Trying to come up with a catchy intro for a Delta Connection Embraer 175 first class review is really hard.
There was no food or drinks served, so I can’t tell you how delicious it was. My seat was broken, so telling you that it was comfortable would be a flat out lie.
The flight was delayed 30 minutes, and the turbulence was gnarly times. It wasn’t all that fun if I’m being honest.
See? This isn’t easy!
DL4071
San Diego, CA (SAN) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Monday, June 5, 2023
Aircraft: Embraer 175
Registration: N304SY
Duration: 23 minutes
Seat: 4A (first class)
Delta Connection E175 (N304SY) side view illustration by NorebboStock.com.Our route from San Diego to Los Angeles today as DL4071.
My full review of Delta E175 first class from San Diego to Los Angeles
For the record, this wasn’t the first time that I had ever flown on a Delta E175 in first class between SAN and LAX. It’s been a while since I’ve done a review of it though, so I figured it was time for an update. Here we go!
Arrival at the airport
This flight to Los Angeles was scheduled to depart at 6:15 AM, so arriving by the airport by 5 AM and seemed like a good idea. I was there by 5:15.
Bad news: they don’t pick you up in a BMW (or Porsche) and drive you to the plane when you fly Delta E175 first class. You’re gonna have to hoof it into the terminal under your own power just like everyone else.This blurry pic of the Delta check-in counter tells you everything you need to know about how much effort I took in getting this pic. I already had my boarding pass, so stopping to take pictures would have been a waste of valuable time.
It’s worth mentioning that the line for TSA pre-check was longer than the regular security line this particular morning. I’ve never seen that happen here in San Diego, and I hope that’s not a sign of things to come. It wasn’t supposed to be like this!
Here’s a pic of the inside of Terminal 2 West (complete with people scrambling out of the way to avoid ending up in one of my stupid airline reviews).At least I didn’t have to walk very far to reach the gate for my flight up to LAX this morning. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Delta Connection Embraer 175 at SAN!To anyone who is curious to know what it feels like to hold a Delta E175 first class boarding pass: you’re weird.
The boarding process for flight 4071 to Los Angeles
Just when I was thinking that things were going well, the gate agent announced that there was a mechanical issue with the plane. To matters worse, it was so early in the morning that we had to wait another 20 minutes for the maintenance crew show up for duty. Poop.
The delay announcement didn’t phase any of these folks. I admire their optimism!
Wanna know what’s worse than walking down the jet bridge to board an Embraer 175? Knowing that the plane is defective. Wanna know what’s even worse than that? Knowing that you’re gonna be late. The hits just keep coming…Poor dude almost got scalped just now. Heads up (I mean “down”) – the Embraer 175 boarding door is small!How many people do you suppose have stood in this exact spot second-guessing their decision to fly Delta Connection? I’d bet anything it’s more than one.
A detailed look at the Delta Connection E175 first class seats
Fun fact: here in San Diego, all of the major airlines contract their regional flights out to Skywest Airlines. That means every E175 flight in and out of San Diego has nearly the same interior. The airline doesn’t matter.
Welcome to first class on the Delta Connection Embraer 175! The guy in the flannel green shirt is either puking his guts out (because E175), or he’s trying desperately not to end up in a SANspotter review. Maybe both.Seat 4A is mine for the 23 minute flight up to LAX this morning.Good news: the legroom is fantastic (easily on par with what you saw in my review of Delta 717-200 first class).Bad news: I chose the seat with a misaligned window. ****!Nope. No video screens. At least there will be plenty of padding to protect my delicate head if we end up plowing into the LAX Theme Building at 500mph.Even though the front sides of these seats are cladded with Delta colors and textures, it’s kinda hard to tell what airline you’re flying when looking at them from this angle. Also interesting (at least to us nerdy airline types) is the size of the overhead bins in first class compared to economy class. Scoring an upgrade means more than just getting a larger seat!Hmmm. I’m struggling a bit to find anything interesting to say about these seats…Then, just as I was about to give up, I spotted the full size electrical outlet in the armrest. See? Maybe Delta doesn’t totally hate us after all.
The departure out of San Diego
I know. It’s really weird to see complete cloud cover in San Diego, but that’s what typically happens in June. We locals call it “June Gloom,” and it was in full effect this particular morning. Let’s just say that it certainly wasn’t the most scenic departure I’ve ever had out of SAN.
Misaligned window or not, you’re darn right that I sacrificed my lower spine to lean forward and get departure pics for the review.Thankfully the windows in the Embraer 175 are large enough to see what’s happening outside without putting your neck (and spine) in compromising positions. For those of you who are a little slow, that was a subtle reminder of how poopy the highly competitive CRJ-200 is. FWIW, it’s the 1-2 seating configuration in first class which makes the E175 light years better than the CRJ-200. As a matter of fact, the CRJ-200s don’t even have first class. Neener neener!FYI, making vacuum cleaner noises with your mouth will make these departure pics all the more interesting. I’m not sure if it’s the E175 that sounds like a Dyson, or if it’s the Dyson that sounds like the E175. But I think you get the idea.Here’s a good look at Terminal 1 (with the all new T1 construction in the background). They’re making good progress!This is Terminal 2 (both East and West). It looks like our departure date hasn’t been backfilled yet – which is totally understandable considering how toxic Embraer 175 cooties can be.It was also nice to get a look at the Ocean Beach Pier before punching through the thick *** marine layer. No San Diego based airline review is complete without it.I don’t know, but I have a pretty good feeling that the guy over there on the other side is just as perturbed about the misaligned window thing as I am.
In flight entertainment
Sorry. There’s no in-flight entertainment to speak of these Delta Connection E175s (in either economy or first class). They are Wi-Fi enabled though, and they do offer free messaging for all. The only problem is I wasn’t able to connect to it to give it a proper test.
“Logging in” my ***. Maybe they kept the Wi-Fi off on purpose to prevent people from messaging their friends and telling them about how crappy the Embraer 175 is? Just a thought.
The food
This was admittedly a bad route to review first class on the Delta E175. Total flying time was just 23 minutes, so it’s understandable that there were no drinks or snacks served on this flight.
I suppose I could’ve reached for that little bottle of water wedged between the seat and the sidewall if I was desperate enough.I probably would’ve done it if I didn’t bring my own beverage!
Despite the complete lack of service on this flight, you can expect basic drinks and a little bag of snack mix on most routes that these aircraft fly on. San Diego to Los Angeles (and return) is just an anomaly.
Seat comfort
As I hinted at the top of this review, the recline button on my seat wasn’t working properly. It wouldn’t allow my seat back to stand all the way upright, so I was basically stuck in a slightly reclined position for the entire flight.
This little button had one little job to do, but it failed me. Come on man!
Other than the reclining issue, the seat itself was decently comfortable. Yes, it was narrow and hard, but the legroom was pretty darn good for a little regional jet.
Because I have a feeling that some of you are wondering why I consider seat recline to be annoying, this demonstration of how far back the seats actually recline is for you. We’re talking gangsta lean territory!The good news is that there’s so much legroom in these seats that you won’t even notice if the person in front of you has gone full gangsta lean.
The descent and arrival into LAX
Unfortunately, when June Gloom strikes Southern California, it hits hard. Los Angeles was just as socked in as San Diego was, so there wasn’t all that much to see on the way into runway 25L.
One last spine-stretching look out the window in a desperate attempt to soak up as much blue sky as I can before June Gloom returns.See? I wasn’t foolin’!My condolences to those of you who were expecting to see Pamela Anderson running on the beach (in a red swimsuit) at some point during the approach.Welcome to Los Angeles, where the local time is……the best minute of the day (at least for us AvGeeks).As you can see from our taxi to the north complex, every travel-related TV show and video you’ve ever seen about LA wasn’t telling you the complete truth. It’s not all sunshine and palm trees out here!None of that stopped Southwest Airlines from digging in deep here at LAX though. They pretty much dominate all of Terminal 1.I wonder what the punishment is for dragging a winglet down the side of a wall? Being relegated to flying a cargo plane full of rubber dog sh*t out of Hong Kong sounds reasonable I think.Either that or that’s how these pilots ended up flying 25-minute hops on little Embraer 175s. Oh well. We made it to gate 21B unscathed.Well, that was interesting. I’m not willing to say it was fun, but I will admit that it’s fair to use words such as “amusing” and “satisfactory” as well.Judging by how eager this guy is to get off this plane, I’m not so sure that he would use such pleasant words to describe his experience.And there you have it. I really hope you weren’t expecting anything more exciting than that.
Pros and cons of first class on the Delta E175
The fact that first class even exists at all on these little regional jets is a blessing. It’s certainly not what I would call luxurious, but the extra little bit of leg room makes a world of difference.
Pros
The 1-2 configuration of the first class cabin is ideal for both solo travelers and couples. As a solo traveler, I love the single seats!
Leg room is quite good (just as good as you would get in domestic first class on any other aircraft / airline).
There are power outlets out every seat. Woohoo!
Cons
There is no in-flight entertainment on the E175 (at least at the time of this writing).
Even though legroom is good, the seats are quite narrow.
I’ve been reading these reviews of yours for years now. I always look forward to seeing where you’re going next (and the meals in First Class!). I must say, I hate those little Embraer planes, and whatever they replaced in the years before. One of the scariest flights I ever had was on one of those as we flew through a thunderstorm between Montreal and JFK. It was only a 45 minute flight but it felt like a lifetime! I live about 10 minutes from Ontario Airport, but if I lived in San Diego I would gladly jump in the car and drive the 2 hours up to LAX to avoid flying on one of those “turbulence tubes”. Anyway, safe travels to wherever you happen to go next.
Glad you’ve been enjoying the content! I get the sense that people get sick of my reviews after a while, so cheers to you for having the strength to stick around for so long. lol
But yeah, those Embraer 175s can be scary in rough air! They’re generally fine if the weather is good, but it’s not fun when things get rough.
Enjoyed the review and hilarious commentary, as always. (No we don’t get sick of them so please keep them coming!)
I think it might be fair to point out to readers that Delta has retired the vast majority (if not all of them) of their CRJ-200s as of May 2023. So to your point – Delta definitely does not hate us all…they got rid of the demon planes. LOL!
Thanks Kevin! It’s good to know that the CRJ-200s are pretty much history. I didn’t even realize that they were mostly gone at this point, so that’s a bit of news that has made my day instantly better. Woohoo!
Great review!
Wow, I didn’t know you disliked the E175 that much. I already knew you didn’t care much for it, but I didn’t know you had such strong feelings of resentment towards the Jungle Jet.
Otherwise, it looked like a pretty basic flight, which makes sense considering the 23-minute flight time.
Oh and pretty cool how you saw 2 special liveries! There was the Continental retro-liveried 737-900* at SAN and Southwest’s Hawaii-themed 737 MAX at LAX. And of course, it’s great to arrive at 7:47. I’ve had at least 2 trips where I’ve arrived (or have been scheduled to arrive) at 7:47pm.
*Technically, every United 737-924 that hasn’t been repainted is a Continental-retro-liveried 739. But I digress.
Haha yeah, I was going to call you out on the retro Continental livery thing, but I’m glad you made note of it at the end. Good catch. 🙂 But yeah, I love that new Southwest Hawaii livery. It looks amazing in person!
I think my tolerance for the E175 is declining as time goes on. Yes, it’s light years better than the CRJ-200 (and all the turboprops that preceded it) – but I’ve been flying the A220 a lot recently and it’s starting to skew my perspective on things.
The good news is that I don’t think I’ll ever hate the E175 as much as I do the CR2!
I too love the Southwest Hawaii livery! One of the best special liveries out there IMO.
I can see how the E175 would pale in comparison to the A220. I’ve yet to fly on the latter, though I’ve heard that it’s an awesome plane in terms of flexibility, performance, and passenger comfort, which basically puts every other plane of its size to shame. I’m glad to hear that you still like the E175 far more than the CRJ-200 though!
It’s astonishing to me how SANLAX went from bi-hourly, to hourly, to 1-2x flights a day. Granted there are significantly more nonstops out of SAN to East Coast and international destinations vs the 1990s and early 2000s, but the lack of connectivity via LAX has really hampered my travels especially on AA where SANLAXSTL was a much easier run than having to trek to DFW or even PHX. Granted when UA or AA would throw a CR2 on the route it was hell, but I suppose I’m also a little nostalgic for all those SF3s and EM2s that used to ply the skies between SAN and LAX…..sigh.
I liked the ability to connect via LAX or SFO; but with AA there is no SANLAX to connect to LAXSTL and on UA there’s plenty of SANSFO, but the SFOSTL has yet to make a return and everything on UA these days seems to route over DEN. Also secretly hoping that AS will return to SANSTL; having an F cabin, let alone another nonstop vs WN was nice.
I totally agree Michael! I am feeling optimistic that things are returning to normal (slowly, but surely). As a matter of fact, I’m booked on a United E175 from LAX to SAN in two weeks that departs LAX at around five-ish p.m. I haven’t seen one of those in a long time!
Fingers crossed that they can speed up the return of more convenient flight times…
Hi Scott. Thanks for your review. We will be flying on one soon in first class. Not sure if you’re aware that pilots usually start out being type rated on the regionals then work their way up fairly quickly while others choose to stay flying these smaller jets. They are very high tech planes and the pilots deserve to be appreciated.
You’re very welcome Cara – I certainly didn’t mean to question the skills and ability of these pilots. It’s a demanding job that I know that I don’t have the stamina for, and it’s easy to see that they don’t get paid anywhere near what they’re worth.
FWIW, I also make snarky comments about the little Honda Fit that I daily drive (and love dearly). Even deep into middle-age, I still can’t resist immature “size” jokes lol.
Anyway, I hope you have a great flight! First class on the E175 is quite spacious.
Hey, SANspotter! I liked the review. Thankfully, at my home airport, there is little need to fly on regional jets (although regional jets still operate the strangest routes). On the opposite side of the spectrum, around a year ago, Delta was flying a 767-300 from ATL to my home airport (the flight only takes around an hour)! Sadly, I didn’t fly on it. I have a suggestion for a future review: trying the E-175’s economy class! Wonder what that experience is like…
Glad you enjoyed it! Bummer that you didn’t get the opportunity to fly the DL 763. It’s never not fun to fly on a domestic widebody out of your home airport. 🙂
But yeah, I fly on the E175 a lot on positioning flights up to LAX. I’ve thought about doing it in economy one of these times just to do a review – but then I always back out thinking that nobody would probably read it haha. I just might!
JCC
Hey Scott!
I’ve been reading these reviews of yours for years now. I always look forward to seeing where you’re going next (and the meals in First Class!). I must say, I hate those little Embraer planes, and whatever they replaced in the years before. One of the scariest flights I ever had was on one of those as we flew through a thunderstorm between Montreal and JFK. It was only a 45 minute flight but it felt like a lifetime! I live about 10 minutes from Ontario Airport, but if I lived in San Diego I would gladly jump in the car and drive the 2 hours up to LAX to avoid flying on one of those “turbulence tubes”. Anyway, safe travels to wherever you happen to go next.
Scott (SANspotter)
Glad you’ve been enjoying the content! I get the sense that people get sick of my reviews after a while, so cheers to you for having the strength to stick around for so long. lol
But yeah, those Embraer 175s can be scary in rough air! They’re generally fine if the weather is good, but it’s not fun when things get rough.
Kevin in Louisiana
Hi Scott!
Enjoyed the review and hilarious commentary, as always. (No we don’t get sick of them so please keep them coming!)
I think it might be fair to point out to readers that Delta has retired the vast majority (if not all of them) of their CRJ-200s as of May 2023. So to your point – Delta definitely does not hate us all…they got rid of the demon planes. LOL!
Have a great day!
Kevin
Scott (SANspotter)
Thanks Kevin! It’s good to know that the CRJ-200s are pretty much history. I didn’t even realize that they were mostly gone at this point, so that’s a bit of news that has made my day instantly better. Woohoo!
Peter
Great review!
Wow, I didn’t know you disliked the E175 that much. I already knew you didn’t care much for it, but I didn’t know you had such strong feelings of resentment towards the Jungle Jet.
Otherwise, it looked like a pretty basic flight, which makes sense considering the 23-minute flight time.
Oh and pretty cool how you saw 2 special liveries! There was the Continental retro-liveried 737-900* at SAN and Southwest’s Hawaii-themed 737 MAX at LAX. And of course, it’s great to arrive at 7:47. I’ve had at least 2 trips where I’ve arrived (or have been scheduled to arrive) at 7:47pm.
*Technically, every United 737-924 that hasn’t been repainted is a Continental-retro-liveried 739. But I digress.
Scott (SANspotter)
Haha yeah, I was going to call you out on the retro Continental livery thing, but I’m glad you made note of it at the end. Good catch. 🙂 But yeah, I love that new Southwest Hawaii livery. It looks amazing in person!
I think my tolerance for the E175 is declining as time goes on. Yes, it’s light years better than the CRJ-200 (and all the turboprops that preceded it) – but I’ve been flying the A220 a lot recently and it’s starting to skew my perspective on things.
The good news is that I don’t think I’ll ever hate the E175 as much as I do the CR2!
Peter
I too love the Southwest Hawaii livery! One of the best special liveries out there IMO.
I can see how the E175 would pale in comparison to the A220. I’ve yet to fly on the latter, though I’ve heard that it’s an awesome plane in terms of flexibility, performance, and passenger comfort, which basically puts every other plane of its size to shame. I’m glad to hear that you still like the E175 far more than the CRJ-200 though!
Michael
It’s astonishing to me how SANLAX went from bi-hourly, to hourly, to 1-2x flights a day. Granted there are significantly more nonstops out of SAN to East Coast and international destinations vs the 1990s and early 2000s, but the lack of connectivity via LAX has really hampered my travels especially on AA where SANLAXSTL was a much easier run than having to trek to DFW or even PHX. Granted when UA or AA would throw a CR2 on the route it was hell, but I suppose I’m also a little nostalgic for all those SF3s and EM2s that used to ply the skies between SAN and LAX…..sigh.
I liked the ability to connect via LAX or SFO; but with AA there is no SANLAX to connect to LAXSTL and on UA there’s plenty of SANSFO, but the SFOSTL has yet to make a return and everything on UA these days seems to route over DEN. Also secretly hoping that AS will return to SANSTL; having an F cabin, let alone another nonstop vs WN was nice.
Scott (SANspotter)
I totally agree Michael! I am feeling optimistic that things are returning to normal (slowly, but surely). As a matter of fact, I’m booked on a United E175 from LAX to SAN in two weeks that departs LAX at around five-ish p.m. I haven’t seen one of those in a long time!
Fingers crossed that they can speed up the return of more convenient flight times…
Cara
Hi Scott. Thanks for your review. We will be flying on one soon in first class. Not sure if you’re aware that pilots usually start out being type rated on the regionals then work their way up fairly quickly while others choose to stay flying these smaller jets. They are very high tech planes and the pilots deserve to be appreciated.
Scott (SANspotter)
You’re very welcome Cara – I certainly didn’t mean to question the skills and ability of these pilots. It’s a demanding job that I know that I don’t have the stamina for, and it’s easy to see that they don’t get paid anywhere near what they’re worth.
FWIW, I also make snarky comments about the little Honda Fit that I daily drive (and love dearly). Even deep into middle-age, I still can’t resist immature “size” jokes lol.
Anyway, I hope you have a great flight! First class on the E175 is quite spacious.
AvGeek
Hey, SANspotter! I liked the review. Thankfully, at my home airport, there is little need to fly on regional jets (although regional jets still operate the strangest routes). On the opposite side of the spectrum, around a year ago, Delta was flying a 767-300 from ATL to my home airport (the flight only takes around an hour)! Sadly, I didn’t fly on it. I have a suggestion for a future review: trying the E-175’s economy class! Wonder what that experience is like…
Scott (SANspotter)
Glad you enjoyed it! Bummer that you didn’t get the opportunity to fly the DL 763. It’s never not fun to fly on a domestic widebody out of your home airport. 🙂
But yeah, I fly on the E175 a lot on positioning flights up to LAX. I’ve thought about doing it in economy one of these times just to do a review – but then I always back out thinking that nobody would probably read it haha. I just might!