tariff on the jet. Bombardier sold 50.1% of the program to Airbus and Airbus says they're going to build the C Series in Alabama. Now Boeing is complaining to the government that Bombardier is evading the tariff. Delta ordered some but we'll see if they ever get them.

 

[CincyDavid]

I've read some stuff on flyertalk and airliners.net about the whole tariff issue...sticky situation either way. The C-Series is a pretty bird and the trip reports online seem to be mainly positive...I want to see the big passenger windows, I think that will be cool IF Delta ever gets to take delivery.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Driz
Doesn’t the travel industry refer to those RJs as The Barbie Dreamjet? I can see why. It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to riding in a M 151 Jeep since I left the army. I’ve got little use for either and hope the jet is safer than the jeeps. Give me an Embriare any day. I think the seats in my old Cessna 150 were further apart than those RJ seats and definitely softer.

The CRJ used to be called "Barbie jet" and the ERJ was called "jungle jet."
Either is okay on the routes they're deployed on, although my mother flew on a Continental ticketed ERJ from CLE to AUS some years back.
She was fine with the airplane, but she's not very big and far from overweight.