Hello fellow fliers,

I do not like flying on the smaller planes, and today I found out that a flight I'm on from Chicago to San Antonio is on the Bombardier CRJ-700. It has two seats on either side and doesn't seat too many people.

a) How safe is this aircraft?

b) What about turbulence which I hate immensely? My guess is that I'd get a good feel for it on one of those.

Thanks,

Martha Clammyhands

Hi Martha,

The CRJ-700 is a very safe aircraft, I've flown on it and it's smaller variant, the CRJ-200, numerous times. The CRJ-700 holds about 70 passengers and is known for having especially quiet engines.
Not much you can do about turbulence on any aircraft, hopefully ATC will be able to allow the pilot to change altitude if you do happen to run across some. That being said, I haven't experence especially bad turbulence in an CRJ, infact, most of my flights have been relatively smooth.

Happy contrails!

Dear Clammy,

The CRJ is really no more susceptible to turbulence than larger jets like the MD-80. Since it's a jet it flies the same altitude and speed as other jets, and therefore is above much of the chop.

It's the propeller driven planes that get buffeted by the air much more. No less safe, just more bumpy.

I hate fake planes - defined by me as planes with fewer than 50 seats. I have flown on one of the planes you describe and lived thru the experience.

We both need to get used to smaller planes, since it seems that is more and more what airlines are flying.

I've flown on them quite a few times in/out of Chicago, and I haven't found the turbulence to be any worse than on larger jets. The seats can be a bit more uncomfortable for longer flights (as if regular economy seats could be called comfortable), there's no audio/video of any type, and the small cabin begins to feel really small after a few hours--but I have never really felt concerned about safety after the first time I flew on one.

Thank you for all your replies! I feel much better now knowing that turbulence is similar to a bigger jet.

"The CRJ is really no more susceptible to turbulence than larger jets like the MD-80. Since it's a jet it flies the same altitude and speed as other jets, and therefore is above much of the chop."

Sorry, I really don't agree. I hate those roller-skates with wings, and I have to fly them most times I travel, at least to connect to larger jets for longer trips. They're cramped and yes, you feel the air currents. Some of them seem to "swim," others jiggle with the gusts, and sometimes it's just as smooth as on a larger jet.

It's similar to the difference between a little boat and a big boat -- the "waves" or air currents can buffet a little one more than a big one. You're no less safe than you are on a big jet, but you will feel the wind more. And it's also true that they can fly as high as the mid-size jets, but it's rare they get above 30K feet. In addition, it seems to me that some pilots take advantage of greater "maneuverability" and really "maneuver" those planes in sharper turns and steeper climbs than you might feel in a jumbo (depending on where you sit -- best bet: toward the middle).

Let us know what you think of this next flight -- I hope you will be flying on a no-weather day and all will be well.

Don't disagree, HKP, but that was kind of brutal for someone with "Clammyhands."

You'll be fine, Martha, and do check back with us.

Maybe I'll switch my trip, so I can fly on a big bird.

The Big ~gt;

Martha, I guess I was pretty negative, and I'm sorry to spook you.



From RDU there are a bunch of short-hops to other hubs on which they used to use Dash8s and other propeller planes, and I'm grateful they've switched to the regional jets. I refused to fly on propeller planes unless DH or DS's life depended on it.

But I do wish the airlines would quit using these on flights longer than about an hour, though. They are just too cramped, whatever else they may or may not be, for the 2+ hour trips (some even 3 1/2 hrs.).

Your trip could be completely uneventful and some of those "little" jets are getting bigger. Two-and-two seating indicates it's at least not the smallest version (which is one-and-two). And more than 13 rows also makes it a bigger "little" jet.