Joanel

we need to fly from boston to national airport in dc over Xmas and our choices appear to be delta small jet - seats 48 maybe, AA small jet seats 36 or so, and US air regular plane 7?7. we have miles on AA and delta, we could use for 1 ticket.

any thoughts on small jet in the winter? versus larger plane?

hugglynn

We've flown in these smaller ERJ planes many times. These jets are all newer planes, and we've flown to various short destinations in them without a hitch. I can't tell which plane you are asking about on USAirways, but personally, unless it's a 757 or 67, I wouldn't hesitate to take the jet over a 737 especially if flight times are more convenient or you can use miles. Personally, I dislike 737's anyway over most other planes. With regard to winter, it won't matter, as the FAA maintenance standards will apply to all planes equally. These jets are also much preferred over the prop planes that you don't see around too much since most airlines have upgraded to the ERJ's now.

mikemo

Continental's ERJ45 have near first qual seats and are very fast.
I fly DAL-IAH on those and then to BJX on their much less comfy 737-300 frequently.

M

MikeT

These smaller planes are the fact of life these days. While I love the USAirways Shuttle, the small planes aren't bad

rkkwan

Here are the disadvantages of a regional jet over a bigger jet like 737/320, on a relatively short route like BOS-DCA.

- No inflight entertainment
- Must gate check "carry-on" luggage if it's anything larger than a purse or small backpack
- Much noisier cabin
- May be slightly bumpier

Advantage:

- 1-2 (ERJ 135/140/145) or 2-2 (CRJ or ERJ 170) seating, so no middle seat (unless you're on a NW Avro RJ85)

JeanH

When your home airport is small like ours, Cedar Rapids Iowa, you're glad to have the small jets. The other option is prop planes. The small jets are much quieter than those things. You also get used to pretty much always having to connect to get somewhere.

On the other hand, parking is easy, the place is uncrowded, and flights are usually on time.

Jean

Cher

I like the small regional jets - easy boarding - same travel time as regular jets - much better than the "prop-jobs" (which I hate traveling on). The only thing to be concerned about in the winter is if the weather is bad and the airline decides to cancel all "commuter" flights (which sometimes happens), this will also mean a cancelation of regional jet. This happened to me last winter on USAirways coming out of WashingtonDC with horrible weather - all commuter flights were canceled; they were still running some jet service.

puddy

There is no way you can say RJ seats (on Continental or any other airline)are close to First quality. Just because the are leather doesn't mean they are like First. There is very little room on these jets... very cramped spaces. They are fast, which is nice, but unfortunately, since these jets are the future for various reasons, they are starting to seriously clog the airports since additional flights are often added.

GoTravel

These aren't little prop planes, they are fast JET airplanes.

ms_go

I actually don't mind them for short flights. Aside from a slightly smaller/more cramped seat, they board quickly, you can check your bag planeside, and they feel more or less like a larger jet.

I've taken them out of Chicago in the winter without any issues other than regular traffic delays, although I know that an ill-timed snowstorm can mess things up in a hurry.

Where I do mind them is on longer flights, which is becoming more common. For example, United now only offers regional jet service from Chicago to Jacksonville, which is close to 1,000 miles and, depending on conditions, can take nearly three hours. That's a bit long to be on one, IMO. But it still beats the alternative (connecting somewhere).

ncgrrl

Try RDU to Denver on a regional jet. Every seat sold. I guess these planes are cheaper to operate but if United can sell out a 60- to 70-seater twice a day, you'd think they might want to bump up the size of the plane.

I loved the fact I didn't have to connect. I loved the 2-2 seat configuration. Check out seatguru.com to see what they consider a good seat.