Flying from Columbus,Oh to MCO

[Dad]

Now that America West has discontinued direct flights from Columbus to Orlando, the only direct flights are on Delta subsiderary Chatawqua Airlines on an Embraer 145 jet.
Has anyone had any experience with Chatawqua or Embraer Jets?

 

[chaoskids]

We have flown SouthWest direct from Columbus to MCO. Below is a direct flight on the days we are traveling. HTH!

Terri

Air Itinerary
Trip Date Day Stops Flight Routing
Depart Aug 30 Sat N/S 2813 Depart Columbus (CMH) at 11:10AM
Arrive in Orlando (MCO) at 1:15 PM

Return Sep 6 Sat N/S 1096 Depart Orlando (MCO) at 8:00 AM
Arrive in Columbus (CMH) at 10:10 AM



Trip Base Fare U.S.Taxes PFC & Security Fee* Total
Depart $ 82.79 $ 9.21 $ 7.00 $ 99.00
Return $ 82.79 $ 9.21 $ 5.50 $ 97.50
Total $ 165.58 $ 18.42 $ 12.50 $ 196.50
* Security Fee is the government-imposed September 11th Security Fee.

 

[mrsmom]

I just flew may 2-7th out of indy on Chautauqua jet part of delta,
It held 55 people , it was very smooth landing and takeoff, better than big airliner, But if you don't like being closed in because it is alot smaller than regular planes, don't get in it.
it was two seats and then one seat small but not a bad ride and i have never flown this small of a jet before but i would do it again.
Mrsmom

 

[Daisymeo]

We have switched from flying Delta to flying Southwest because of the small jets. I can't understand why Delta switched to these because everytime I flew before on their 737's the flight was always completely full. I guess they save money but not sure how this works when there are less passengers. Sorry I know I didn't answer your question but just had to complain about the switch to the small jets.

 

[erikthewise]

I have flown on Embraer jets and don't care for them. I much prefer the Canadian Regional Jets if one has to fly on a small plane. The CRJ feels more like a 737 only scaled down. The Embraer feels like a small plane with barely adequate engines.

I second Daisymeo's comments concerning the old Delta Express flights. They have lost my business and no doubt that of many others by switching to Chautauqua. Let's all pray they eventually bring in Song.

I would have gladly paid America West an extra $50 per ticket last year if it would have made them stay!

 

[prncess674]

The Embraer are very tiny feeling. I would not fly anything but commuter routes on them, such as Dallas to Houston. There is only one lavatory in the back. There is minimal overhead room. Only the smallest shoulder totes can fit up there. There is not room for rollaboard bags. They must all be gate checked. The biggest problem I have with them is they don't have the advanced navigational equipment that a 737 or any other mainline jet would have. I have sat in the DAL terminal waiting for clearance of my Embraer due to the fact that they couldn't take off in light rain while Southwest Airlines was sending out 737 one after the other.

 

[ncligs]

I agree with prncess674, I would only travel short distances on them, like less than 400 miles.

Thanks for the graphics and seatting picture prncess674.

 

[madcoco]

I have with them is they don't have the advanced navigational equipment that a 737 or any other mainline jet would have.

Sorry don't know why you may have been delayed. You may be surprised. Having spent many hours up in the greenhouse of some pretty "oldies but goodies" mainline jets and have flown the corporate versions of the Bombardier RJS I can tell you that the Regional Jets including the EMB 145 can have much higher tech avionics than many of the mainliners out there especially the 737-200s that are still flying strong.
737-200

EMB-145

 

[Dad]

Thanks for the replys and info. I think I'll give them a try. Having two seats to a row instead of three makes up for the small size in my mind. We don't cary on any luggage so the small overhead is no problem. As long as the seats are the same size as the bigger planes and we don't encounter much turbulence we should be fine.

 

[prncess674]

Originally posted by madcoco
Sorry don't know why you may have been delayed. You may be surprised. Having spent many hours up in the greenhouse of some pretty "oldies but goodies" mainline jets and have flown the corporate versions of the Bombardier RJS I can tell you that the Regional Jets including the EMB 145 can have much higher tech avionics than many of the mainliners out there especially the 737-200s that are still flying strong.
737-200

All I can talk about is my experience. I have sat in DAL airport where the EMB-145's were grounded whiled 737's were taking off all around. I have never felt unsafe on the EMB-145 I just felt they were small and claustrophobic and I prefer the 737, in my opinion.

The other issue I seem to encounter is that the EMB-145 doesn't seem to fly as fast. I have taken the same route on both a mainline jet and a EMB-145 and the mainline jet flight time is always shorter.

 

[eeyorekjs7]

We were going to fly out of Columbus to Orlando for our October trip. Normally we use Southwest because they are cheaper, usually non-stop to Orlando and we really like the airline. Unfortunately we couldn't use Southwest because the return flight leaves to early and we're doing a Disney cruise. I didn't want to fly on the smaller jet, so we're going to fly out of Dayton. Check out the AirTran rates. $69 each way! 4 of us are flying for a total (including all taxes) of $626 and it's non-stop. Worth the extra hour of driving to Dayton!

 

[madcoco]

I just felt they were small and claustrophobic and I prefer the 737, in my opinion.

prncess674 I am glad you feel that way. Wish more folks did. I didn't want my post to see harsh if that is how it came across. Sorry. Small regional jets are high tech but are sore spots for many mainline pilots including myself. They are using them to replace many mainline jets on runs that they don't belong on.
But most people don't know that most are more expensive to run after you factor in all costs per available passenger seat mile than the 737s and Airbus 319,320s. In the Airline Industry it is a political power struggle with many people including passengers caught in the middle. Airlines say they need to replace bigger jets with smaller regional jets to make money. Yet Southwest and Jet Blue do not fly or intend to fly regional jets. They make money. It is the business model. America West says that they were losing money in Columbus year after year. That was the reason for closing the hub. Yet they made money there before replacing the mainline jets to most of the cities out of CMH with RJ's. They reallocated the Airbus' that flew CMH to MCO to another market.

 

[mulgar]

Dad,

Flying the exact same plane as you will be from Columbus to MCO
June 8
So when we get back I will let you know how it went.

Shawn