Originally Posted by
ninerdriver
Less RJ departures, maybe, but I bet RJs flew many more miles. Before Covid, more of my LGA and JFK flights were of the 800-1200 mile variety than the 200-400 mile variety. JFK-DFW, JFK-ORD, LGA-STL, NYC-JAX... these were common 900 routes.
I flew on regionals a whole lot back in the 2006-2008 timeframe and I remember it vividly. The airplanes were smaller for sure. For US Airways Express, lots of Dash 8 flying. I remember flying a Saab 340 from Hattiesburg to Memphis. I specifically remember a flight on a Crash 8 from PHL-ISP in 2007 with three passengers. Three. Flying half empty airplanes was common then, and flying standby was an absolute breeze.
Smaller airplanes, half empty flights, etc. Totally different. Comparing departures between now and then is like comparing apples to oranges, IMO.