United is taking one of the most hated aircraft types in U.S. aviation, the CRJ200 50-seat regional jet, and stripping it down to 41 seats and calling them the new CRJ450. They’re adding first class, a closet, and Starlink wifi and selling it as a premium small-market connector.
- This is a new marketing name for the plane, not actually a new aircraft type. When they introduced the ‘CRJ-550’ as a more premium version of the larger regional jet that was an actual new type because it was needed to get around their pilot union contract scope clause.
- This is just about flying around planes everyone hates while making them more premium. The front overhead bins that don’t fit much get removed (passengers normally have to gate check their carry-on anyway) and the plane gets a luggage closet. We’ll see larger bins in economy.
- And these small regional jets don’t usually get wifi – but United will be installing Starlink, which is by far the fastest and more functional wifi in the sky presently. It will be free for MileagePlus members.
- The plane will have 7 first class seats and 34 economy seats (and will include extra legroom economy plus).
These planes will will be operated by SkyWest start this fall, mainly connecting smaller cities to Denver and Chicago O’Hare. The plan will grow this fleet to 50 (and nearly 120 larger CRJ550s) by 2028.
This is a definite improvement over existing CRJ200 flights, but to the extent that it means we’ll see these small regional jets flying longer, and thus ultimately replacing other planes that would have flown, it’s not necessarily net positive. This is way better than the current CR2, but it’s a low headroom sardine can of a plane that’s never going to be a premium aircraft. The ERJ-145 is a more desirable passenger airframe.
United Express in Denver
Nonetheless, these CR2->CRJ450 is going to be a much more desirable plane to fly than comparable small regional jets like those American Airlines ERJ145s. And by flying them into smaller cities, United can maintain service without using scarce 76-seat regional jets that the airline is heavily limited in using due to pilot scope rules, and without using the even more premium version of those planes with fewer seats, the CRJ-550.
Ultimately United’s worst regional product becomes much better, it becomes better than competitors with similar planes, but it does not turn regional flying into mainline.
Adding the closet but removing the overheads up-front is dumb; keep the overheads, because space is always limited, and folks still have backpacks, etc. that could fit better overhead.
How can you possibly find a way to complain about this? Taking a plane that already flies to small cities because they cannot support larger aircraft and making them better, but that is not good enough. Pretty ridiculous.
A necessary upgrade if UA wants to compete with DL for premium passengers. I intentionally avoid RJs without extra legroom seats…especially when paying for F on one flight only to connect and have to fly these glorified tuna cans.
I guess this means that we can stop calling this plane “Satan’s Chariot”?
I can’t stand CRJ200’s due to lack of legroom. And for that matter headroom on the window side.
I flew these for years out of Cincinnati on Comair/Delta. These changes would not be enough for me to reconsider flying this type again. No thanks.
Someone on Reddit referred to the CRJ450 as turning ‘the Devil’s chariot’ into ‘the Devil’s limousine,’ and I actually LOL’d.
God. Lipstick on a pig. Haven’t had to be on one of these tiny ton cans in awhile. I actively avoid them when possible.
The CRJ550 by GoJet is fairly nice on the other hand.
I remember when the CRJ first debuted. Everyone loved it, mostly because it was a jet.
Chuck Norris once made the packs in a CRJ-200 put out cold air.
The CRJ450 exists because there are so many CRJ200s that lease costs are very low. SkyWest wants to put many of them in service and UA is willing to spend money on the refurbs even though these plans will have the worst per seat economics in the US carrier fleet, besting even the CRJ550.
UA could easily have more large RJs if they wanted but they weren’t willing then or now to get a small mainline aircraft as DL did with the 717 and A220-100.
So, UA’s incessant need for growth – in the midst of a very high fuel cost environment – is to take even more seats off of small RJs and hope that they will win, a very unlikely outcome.
UA is making bad economic moves especially when fuel prices continue to rise. AA is dropping 50 seat planes by 2030 for more efficient 2 class RJ which make much better sense. A CRJ 200 is still a CRJ-200, let’s call it what it is. . . lipstick on a very old pig.
Their move to build transcon plans like AA had in 2013 and not better utilize XLR on those routes like AA is going is also a miss step and the “coastliners’ will have a LOT of down time.
Kirby is using AA’s playbook from the 2012-14 and will eventually catch up with him and UA. AA is finally moving forward to better things and let’s hope that trend continues.
Given the smaller cities this will fly to, it will be Upgrade heaven! Doubt they get many full fares. Maybe some paid Upgrades. Feels like more a play for share (mainly against AA). Not a bad idea overall.