United Airlines has just made several passenger experience announcements, and among those is a plan to turn one of the most unpopular regional jets into a pleasant ride. However, I’m curious what the real motive is here…
United rebrands the CRJ-200 as the CRJ-450, upgrades it
The CRJ-200 is probably the least pleasant regional jet you’ll find flying, at least in the United States. These planes generally have just 50 seats, with no first class, no Wi-Fi, etc. The reality is that a lot fewer of these are flying than in the past, and they’re typically used for the absolute lowest demand and least premium markets. Well, United is planning on changing that… at least the premium part.
United has unveiled the CRJ-450, which is really just a rebranding of the CRJ-200. These planes will fly for United Express, which is how the carrier’s regional jet fights are marketed. While the CRJ-200 has a 50-seat all-economy cabin, the CRJ-450 will have just 41 seats, including seven first class seats and 34 economy class seats (including Economy Plus seating). By 2028, United expects to have more than 50 of these planes flying.
In a first for a US commercial airline, the overhead bins in first class will be removed in favor of a larger luggage closet, to create a more spacious environment. Meanwhile the economy cabin will feature overhead bins large enough to fit larger carry-on bags, which is otherwise unheard of on these planes. United is also introducing Starlink Wi-Fi on these planes, which is free for MileagePlus members.
Think of this as being similar to the CRJ-550, which United started flying in 2019. That was a rebranding of the CRJ-700, with the idea being that the plane was reconfigured with just 50 seats, instead of the standard 76 seats.
Why voluntarily reduce capacity on the CRJ-700 by one-third? Well, the primary motive was to get around the scope clause, whereby United has an agreement with its pilots that limits the number of 51+ seat regional jets that can be flown by United Express. So by reducing the capacity to 50 seats, those planes no longer counted toward the limit on the number of 51-76 seat planes the carrier’s regional subsidiary can operate.
What’s United’s real motive with these CRJ-450s?
There’s no denying that the CRJ-200 is one of the most disliked aircraft out there, and when it’s in a one-cabin configuration, it’s especially unpleasant. United is really invested in trying to create a consistent and premium experience (in order to win brand loyal customers, and make more money on loyalty), so it’s understandable that if the airline wants to keep these planes around, something needed to be done.
That being said, I can’t help but be a little skeptical about the motives here:
- 41 seats is just a very low capacity aircraft, and I question how profitably these can be operated, especially since regional jet operating costs aren’t as low as they used to be
- Generally these very small regional jets aren’t operating in premium markets with a significant amount of first class demand, or in markets where there’s a lot of competition; so I can’t imagine the airline will get much of a revenue premium for this
- With congestion at major airports increasingly being a major problem, isn’t there a point at which flying planes with a little over a few dozen seats to airports like Chicago O’Hare (ORD) is a bit irresponsible, in terms of trying to promote a reliable network?
Would it be unreasonable to think that a major motivation with keeping these planes around and even growing the fleet is the battle in Chicago between American and United? Keep in mind that Chicago O’Hare allocates gates based on past usage. It’s not the number of passengers carried, but literally the extent to which gates are used.
United CEO Scott Kirby has made it clear that he’s “drawing a line in the sand,” and won’t let American grow market share there at all. So if you want to essentially maintain your gates with as low of a cost as possible, flying small planes is a really good way to do that. At a minimum, I can’t imagine that’s not a factor here.
It’s not like O’Hare is the most profitable hub for American or United (it’s much worse for American than United, though), but this is definitely a market that both airlines think they need to defend.
Bottom line
United Airlines plans to introduce the CRJ-450, which is essentially a rebranding of the CRJ-200. With this, we’ll see the hated 50-seat all-economy plane reconfigured with just 41 seats. That’s because we’ll see seven first class seats, and closets for bags in first class. On top of that, we’ll also finally see Starlink Wi-Fi on these planes, plus big overhead bins in economy.
While I’m skeptical of the direct economics of operating these planes, it does make sense in the overall context of United’s premium push, plus having a plane that can “hog” slots or gates as efficiently as possible.
What do you make of United’s CRJ-450s, and what do you think the motive is here?