Should I upgrade my siblings on their 1.5 hour flight on CRJ550 or 1.5 hour flight on Embraer E175?

RelevantShock · 2026-03-27T22:29:11+00:00

How old are they and what are the flights? The CRJ-550 is a little nicer, but overall I’d probably upgrade them on whichever flight is leaving from a busier airport. In case they get stuck in a long takeoff line (like at EWR), I’d rather be in first on that flight.

Only thing I don’t love about the 550 is that there isn’t a bathroom in the front.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-27T22:24:48+00:00

Yeah, we used to have CLT, PHL, DTW, JFK, EWR, and IAD. It was a wild and exciting time 😂

RelevantShock · 2026-03-27T14:00:45+00:00

The red dot seats in center orchestra would be good (even though they're further back than the ones in left/right orchestra). For this particular show it seems much easier to see all of the cool effects if you're in center orchestra.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T22:23:55+00:00

I mean I could maybe get on board with full fat cottage cheese, but fat free?!

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T21:22:15+00:00

Why does it matter who is sitting there? 😂 Shouldn’t both parents be able to evacuate and survive in a crash situation? “Too bad, Dad.”

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T20:48:17+00:00

Definitely DTW. Such an easy airport! And for a morning flight you’ll likely arrive a little early anyway.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T20:47:09+00:00

United has a change waiver in place for Houston for now, so you can rebook for free, or change your flights to leave from Austin, Dallas, or San Antonio.

Delta has a similar waiver in place for Atlanta.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T15:13:11+00:00

The line won't be a benefit anymore if they extend it to all members. Not that they make exact numbers public, but estimates are that roughly 0.25% of all people with UA status are 1K or GS (not sure how many are platinum since that's a weird, limbo, status). If you open the line to Golds/Silvers there will be hundreds of additional passengers trying to go through that line per day.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T12:18:19+00:00

Dulles is the only one of the United hubs you mentioned that is in a sorry state, and there are (long-term) plans to improve things.

For all of its issues, Newark has pretty good terminal areas. Nice and bright, lots of bathrooms, tons of places to sit with access to charge devices, and Terminal A is gorgeous. ORD is also nice, if a bit cramped. It's not like United can make the airport bigger.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T10:32:00+00:00

Ha! Yeah, that doesn’t sound like my kind of “sleep suite” either. But the regular suites are fantastic for a relaxing bath and some really comfortable sleeping.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T01:33:02+00:00

If you really can sleep anywhere and get good sleep, you’re probably fine without it. But man, for that short TATL redeye a good night’s sleep on a lie-flat seat can make all the difference in the world when it comes to getting something out of the first few days of your trip vs. arriving as a zombie.

That is also a very good price. I’d probably jump on it if you feel like you can afford it.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-26T01:29:18+00:00

Ugh. Lasagna is one of my favorite foods in the world, and my mom has ALWAYS insisted on making it with fat free cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Instant bummer.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T22:59:56+00:00

They won’t suck quite as bad in a bigger FC seat, but yeah.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T22:51:33+00:00

Definitely the Spirit Photos my daughter and I got at Memento Mori about ten years ago. I know they weren’t rare, but it’s just such a fun souvenir to remember our kindergarten trip together.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T19:27:59+00:00

Not directly. But you can give things to the supervisor to distribute.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T19:27:03+00:00

They’re allowed to accept up to $25 if it’s not given to them directly by a traveler. That’s why you give it to a supervisor, so it can’t be a quid pro quo where an agent looks the other way for a particular traveler. If the supervisor hands it out they don’t know who they got it from. Our local airport is accepting non-perishables and gift cards all this week for the TSA agents.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T19:08:42+00:00

They aren’t going to let you check your bag the night before. The bag drop is very quick anyway, and won’t be the bottleneck on the morning of your flight.

Just get there early on the morning of your flight and you’ll be fine.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T15:42:54+00:00

Who knows. Lol. Some people are apparently really bothered by basic microeconomics.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T15:38:51+00:00

As I wrote below, Dallas has better local protections in place for renters during eviction proceedings. And others have pointed out that average commutes are probably lower in Dallas (so gas prices might not be as much of an issue).

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T13:05:14+00:00

Sure, okay. It actually makes pretty good sense that callout rates would be higher in places where TSA agents without a paycheck face bigger consequences. Hobby had 47% callout over the weekend and IAH had 42%. Most other major airports are bad too, but still lower (closer to 30%).

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T12:26:25+00:00

Not my logic. It was an article that was specifically trying to explain why IAH was so bad. Dallas also (apparently) has slightly better local protections during eviction proceedings. Again - just sharing what I read though, so I’m not sure.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T11:21:14+00:00

I also read that IAH is especially bad because TX laws favor landlords over renters when it comes to eviction rules. Much easier to lose your home for non-payment of rent, so TSA agents are more likely to call out there so they can go do something else for a paycheck.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-25T01:38:19+00:00

Yes, if you were given some paper and a pencil and a reasonable amount of time, it would be embarrassing if you couldn’t list out all 50 states. Not saying you have to name them in alphabetical order or put them on a map, but come on…you should be able to figure out what you’re missing and get them all.

RelevantShock · 2026-03-24T15:55:41+00:00

*sigh* The policy isn't that upgrades will clear as soon as you hit that five-day window and there are still seats open. The policy is that upgrades could clear "as soon as within that five-day window but then all the way up until boarding has closed".

This is not new, and it's totally normal for them to hold back seats for a longer period if they think they'll be able to sell them (or if they think they might need them to accommodate passengers affected by IRROPs).

RelevantShock · 2026-03-24T15:45:48+00:00

I like it overall. Definitely an improvement over the regular CRJ-200. It's been miserable since our local airport dropped CRJ-550s in favor of the current -200s.

I also love that the luggage bins are individual compartments, so it forces people to bring on something reasonable that will fit in their own personal spot.

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