Wrong. I hear passengers all the time talk about how much they like the comfort of the EJets and how uncomfortable those "other skinny ones" are.

Be that as it may, the average passenger isn't willing to pay a penny more for that comfort.

With fares increasing, the "average" passenger will likely fly less and the business travel will definitely pay for the comfort.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/fligh...ncreases_N.htm

I remember they used to say the same thing decades ago about automobiles. People would only pay so much for gas before they would stop using their cars as a means to get from point A to point B. Problem was they offered up no other viable mode of transportation to replace their car if this happened. Same thing with air travel now. We have made it so convenient for the travelling public to fly from point A to point B that, really, what other alternative is out there for them if ticket prices rise? Greyhound? Amtrak? Hop in the family truckster and pay 3 times as much and spend 5 times as long to get to the same place? I think its an antiquated philosophy thinking that folks won't pay more. They have become so used to easy air travel that they have no alternative. They still need to travel and they want to get to where they are going fast and cheap. If cheap goes away they still will opt for fast.

I agree. E175s were attactive to majors when gas was a whole lot cheaper than now. Now that the oil price has gone through the roof, I am getting feedbacks that E145s, CRj200s and even E175s are on their way out. As an example, if NWA/DAL merges, which appears imminent, NWA has options for any Bombardier products. This means even CRJ900s will be phased out in the next few years. NWA has experimented with E175s with Compass, and the results are not pretty. Maintenance tech has told me that E175s are having way too many problems and costs more to run than CRJ900s. DAL seems to prefer Boeing and US made aircraft, whereas NWA does not care as long as they are economical to operate. NWA DC9s will probably be replaced with Bombardier C Series aircraft to be flown by mainline pilots.

I think there will be a major reshuffling of regionals in the next few years and it will be good for some, but bad for the most. Emphasis will be on bigger jets with at least 100 seats, and unless they change the scvope clause, which I think is a very bad idea, this flying will remain at the majors. This means reduction in RJ flying whether it is E175s or CRJs. Major airlines are run by beancounters and they do not care about pax comfort on domestic routes where they do not make money.

True. Most search in Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia etc for the cheapest fare and they do not even look at whether they will be flying on E175s or CRJs. In fact, I asked several passengers on my last trip and none of them could tell the difference between E175s and CRJ900s. They all said they are smaller regional jets which they do not like but have no choice.

I think it's ignorant to believe that republics upgrades will stay as low as they are. A company can only grow so much, and after hiring well over 1000 pilots in the last year to year and 1/2, it's only a matter of time for the upgrade times to swell.

There is NO airplane that is economical at $110 per barrel.......not the CR200, E175, 737 or 777.

Bigger jets can spread out the cost so it will be more economical if the load factor justifies it. That's why I think majors are going to veer off 50 seat and 76 seat RJs, and go in the direction of 100 or larger jets. Smaller jets will still be in service for a few more years.

More economical than smaller frames but not considered "economical" no matter how you slice it.