4 ms·

I hate to rain on the author's parade, but there's nothing inherent in the design of the newer Embraer jets which makes it so the seats "can't be shrunk". The

I hate to rain on the author's parade, but there's nothing inherent in the design of the newer Embraer jets which makes it so the seats "can't be shrunk". The reason why the E-jets are so nice is that the big carriers buy them to use on their regional affiliate flights, and the typical pilots' contract puts the dividing line of regional and mainline at 76 seats. So as long as they put exactly 76 seats (or fewer, but that's less common) in the plane, they can farm it out to a much cheaper regional operation and crew. If they put a 77th seat in there, they also have to put a more expensive mainline crew on the plane. Thus, the E-jets tend to have almost unheard-of amounts of space even in economy, because the airlines have worked out they would lose more money from squeezing seats in and having to pay a mainline crew than they'd make from the extra seats.

mrpippy 9y ago
+1, known as the "scope clause" in pilot union contracts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope_clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope_clause
gsnedders 9y ago
Indeed, most airlines around Europe that fly E-jets have less legroom in economy because normal economics are in play (cost sensitive customers, maximise number of customers) as there isn't the same mainline/regional split (where European airlines have regional arms, they're typically fully-owned subsidiaries and essentially differentially by type of aircraft rather than capacity limitations).
SmellTheGlove 9y ago
However, the fuselage is not wide enough to cram in an extra seat per row, so you still have the widest coach seat in the sky. Width matters more than pitch if you're average height, IMO. You did hit on a good point though. The nice part about the E90 as well is that airlines won't cram in any more seats because they'd have to add a flight attendant as well once they hit 101 seats!
- ubernostrum 9y ago
  The E70/75 could squeeze in more rows of seats without needing another FA, but like I said they're in that strange sweet spot where they're big enough to accommodate more seats but not big enough to make the flight as a whole profitable with the extra seats + mainline crew.
  - SmellTheGlove 9y ago
    Yup, which is why I'd ride an E70/75/90 as far as they'll let me! I'm not particularly tall so I can be fine with 30" of pitch, but I appreciate having more than that. And my shoulders appreciate the extra width.

mrpippy 9y ago

+1, known as the "scope clause" in pilot union contracts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope_clause https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope_clause

gsnedders 9y ago

Indeed, most airlines around Europe that fly E-jets have less legroom in economy because normal economics are in play (cost sensitive customers, maximise number of customers) as there isn't the same mainline/regional split (where European airlines have regional arms, they're typically fully-owned subsidiaries and essentially differentially by type of aircraft rather than capacity limitations).

SmellTheGlove 9y ago

However, the fuselage is not wide enough to cram in an extra seat per row, so you still have the widest coach seat in the sky. Width matters more than pitch if you're average height, IMO. You did hit on a good point though. The nice part about the E90 as well is that airlines won't cram in any more seats because they'd have to add a flight attendant as well once they hit 101 seats!

ubernostrum 9y ago
The E70/75 could squeeze in more rows of seats without needing another FA, but like I said they're in that strange sweet spot where they're big enough to accommodate more seats but not big enough to make the flight as a whole profitable with the extra seats + mainline crew.
- SmellTheGlove 9y ago
  Yup, which is why I'd ride an E70/75/90 as far as they'll let me! I'm not particularly tall so I can be fine with 30" of pitch, but I appreciate having more than that. And my shoulders appreciate the extra width.