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Newest regional jets will give passengers more wiggle room

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Special to The Times

THE first thing I did last month when I walked onboard a new United Express regional jet at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport was draw myself up to my full 6 feet, 4 inches and stand up straight, right in the middle of the aisle.

If you have traveled on a regional jet -- and if you have not yet, odds are getting better that you will soon -- you know why this is surprising. Regional jets, which the Federal Aviation Administration defines as jet aircraft having fewer than 90 seats, have a reputation for being tight on space: scrimpy head, leg and shoulder room; little space for carry-on luggage; and no first-class upgrades.

The smaller jets are becoming increasingly common as airlines continue to expand service to airports off the beaten path. Since 2000, the number of available seat miles (a common measure of aircraft capacity) on regional jets in the U.S. has nearly doubled.

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Not everybody thinks that’s good news.

“A three-hour flight is an airborne redo of the Spanish Inquisition,” said Mike Boyd, president of the Boyd Group/Aviation Systems Research Corp. in Evergreen, Colo. His company compiles fleet analyses, trend forecasts and market development for manufacturers, airlines and aviation authorities.

The good news for travelers is that the new generation of regional jets is roomier and far more comfortable than its predecessors.

About 1,060 new regional jets were added to the nation’s fleet in the last four years, and 439 more are expected to be flying by the end of 2006, according to the FAA. Last month, United upgraded its service on dozens of other routes to two of the new generation of regional jets, the 70-passenger Embraer 170 and a 66-passenger Canadair RJ-700.

“It’s not your grandfather’s regional jet,” said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski.

That’s good, because my grandfather was 6 feet, 5 inches and would not have enjoyed flying on one of the older-style jets.

In fact, calling these aircraft “regional jets” is not accurate, Boyd said.

“One way you can define a regional jet is, can you carry on your carry-on?” said Boyd. “If your bag’s not left in a pool of glycol [antifreeze] on the tarmac underneath the wing, then it’s not a regional jet.”

United calls its service on these new planes “explus,” and it expects to have 28 new Embraer 170s and 77 new or converted-to-explus Canadair RJ-700s in the air by February. A standard carry-on bag will fit in the overhead storage compartment -- sideways, not wheels out.

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There are six first-class seats, an “economy-plus” section with more legroom than standard coach and leather seating throughout. And even I can stand up without smacking my head.

The new iteration replaces, in many cases, full-size jets, often 737s.

“It’s better than a 737,” said Sean Donohue, vice president of United Express, Ted (United’s low-fare carrier) and United’s operational services. From its consumer research, he said the carrier learned that most travelers found two hours aboard a regional jet the maximum acceptable. The explus planes are United’s response.

The Embraer 170 I toured recently was better than any regional jet I have ever been stuffed onto and even better than some 737s. It has two seats on either side of the aisle, thus no dreaded middle seat. The seats are wider than on some 737s (17 inches on a 737 versus 18.25 on an Embraer 170), and leg room in economy is an industry-standard 31-inch pitch, which www.seatguru.com defines as “the distance from any point on one seat to the exact same point on the seat in front or behind it.” It is not the exact equivalent of leg room, but it does give a good approximation of how much seat room you can expect. (Economy plus has an extra 3 inches of leg room.)

First-class has one seat on one side of the aisle, two on the other side, so it feels more spacious than a traditional 737.

United is not the only airline flying these new aircraft. As of the second quarter of 2005, the Embraer 170/190 family had 412 firm orders and options for 373 more. Low-cost carrier JetBlue has taken delivery of the first Embraer 190 (a 100-seat version of the 170), has 101 on order and an option to purchase 100 more by 2016.

“We do not refer to it as a ‘regional jet’ because there is nothing really regional about it,” said JetBlue spokesman Todd Burke. It is “going to change the industry.”

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The smaller aircraft will allow JetBlue to start service at airports that don’t have the passenger traffic to support one of its 156-passenger Airbus 320s.

“As I look at this beautiful new aircraft, I see many new opportunities to bring the JetBlue experience to communities all over North America,” JetBlue Chief Executive David Neeleman said in a news release last month.

JetBlue is also decking out its new planes with amenities seldom found on a standard regional jet, including 36 channels of live DirectTV and 100 channels of XM satellite radio at every leather upholstered seat.

JetBlue is mum about what routes it plans to fly when the 190 goes into service in November.

But Boyd is skeptical that the flying public will soon see service to some smaller regional airports such as Elmira, N.Y., or Omaha.

“These are a disaster for small communities because they are too expensive to fly,” he said. “They’re not looking at this bringing low fares to small communities.”

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Routes he thinks make sense for JetBlue include Boston to either Savannah, Ga., or Madison, Wis., and Long Beach to Tucson.

“You don’t throw them into little tiny markets,” he said of the small jets. His advice for smaller-airport customers? “Tune up the Chevy” and drive to a larger airport.

Still, for fliers in the markets that JetBlue does end up serving, a dose of low-fare competition is healthy for consumers.

“Some of the cities where the average fares are in the $500-to-$600 range, if you come in and offer a fair price, we know we’ll be able to do well,” said JetBlue’s Burke.

As for travelers simply looking for a comfortable smalljet experience, this new type of short-haul aircraft is a blessing.

“I’d be all for it if I could just stand up,” said Blaise Simqu, president and chief executive of Thousand Oaks-based publisher Sage Publications, who logs more than 100,000 flight miles annually for business as well as pleasure. “That would make a whole world of difference.”

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It would have made a big difference for my grandfather too.

James Gilden can be reached at www.theinternettraveler.com. Travel Insider welcomes comments but can’t respond individually to letters and calls. Write to Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or e-mail travel@latimes.com.

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