Summary
- 50-seat regional jets operate one in 15 short-haul US flights in July.
- The 10 longest routes have block times ranging from 2h 27m to 2h 44m.
- Houston Intercontinental to Oaxaca is the longest service.
Whether you love, loathe, or are indifferent to them, 50-seat regional jets – single-class ERJ140s/145s and CRJ100s/200s to two/three-class CRJ550s – continue to play a role in US aviation. Yet despite the rise of the CRJ550, which will soon include Delta Connection, the use of 50-seaters has reduced considerably in recent years.
Delta Connection was expected to have removed all of its cramped CRJ200s, but a tiny number remain, including N936EV, which mainly operates from Detroit, and N506CA, which primarily runs from Salt Lake City. But it is much more about the general shift, enabled by the scope clause agreement, to larger RJs with much better economics. In July 2024, 50-seat RJs operate just one in 15 of the country’s short-haul flights.
Photo: Catharine Pierce | Shutterstock
The longest 50-seat RJ routes: July
I usually use distance to rank routes, but I have selected block time today. This is what is in schedules, booking engines, etc. It reflects taxi time at both airports, flight time, a period for short delays, and, if relevant, slot possession.
It also partly reflects the degree of ‘padding’ to help with punctuality, especially at very busy airports, counterbalanced by the need for competitive elapsed time and aircraft productivity. This is partly why some shorter routes feature much higher by time. Newark-Traverse City illustrates this perfectly.
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The jets will enter service with Delta Connection.
The figures below are for July only and only relate to 50-seat RJs. Things could differ at other times. The order would be different by distance. Some very close contenders, such as Denver-Lewiston and Houston Intercontinental-Puebla, both with a max block of 2h 24m, fall just short of inclusion.
Max. block time in July |
Nautical miles (km) |
Airport pair |
Comments about 50-seat RJ use only |
---|---|---|---|
2h 44m |
780 (1,445) |
Houston Intercontinental-Oaxaca |
United Express (daily ERJ145) |
2h 39m |
734 (1,359) |
Houston Intercontinental-Indianapolis |
United Express (just one (!) 50-seat flight in July; the CRJ200 on July 13) |
2h 39m |
650 (1,204) |
Chicago O’Hare-Montreal |
American Eagle (double daily CRJ200) |
2h 38m |
628 (1,164) |
Chicago O’Hare-Albany |
American Eagle (double daily ERJ145) |
2h 38m |
703 (1,302) |
Houston Intercontinental-Colorado Springs |
United Express (50-seat flights on eight occasions only this month: the ERJ145 on July 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28) |
2h 37m |
664 (1,230) |
Philadelphia-Madison |
American Eagle (ERJ145 from July 5; daily but double daily on Saturdays) |
2h 35m |
726 (1,344) |
Washington Dulles-Mobile |
United Express (double daily ERJ145; a brand-new route) |
2h 32m |
560 (1,036) |
Newark-Traverse City |
United Express (daily CRJ550**) |
2h 30m |
600 (1,111) |
Philadelphia-Milwaukee |
American Eagle (daily CRJ200) |
2h 27m |
670 (1,242) |
Houston Intercontinental-Knoxville |
United Express (four daily ERJ145, although the CRJ200 appears on July 6, 20, 27) |
* Either direction, even if just once in July |
** The only CRJ550-operated service in the top 10 |
A summary
Examining every planned US flight with 50-seat RJs in July using Cirium data indicates they’re deployed wholly or partly on 280+ domestic routes and just seven international airport pairs.
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They cover an average of 276 nautical miles (512 km), perfect territory for such equipment – and, indeed, turboprops. They touch 184 airports. Some 45 states, along with the District of Columbia, have services on them. United Express has about six in 10 of the 50-seat RJ flights. Aptly, six of the 10 longest routes are by the carrier.