United is ripping seats out of its regional jets and its a bad sign for pilots and passengers

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

• United is reducing seats on its Embraer E175 aircraft from 76 to 70 to comply with a clause of its pilot union contract, FlightGlobal reported.
• The "scope clause" in the contract limits the role of regional aircraft, preventing United from outsourcing too many flying jobs to its smaller partner airlines. 
• October 1 will likely see the airline begin to furlough pilots, at which point regional jets will need to be compliant to the new restrictions under the clause. 
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United Airlines' Embraer E175 aircraft are heading to the maintenance hangar for a retrofit that will actually reduce their total number of seats.

The largest regional jets operated under the United Express brand will purposely be made less economical to fly thanks to what's known as a "scope clause" in United's pilot contract, FlightGlobal reported. The six-seat reduction from 76 to 70 seats on all of its Embraer E175s is mandatory per the contract as United plans to furlough pilots – which triggers the seat removal, United told AviationWeek – after assistance under the CARES Act vanishes on October 1.

Though it seems counterintuitive to make a plane less capable of generating revenue during the pandemic – considering United has committed to filling its planes to capacity – the move is actually protecting United's pilots. As part of a deal with the pilot union, United can have 255 regional jets that seat greater than 50 and no more than 76 seats, according to FlightGlobal.

The reduction in demand that the pandemic has inflicted would have made regional jets more attractive to fly since they carry fewer passengers further at a lower cost than mainline jets. But having those scope limitations in place is preventing United from outsourcing its mainline operation to the regional partners.  

Here's how it hurting and helping passengers.

Regional jets have become more prominent on longer routes, crossing numerous regional boundaries with flights of over four hours in duration on some routes.

Austin Deppe / Shutterstock.com

As regional jets increased in size, they've become a threat to mainline aircraft since they could fly fewer passengers in similar levels of comfort. The Embraer E175, for example, has a larger cabin than the CRJ fleet formerly of Bombardier.

Robert Alexander/Getty

United's longest regional flights, on which it has relied upon the Embraer E175 to operate, include Hartford, Connecticut to Houston, scheduled at over 4 hours...

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters


See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

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• I flew on 6 US airlines during the pandemic from the largest to the cheapest and found paying more doesn't guarantee a better, safer flight
• US airlines are banning vented masks, which the CDC says don't stop COVID-19

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