Background and Booking
On my flight home to Indianapolis to the New York City area, I had a United return flight booked. While I flew in First Class on the way there, I was on the United Embraer 170 Economy product home because the price difference to First was too expensive ($100 more).
Generally, for domestic flights, it’s the same price to book two one-ways, but I’ve been starting to see more frequently, especially from smaller airports, that booking roundtrips on the same airline is cheaper. While not as drastic as international flights, my United flights were about $50 cheaper booking as a roundtrip versus 2 one ways. At $350 roundtrip, that’s still about 15% off, so I booked my flights as a roundtrip.
Due to the Taylor Swift Concert taking place during my weekend in Indianapolis, flight prices were extremely pricey (upwards of $450 one way). About a month before the flight, I saw that United had dropped the pricing of the 5 AM and 6 AM flights at $175 one way, I quickly booked. While I did not want to depart that early, I did not want to be spending more than double on the flight. Part of me was also kind of hoping that the flight would be oversold and volunteers would be needed. I had all day to get back to New York, and wouldn’t mind a travel voucher. That didn’t end up happening, but a friend was on an afternoon Delta flight and said they were offering $1,000 to volunteer (they didn’t take it).
Flight Details
United Express 3567
Operated by Republic Airways
Indianapolis (IND) to Newark (EWR)
Scheduled Duration: 2 hours and 4 minutes
Status: Early (15 minutes)
Cabin: Economy
Seat: 19C
At the Airport & Boarding
Indy has a nice and spacious airport, and the TSA PreCheck line went by pretty quickly. Our flight was at 6:25 AM, and we scheduled our Lyft to take us from the Graduate Bloomington at 4:15 AM. The ride took exactly an hour, and we were past security by 5:30 AM.
Boarding started 25 minutes before departure at 6 AM exactly. Note: The overhead bins on the E170 are on the smaller side so standard carry-on bags have to go in horizontally rather than on its side, which takes up more space. My seatmate and I boarded in Group 3, and there were about 5 in front of us with Group 3. We all received gate check tags, but once we got to the aircraft the airport staff told us to board the plane with our bags as the flight attendants said that there was still overhead space. Thankfully, we were able to find one of the last few spots for our bag, and then the flight attendants announced that the bins were full. So, just be ready to have to check in your bag if you’re in Group 3 or later.
The United Embraer 170 Economy Product
The United Express Embraer 170 is operated by Republic Airways. These E170s are rare to find on United Express, and there are currently only around 17 in service, versus over 200 E175s. I generally like the Embraer 170/175’s much more than the CRJ aircraft as the plane feels more spacious. Our aircraft was about 19 years old, but was in relatively decent shape, just a bit dated.
The Economy seats offer 31 inches of pitch and a seat width of 18 inches, in a 2-2 configuration. One downside of the E170 is that there are no power ports or USB charging on the entire aircraft.
I found the legroom and seats to be perfectly comfortable for the short hop.
The Flight
We finished boarding in about 11 minutes, and then the pilot announced that the flight time in the air would be 1 hour and 23 minutes. He was quite funny, and even stated “I don’t know why you would want to go to Newark at 6 AM, but alright.” Definitely my mood lol.
We left the gate 8 minutes before our scheduled departure and took off about 15 minutes afterward.
Then once we reached cruising altitude, the in-flight service began, and we had a choice of pretzels or chocolate quinoa crisps plus a refreshment. I enjoyed my chocolate quinoa crisps very much.
Wi-Fi was offered onboard for $8 for the whole flight for Mileage Plus Members and $10 for those who aren’t members. It was also free for T-Mobile customers, and while on the slower side, I was able to surf on my phone pretty easily.
I drank too many smoothies and juices in the morning and had to use the lavatory. It was quite clean, perhaps since it was such an early flight and the aircraft had been parked since the night before.
We ended up landing about 20 minutes early and got to the gate shortly after.
The Verdict
Overall, I had a pleasant flight onboard the United Embraer 170 Economy Class product. The on-time arrival and snack service were sufficient, though I wish that they add power ports to this aircraft soon.
Have you flown on the United Embraer 170 Economy Class product before? How was your experience? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
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!
