Review: Delta Connection Comfort Plus Embraer 175 and CRJ-900

Background:

I was flying from New York (LGA) to Indianapolis (IND) roundtrip, and these are two airports that I’ve never been to before. They ended up both being quite nice airports, which is nice to hear as LaGuardia had quite a negative reputation before their renovations. Additionally, this was the first time I would fly on a CRJ-900 (Canadair Regional Jet) as well.

Delta Sky Club LaGuardia:

Wow was this lounge huge! It was also quite crowded but had a large assortment of food. You can check out my full review here, but it was one of the best domestic lounges I’ve been to.

Delta Sky Club Indianapolis:

This lounge was quite small but had surprisingly good food options for a lounge of this size. Considering Indianapolis Airport is quite nice and not crowded, it’s probably not entirely necessary to make the lounge a pit stop unless you want some food or a drink. You can check out my full review here if you are interested.

The Flight: Delta Connection Comfort Plus LGA-IND aboard the Embraer 175 operated by Republic Airways.

Since I am a Gold Medallion, at the T-72 hour mark, I was upgraded to Comfort Plus from my Main Cabin ticket and got the aisle seat 7B. I ended up 2 out of 8 on the waitlist for First Class.

This flight was operated by an Embraer 175, which is a plane I’ve been on a good amount. I like how comfortable the ride is for short hops. First Class is in a 1-2 Configuration, and Comfort Plus + Main Cabin is in a 2-2 configuration.

The Flight:

Boarding commenced twenty-five minutes before the scheduled departure.

I boarded with the Comfort Plus boarding zone, and we had a full flight, but boarding was quite efficient and orderly. My seatmate was a Delta flight attendant who was positioning to Indy so that she could work the Indiana Pacers charter flight which sounded very cool. It was nice to talk to her!

The plane was a bit old, as evidenced by the cushions and seats. The aircraft was over 14 years old which could explain the condition. I was in Comfort Plus, and the legroom was pretty spacious. No complaints for a short 2-hour hop.

Delta Connection’s E175’s have 34 inches of pitch and are 17.2 inches wide according to SeatGuru. This is 2 extra inches of pitch than the standard Main Cabin seats on this aircraft. Power plugs were also located beneath the seat which was a plus.

We left the gate 7 minutes before the scheduled departure and took off just 7 minutes after our scheduled departure. The captain said our time in the air would be 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Wi-Fi:

Wifi was offered on board by Intelsat. Since it’s a regional jet, it doesn’t have free Wi-Fi quite yet. A flight pass was $9.95, or there was free Messaging App usage. Additionally, T-Mobile customers could get free internet. The Wi-Fi was a bit spotty on this flight for me.

Snack Service:

Quickly after reaching cruising altitude, a drink and snack service was provided.

Snack choices were between sun chips, biscoff cookies, almonds, and a lemon coconut bar. I opted for ginger ale and almonds.

It was a relatively smooth flight, and we made it to the gate 15 minutes early which was nice.

The Flight: Delta Connection Comfort Plus IND-LGA aboard the CRJ-900 operated by Endeavor Air.

Since I am a Gold Medallion, at the T-72 hour mark, I was upgraded to Comfort Plus from my Main Cabin ticket and got the aisle seat 8C. By the time of boarding, I ended up 7 out of 12 on the waitlist for First Class.

This flight was operated by a CRJ-900, which is a plane I had never been on before. I haven’t heard the best things about it, but I was excited to give it a try! First Class is in a 1-2 Configuration, and Comfort Plus + Main Cabin is in a 2-2 configuration.

Boarding commenced 30 minutes before scheduled departure, and when boarding the plane, I was told by the gate agent that I may have to check in my bag since the CRJ-900 has small overhead bins. Thankfully, my bag barely fit into the bin! It wasn’t deemed an issue on the E175, so I think the bins on the E175 are larger.

The Flight:

My first impressions of the plane were that the ceilings were quite low. The Embraer 175 definitely has higher ceilings. However, the interiors finished off this CRJ-900 was more updated which was a plus. I found out that this plane was actually quite new, having been delivered only 2 years ago.

The CRJ-900 offers 34 inches of pitch and 17.2 inches of width according to SeatGuru. This is the same as Comfort Plus on the E175. Power plugs were also located beneath the seat which was nice.

It was a full flight, and the captain announced that our flight would be 1 hour and 21 minutes in the air, which is about half an hour shorter than in the opposite direction. We also had a famous flight attendant, and he was very friendly. If you saw on the news, the flight attendant who sat in the aisle to comfort a passenger a few months ago, that was him!

We left the gate 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time and took off shortly thereafter.

Wi-Fi:

Wifi was offered on board by Intelsat. Since it’s a regional jet, it doesn’t have free Wi-Fi quite yet. A flight pass was $9.95, or there was free Messaging App usage. Additionally, T-Mobile customers could get free internet. WiFi service starts above 10,000 feet, and also loses connection a good 20-30 minutes before landing.

Service:

Shortly after takeoff, a beverage and snack service was provided. They had snack choices of Sun Chips, Biscoff Cookies, and almonds. Similarly to my first flight, I opted for almonds and a ginger ale…I am so original!

They even came around with the cart one additional time before the initial descent if anyone wanted anything. Pretty impressive!

We ended up arriving at the gate 20 minutes early, which was great! I then headed to the LGA Sky Club for a quick light dinner.

The Verdict:

Overall, both of my Delta Connection Comfort Plus flights aboard the E175 and CRJ-900 were solid ways to travel for the short flight. If I had to choose, I think the E175 is a more comfortable ride than the CRJ-900, in addition to having more ceiling height and carry-on space.

Have you been on Delta Connection Comfort Plus flights aboard the E175 and CRJ-900? How was your experience? Do you have a preferred aircraft from the two? Comment below!

Cheers,

Ty

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Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!