As of one month ago, I have flown on the United Express Embraer 175 eleven times between San Diego and LAX. Every single one of those flights have been in first class.
I decided to switch things up for my most recent trip by going in economy class instead.
The verdict: I’m an idiot (as if you didn’t already know that). More specifically, I’m an idiot who has maybe been wasting his money for no good reason all these years. Economy class is perfectly fine.
UA5636
San Diego, CA (SAN) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Aircraft: Embraer 175
Registration: N161SY
Duration: 27 minutes
Seat: 22A (Economy)
My full review of United Embraer 175 economy from San Diego to Los Angeles
As a reminder, all United Express flights between San Diego and Los Angeles are operated by SkyWest (the same airline that operates Delta Connection flights up to LAX as well). So it’s not technically United. But close enough.
Arrival at SAN
Despite having flown on so many United/SkyWest Embraer 175’s out of San Diego over the years, this 8:49 PM departure was kind of an all new experience for me. I don’t think I’ve ever done this flight at night.
As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time that I’ve been on a flight departing San Diego after 4 PM. I’m a morning-centric frequent flyer!
The boarding process
I was keeping an eye on the inbound flight via the Flighty App, and I could see that it was running way behind schedule. I naturally assumed that this flight would be delayed a bit.
I therefore chose to sit and wait at a quiet gate located elsewhere in Terminal 2 to wait out that impending delay.
Bad decision. Despite the late arrival of the aircraft, they somehow started the boarding process exactly on time. Everyone else was already onboard by the time I finally decided to mosey on down to the gate. Whoops.
Seat overview
As you’re about to see in the following pictures, economy class seats on the Embraer 175 aren’t all that much to talk about. Other than the fact that they’re very narrow, really hard, and not very good looking I mean.
But you know what? They’re not much worse than the seats you’ll find in United 737-800 economy.
The departure
Somehow – despite how late this aircraft arrived from LAX – they managed to get us pushed off the gate five minutes early (at 8:44pm). Not only that, was it a completely traffic-free taxi all the way to the threshold of runway 27. I don’t think we ever stopped once along the way.
In-flight entertainment
Good news: United offers their full catalog of streaming movies and TV shows (and Wi-Fi) to all passengers on the Embraer 175. Bad news: it wasn’t offered on this 25 minute flight up to Los Angeles (likely due to the fact that we didn’t spend much time above 10,000 feet). At least we know it exists.
Snacks and drinks
Sorry. You’re never gonna get more than just a drink (and maybe a small bag of pretzels or peanuts) in economy here on the E175. Don’t feel bad though – because it’s all that first class passengers get as well.
The flight attendant did come by offering cups of water on this short hop up to LAX, but that was it.
Seat comfort
It’s not that I found my seat to be really comfortable or anything, but it was probably one of the most tolerable regional jet experiences I’ve had in a while. At least in economy class.
There’s not enough legroom the cross your legs if you’re over 5’-5”. There won’t be enough wiggle room for anyone blessed with thunder thighs. And everyone is going to be rubbing elbows with the person sitting next to them. It’s all part of the regional jet experience.
The arrival into LAX
Seeing rain and fog during decent and landing into LAX was completely unexpected. The pilots made no mention of it in their welcome announcement, so maybe it hit them by total surprise as well? I wonder what else they missed along the way?
We landed on runway 25L at exactly 9:44 PM (8 minutes behind schedule). The taxi to the gate took 12 minutes.
Pros and cons
I’m actually kind of glad that I gave economy class a try for once. Whether or not I enjoyed it enough to lure me away from first class is yet to be seen, but I’m certainly not totally opposed to it anymore. It’s perfectly fine(ish) for short hops.
Pros
- Legroom is surprisingly generous.
- Streaming in-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi – just as good at it is on the big boy airplanes.
- The overhead bins are large enough to make you wish that you bought a larger carry-on bag.
Cons
- Narrow seats mean sitting uncomfortably close to the person next to you. Eww!
- No power outlets (USB or 110 V).
- There’s just no way you’re gonna impress anyone telling them that you just arrived in United Embraer 175 economy.
Thanks for confirming no power outlets, despite United app indicating 110V power outlets in both Economy and United First.
You’re very welcome – what’s odd is that there were power outlets in first class on the Alaska Airlines E175 that I flew a few years ago. That was a SkyWest plane too, so I’m not sure what the deal is.
I stand corrected. Just got off a United Embraer 175 (CHS to IAD) and there were power outlets under the Economy seats, as advertised.
I couldn’t see them on the initial leg from IAD to CHS, but, motivated by your review, I used my phone to snap a photo under the seat (since I couldn’t see under their while sitting in the seat), and sure enough, there’s an outlet with a green LED, labeled 110V, 60hz.
Interesting! I looked all over the place (behind, beneath, overhead lol) and I didn’t see any power outlets. Where are they? As you saw my picture, there were no outlets beneath the seat on this particular aircraft.
I looked as well, but was physically unable to contort my head to be able to see anything under the seat.
But when I put my phone camera directly under, I was able to snap a pic of a green LED lit outlet. Not the clearest picture, but feel free to send a note to my email address and I’ll email you the photo (since I’m unable to attach it to these comments.)
I’m conflicted about this product to be honest. On the one hand, I like the E175’s 2-2 config, wide windows, and the fact that the seats are slightly wider than on the 737/A320 (although the cabin itself is of course narrower). That being said, United’s E-jets have the stiffest and thinnest Economy seats I’ve sat on, making this product tolerable only for sub-1-hour flights. If the seats were better, I’d consider taking it over the 737/A320 (well, unless they have the new interior of course).
They are thin, aren’t they? To be honest I didn’t even notice the extra width. The pain kind of diluted the extra wiggle room!
Scott, I agree gate 87 is a crappy assignment if you’re trying to make a connection but have you flown from the TBIT “expansion” gates? The long, long walk to/from those gates is a new level of hell.
Yup, I’ve done it a bunch of times already. It’s a long walk – especially from T8 / gate 87!
1.3 miles if Google Maps is correct…
Wow. Last time I flew the United E175 was a terrible experience, and this time through the images and your responses, it actually looked pretty good! They still need to add the IFE….
I think the thing that made it look so good was the fact it was just a 25 minute flight. 🙂 I don’t think this would be much fun (or comfortable) on longer segments.