4 hours on an ERJ ..

[matt1168]

I just booked a trip out to OKC in mid-April to visit some family..

And when I went to book it, I see that CO operates ERJ's from EWR-OKC; 4 hours. But since it was either that or a connection in IAH, I'm taking the risk of having a psychological breakdown en route and I've taken the ERJ flight.

What ever happened to the days when a regional jet served regional routes?

[Bok269]

Good question. My dad recently went EWR-JAX, and every other flight operated by CO was a Continental Express flight. I guess if the capacity is only that for a RJ, theyll fly it. But four hours seems ridiculous.

[screaming_emu]

eh, once you're in your seat all planes feel the same.

[DAL767-400ER]

Well, airlines realised that operating 120-150-seat planes in markets that just warrant a 50-seater don't really make that much sense on the financial side, and that pax would be willing to fly on Barbie Jets or Jungle Jets if it meant avoiding a stopover.

[aca_srbija]

i wouldnt think of it being too bad. Try sitting on a B733 for 7 and a half hours with no IFE

[Tanner_J]

You must have been hiding the last couple of years to not know about RJs flying long routes.

[Van Hoolio]

It could be worse, you could be a commuter forced to sit in the cockpit jumpseat.

For some reason the pax seats on our airplanes are pretty firm and not that great, but you can get a pillow and sit on it and move it around. That'll keep the circulation going. Our branded flying airplanes are getting equipped with some kind of memory foam seat though, but Continental determines what our product is for their flying.

Mike

[Foxtrot]

Re:

You're lucky there's even a nonstop flight between EWR and OKC, this flight almost went the way of the DSM-EWR service. When COX decreased the price of the ticket and adjusted flight times, the loads started picking up. Actual flight time is 3 hrs and about 12-15 minutes minutes once airborne, remember that the extra time is added to account for ground delays at the ever-congested hubs like EWR. Check out this page on FlightAware:

Source: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/BTA2556/history

Btw, have a great stay in Oklahoma City. Lots of good things happening here. The airport terminal was also recently renovated and expanded from 350,000 sq. ft. to about 600,000 sq. ft. It's really neat.

[Van Hoolio]

Yea I'd love for CO to restart our DSM-EWR flight. Eagle has a JFK-DSM in a 135. We have a quite a few long legs in ERJs, like MSP-EWR, MSP-IAH, OMA-EWR, IAH-BFL. I'm not sure what's the longest in our system since IAH-BOI is gone and I think CO is pulling our BFL flights.

Mike

[CathayPacific]

What ever happened to the days when a regional jet served regional routes?

When 757 started flying trans-Atlantic and A319 and 737 given the range of over 10000km, an 4-hr flight is indeed a regional route.

[DAL767-400ER]

^Good point, especially when you consider the range of the 77L and A345 which go further than any planes previously. Airlines just tend to push their planes to the limit of a plane's abilities these days (4-hour RJ flights, DL flying a 772 on JFK-BOM, and once ATL-BOM, etc).

[ptbodale]

Air Canada's new YYT (St John's NFLD) to LHR service is an A319 and is blocked at 5H00. To compare YUL to LAX is 6H05. Just another route for the A319.

[a78jumper]

Didn't AC have seasonal non stop service between YHZ and YVR using a 319 a few years back, over six hours as well as I recall.

I think I would rather spend a longer flight on any RJ, likely get to my destination sooner and on time , than risk changing to/from some small prop job at a busy hub and risk losing my luggage etc.

Classic case was my flight to YMM, I really wanted the E190 flight non stop from YYZ but the price was out of sight compared to a change of planes in Edmonton or Calgary(obviously popular for a number of reasons). N/S equipment in YYZ and headwinds scuttled my connection in YEG, and I arrived in YMM four hours late, no biggie, but for someone on a schedule it might have been. And at least six on our YEG-YMM flight were missing all their checked luggage due to space limitations on the DHC3. And seven of the nine on the YYZ-YEG leg that wanted to go to YMM ended up having to RON in YEG at a hotel with two meals provided by AC, which affects their bottom line.

[ptbodale]

Yes we did and we hear YHZ-YMM service is coming back as well.

[matt1168]

i wouldnt think of it being too bad. Try sitting on a B733 for 7 and a half hours with no IFE

7.5 hours on a 733?! Wow .. what airline/route is this, if you don't mind me asking?