Summary
- American’s 50-seater network is focused on the Eastern and Central US, with no service west of Manhattan, Kansas.
- In January, the carrier’s small regional jets operate an average of 356 daily movements on 110 routes.
- United has a much larger and more widespread network and over twice the number of movements.
Fifty-seat regional jets often receive a lot of comment – and it’s rarely positive. Now that Delta has retired its smallest RJs, only American and United – of the US Big Three – still have them. (I shan’t bother adding their regional names.) United has 50-seat CRJ200s and ERJ145s in an all-economy layout and three-class CRJ550s. American has single-class CRJ200s and ERJ145s.
American’s 50-seat network
Analysis of the oneworld member’s January network this is as follows. It is immediately apparent just how focused its network is on the Central and Eastern US.
American has no service by the equipment to its largest hub of Dallas Fort Worth and none west of Manhattan, Kansas. Perhaps surprisingly, there is just one route to Florida: Charlotte to Gainsville. American last used the small jets from its Miami hub in 2021.
Image: Cirium
American’s 50-seaters are down to operate an average of 356 movements (take-offs and landings combined) daily in January. They are on 110 routes: 107 domestic and just three international. With a typical 139 daily movements, Chicago O’Hare has the most flights. The large number of 50-seat services (and those of larger RJs) helps explain why American’s average seats per flight at the airport is just 113.
Schedule analysis shows that American’s typical 50-seater flight covers 308 miles (496 km). At 67 miles (108 km), the shortest airport pair is Chicago O’Hare to Milwaukee. At 723 miles (1,164 km), the longest is O’Hare-Albany.
Photo: The Bold Bureau | Shutterstock
What about United?
The following map shows United’s network by its CRJ200s, CRJ550s, and ERJ145s is spread more widely, although they are still heavily concentrated in the Central and Eastern US.
While American has zero 50-seat flights in the West, United does because of its Denver hub. Indeed, it has an average of 153 daily movements at the Colorado hub, second only to O’Hare (242). However, notice how few West Coast routes there are.
Image: Cirium
Not surprisingly, United has over twice as many 50-seat movements than American, at 735 daily versus 356. This is partly explained by the inclusion of its three-class CRJ550s, which is why Newark sees 50-seaters; they are a different beast from its single-class alternatives.
In all, there are 250 routes: 249 domestic and one international. The most served is Newark-Washington Reagan, but only because of the CRJ550. Excluding this variant, Denver-Colorado Springs is first.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The carrier’s 50-seat RJs have an average sector length of 380 miles (612 km), almost a quarter longer than American. Served daily by the ERJ145, Denver to Shreveport, 792 miles (1,275 km) apart, is the longest in January. It has a block time of up to 2h 47m. Fancy that?
At just 60 miles (97 km), the shortest airport pair is between Mason City and Fort Dodge, although this leg is not bookable, so it should not count. Operating daily using the CRJ200, it runs O’Hare-Mason City-Fort Dodge-O’Hare. The same aircraft type operates a second service five days a week with a reverse routing: O’Hare-Fort Dodge-Mason City-O’Hare.
What do you think about it all? Let us know in the comments section.
