Delta Air Lines regional operator SkyWest, will be adding spacious CRJ-550 aircraft to the fleet. Originally reported by AirlineGeeks, the Bombardier CRJ-550 is viewable on Delta Air Lines fleet page. The reason for the hype one might ask? The aircraft is actually a CRJ-700 airframe with just 50 seats as opposed to the typical 65-70 seats, hence the CRJ-500 designation.
Resurrection Of 50 Seat Regional Jets
Regional operators have been scaling back single class regional aircraft. In the past few years smaller 30 to 50 seat regional aircraft have been slowly replaced by duel class regional jets. In 2023 Delta Air Lines wholly owned regional operator Endeavor Air retired their fuel thirsty CRJ-200 regional jet. The aircraft did not earn brownie points with passengers due to the tight space, small overhead bins and lack of amenities like power outlets and Wi-Fi. With pilots unions dictating the amount of 50 seat and mainline aircraft on hand, operators have gotten creative with larger sized regional jets. United Airlines for example, converted a a small fleet of CRJ-700 aircraft to the CRJ-550 with 50 seats divided into First, Economy Plus and Economy. There are also dedicated snack and baggage cabinets for larger carry-on bags. Delta Air Lines will be doing the same configuration with their CRJ-550 aircraft offering 10 First Class, 20 Comfort Plus and 20 economy seats. By creating this spacious configuration, passengers will have a greater chance of getting upgraded while the airline can operate more flights within the union’s clause.
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