The Airlines and the Flying Public have a Mixed View of Single-Class 50-Seat Regional Jets
Not many seasoned flyers get excited when they see a 50-seat regional jet on their itinerary. On one hand, they are small, cramped, and for taller travelers, people cannot even stand up straight in them. But on the other hand, they allow airlines to serve markets that they might not otherwise. Some markets are too small for larger regional jets or mainline aircraft and might not otherwise have service.
In the analysis below, we will take a deep look at the current state of 50-seat aircraft, who flies them, and to where. For the sake of simplicity, I will be referring to service by marketing carrier (ie, Delta, American, or United) as opposed to operating carrier (SkyWest, Commuteair, Envoy, etc.).
Who flies single-class, 50-seat, regional jets?
Below is a chart showing the number of daily single-class, 50-seat departures by marketing US-based airline.
Broken down by single airline hub, the breakdown looks like this.
50-seat regional jets and the pilot scope clause.
A Scope Clause is an agreement between the unions representing the pilots at a particular airline and the airline itself that regulates the number of planes that may be flown by regional airlines. Scope clauses are not my area of expertise, but in the case of both United and American, the scope clauses have restrictions on larger regional jets (those with 70 or 76 seats); they are much more forgiving with 50-seat regional jets. For all intents and purposes, both airlines have an agreement with their pilots that regional affiliates can fly as many 50-seat aircraft as they please. Yet, American Airlines has announced plans to phase out all 50-seat regional jets from its route network by 2030. United has not made a definitive statement on date, but has also indicated a wish to reduce regional jet flying. In 2021, United CEO Scott Kirby said:
““There are fewer and fewer markets for which regional airlines are going to work. Because as soon as a low cost carrier goes in and cuts the prices in half, the break even load factor on a regional becomes 160%. They’re just not going to work. So there’s going to be fewer and fewer markets.”
Which destinations do single-class, 50-seat, regional jets currently fly and how many from which hub?
How many of these destinations served are smaller and cannot support larger equipment? How many are on subsidy? How many of these destinations are larger cities that could support bigger equipment? To find out the answer, we have to break them down further.
For the analysis, we will look at the schedule for October 2025. We will analyze by single airline hub and destination. Destinations are grouped by several categories:
- Destinations within 500 miles vs. Destinations outside 500 miles
- Small City Destinations (metro areas under 400,000) vs. Midsized City Destinations (metro areas between 400,000 and 800,000) vs. Large City Destinations (metro areas over 800,000).
- On a subsidy vs. no subsidy component. For this measurement, I will be referring solely to those on Essential Air Service (EAS) subsidies. This does not mean there is no money put forward for service on other routes, but to keep it consistent, I will be looking only at EAS routes.
Based on Distance...
An initial look shows that United is willing to offer flights with longer stage lengths on single-class regional jets. But is it simply because they are smaller and cannot support larger equipment? To see, we have to look at the size of the markets.
Based on Market Size....
Immediately sticking out are the large number of small cities served by United from Denver. Denver’s location enables it to serve remote communities in both the Mountain West and the Great Plains, both east-west and north-south. Most of these small towns cannot support larger equipment and are often subsidized.
Another thing that stands out is the number of larger cities served by the CRJ/ERJ by AA from Philadelphia and by UA from Washington Dulles. In theory, single-class, 50-seat regional jets shouldn’t be used to larger cities; however, looking at the distance chart above, it seems apparent that these aircraft are being used from these hubs to cities that are close to the hubs in question.
How many Routes are on EAS Subsidies?
Routes on EAS subsidies are typically not stable. They can come and go at the whim of the politicians who approve their existence. Most cannot stand on their own without some form of subsidy or revenue guarantee. Operators can also switch frequently depending on who bids for a route and who the route is awarded to.
Another issue with many of these routes is that they put small airports in close proximity to each other. If we look at the western 2/3 of Kansas, this is very apparent. Currently, Dodge City (DDC), Liberal (LBL), Hays (HYS), and Salina (SLN) all have subsidized routes. Not far across the border with Nebraska, McCook (MCK), Kearney (EAR), and North Platte (LBF) are also served via subsidized routes. While these cities are not right next to each other, they are located in a very sparsely populated region of the United States and in an area where most people are willing to drive to larger airports (like Wichita, Kansas City, or Denver) for more options. This creates a scenario where a large number of small airports compete for a very small number of passengers. Of these routes, only Kearny, NE (EAR) maintains above a 70% load factor, and another, Salina, KS (SLN), has a 67% load factor. The others struggle with low loads and show no signs of being self-sufficient.
Can some of these Routes be up-gauged to larger Equipment?
How many of these routes could be operated with larger equipment? How many cannot support anything larger than a 50-seat regional jet? To really know, we have to look at both loads and frequency on routes operated by these flights. Because United has not announced a specific intention to remove these aircraft from its route network while American has, the analysis will focus on United.
Below are a series of graphs showing both load factor and frequency by route, by hub, for single-class, 50-seat aircraft. The graphs below are color-coded by the following:
- Red = Mix of single-class, 50-seat, regional jet, and other equipment.
- Purple = Exclusively operated by a single-class, 50-seat aircraft.
- Green = Exclusively operated by a single-class, 50-seat aircraft and on subsidy.
Disclaimer: the analyses below do not necessarily take into consideration equipment availability or the pilot scope clause, as those situations can be fluid and changing. Instead, I will explore what the hub could support based on the role it plays in the route network.
United's Hub at Houston (IAH)
United’s hub at Houston has very few routes with any subsidy behind them. United also has an almost even mix of routes exclusively operated by the CRJ/ERJ vs. those where the CRJ/ERJ and larger equipment serve the route together. Among the routes with a subsidy tied to them, Meridian, MS (MEI) has a respectable 70%.00% LF, while the other three do less well with LFs between 47 and 55%.
Of the routes flown from IAH solely on CRJ/ERJ equipment, the load factors are overall very high. There are 13 routes where this is the case. Of those, only three are served by the CRJ/ERJ to/from UA’s IAH hub are served daily. These are Hobbs, NM (HOB), Morelia, Mexico (MLM), and Puebla, Mexico (PBC). The other 10 destinations are served multiple times daily. Given that two of the destinations are in Mexico and UA has announced a CR5 hub at IAH, these could be prime candidates for that equipment. Amarillo, TX (AMA), Lubbock, TX (LBB), Jackson, MS (JAN), and Huntsville, AL (HSV) all have LF’s over 85% and Knoxville, TN (TYS), Springfield, MO (SGF), and Harlingen, TX (HRL) have LF’s over 90%. These could all be candidates for upgaging not just to 76-seat aircraft but potentially to mainline equipment.
Another 14 routes have a mix of CRJ/ERJ and larger aircraft service from IAH on UA. Of those, there were 2,081 departures on UA from IAH in June of 2025. 1,056 or 50.7% of those 2,081 departures were on a CRJ/ERJ. Broken down by enplanements at IAH on UA from June 2025, 45,692 of the 110,816 took place on CRJ/ERJ aircraft. This is 41.2% in total.
Any shift away from the single-class, 50-seat aircraft in United’s network should not significantly affect UA’s Houston hub. While there are a sizable number of destinations served by the CRJ/ERJ, most are used for supplementing larger equipment or could be served by larger equipment with lower frequency. The ones that cannot support it (like PBC or MLM) would be good candidates for the CR5. Of the routes not on subsidy, only one (HOB) could be at risk if the CRJ/ERJ were removed from the network. The routes on subsidy would potentially be at risk, but there are so few of them that their impact would be minimal.
United's Hub at Denver (DEN)
United’s hub at Denver has a more pronounced relationship with single-class, 50-seat aircraft than any other hub in the United States. This is due to the large number of destinations served that are subsidized, and also a large number of destinations that are small and physically isolated. While some of these, such as Sioux City, IA (SUX) and Cody, WY (COD), carry respectable load factors above 80% and Prescott, AZ (PRC), Jamestown, ND (JMS), Dickinson, ND (DIK), West Yellowstone, WY (WYS), and Kearney, NE (EAR) have loads over 70%, most have subpar loads and could not only not sustain larger aircraft, but could not exist outside subsidy. Eight of these destinations carry load factors under 70%. North Platte, NE (LBF), Scottsbluff, NE (BFF), Devils Lake, ND (DVL), Liberal, KS (LBL), and Dodge City, KS (DDC) all carry loads under 50% with the latter three having loads under 40%.
For this reason, the end of the single-class, 50-seat regional jet could signal the end of the relationship between the regional partners of major airlines and the subsidized markets they serve.
Beyond markets on subsidy, 15 destinations from United’s hub in Denver are served solely on CRJ equipment. All of these markets have load factors at 70% or above, minus Rock Springs, WY (RKS) at 69.49%. Markets like Helena, MT (HLN), Minot, ND (MOT), Lincoln, NE (LNK), and Gillette, WY (GCC) all have loads in the upper 80s. These, scope clause, and availability considerations would be great candidates for larger aircraft. Others like Bismarck, ND (BIS), and Lubbock, TX (LBB) have loads in the mid-80s and could also potentially support larger aircraft. It is my view that all of these markets could maintain service if there were no longer CRJ service at DEN on UA’s behalf, just with lower frequency and larger aircraft.
As for destinations where single-class, 50-seat regional jets fly alongside larger equipment, it should be easy enough to phase them out, as there are only 10 such destinations and all have high loads.
Because of the large number of routes on EAS subsidy and the number of small and isolated cities served by UA from Denver, it is hard to imagine the single-class, 50-seat regional jet not being a part of the network from DEN. While it’s effect on the hub itself would be negligible due to the large number of destinations and frequencies UA flies there, it would mean (potentially) getting rid of service to around 15-20 destinations altogether. I don’t know that I see UA wanting to do that.
United's Hub at Chicago (ORD)
First, a correction, ORD-EAU is listed as not on subsidy on the graph above; however, the route is subsidized.
United does serve a sizable number of destinations from its Chicago hub that rely on subsidies. Like the routes on subsidy via their Denver hub, the loads vary greatly. Some, such as Sioux City, IA (SUX), Rhinelander, WI (RHI), and Hancock, MI (CMX), have loads over 70%, but six routes have load factors under 50% and two (Fort Dodge and Mason City) are even below 30%. Only SUX, RHI, CMX, and Joplin, MO (JLN) would feasibly survive with no subsidy.
United only serves two routes from ORD exclusively on single-class, 50-seat regional jets. Fort Wayne, IN (FWA) and Bay City/Saginaw, MI (MBS) both have load factors around 80% and could easily be transitioned to a CR5.
Twelve destinations are served with CRJ’s in combination with larger equipment. They could be upgraded to larger equipment with fewer frequencies with minimal disruption to the hub. All of these destinations carry load factors of 80% or higher, making them good candidates for this.
United's Hub at Washington Dulles (IAD)
UA’s IAD hub has a relatively large number of destinations where the single-class, 50-seat aircraft is the only aircraft operating a route. On the plus side, these routes all run load factors around 80% or higher. However, IAD’s domestic connectivity does not have the breadth or width that their hubs in Chicago, Denver, and Houston have. This is going to make it harder to upgrade smaller markets without first increasing capacity to larger markets.
Unlike Denver, where there are plans to increase the number of mainline aircraft to take over smaller destinations, Chicago, where the CR5 has largely taken over small market flying, or Houston, where there is a plan to open a CR5 base, UA’s hub at Washington Dulles doesn’t have such plans yet, even if it is growing. Denver’s single-class, 50-seat regional jet flying is exclusively to smaller markets, but that is not the case for Washington Dulles, where the CRJ/ERJ fly to mid-sized and even larger cities. Because of this, it is harder to see a path away from the CRJ/ERJ at IAD to larger markets as opposed to IAH or ORD. We should have better clarity on what UA plans to do once we see more growth to larger markets out of IAD.
Where does the use of these aircraft go from here? Is there a future for the single-class, 50-seat regional jet (CRJ/ERJ)?
Quite frankly, I don’t see a scenario where these planes exit commercial flying completely.
American Airlines has a stated goal of retiring these aircraft by 2030, and for them, it makes sense. Their Charlotte hub is so large that upgrading to most of the destinations served could be within reach. There may be a few cities that could no longer support service, but the impact on the hub would be minimal.
Philadelphia is a little harder just because it doesn’t have the width and breadth of opportunities for connections that Charlotte has, but AA is using the ERJ to fly to larger cities out of PHL than they do out of CLT, which should, in theory, be able to support larger equipment. Time will tell how AA sorts this out.
The picture is much more complex for United. For them, doing away with the single-class, 50-seat regional jet would mean giving up a larger number of destinations.
Denver, Houston, Chicago, and Washington Dulles all rely on the CRJ/ERJ for service to smaller cities (in IAD’s case to larger ones as well). Even if UA were to keep around, but minimize the role of the CRJ/ERJ, what would it look like?
In Houston and Chicago’s case, the transition would be easiest. Houston has only four routes on EAS subsidy, and other destinations currently served on the CRJ/ERJ could easily be moved to a CR5 or larger aircraft. Chicago has more routes on subsidy, and this would make it more difficult to move away from the CRJ/ERJ. However, it is completely feasible to see a scenario where the only flights on UA out of ORD on these aircraft are routes on subsidy.
For Washington Dulles and Denver, it is hard to see a future without the CRJ/ERJ, though for entirely different reasons. In the case of IAD, the hub just isn’t powerful enough at the current time to move away from them. While IAD has an extremely robust international network, its domestic network is lackluster. This could change in the future, but for now, the ERJ is needed to keep connectivity at reasonable levels at IAD. In the case of Denver, there are just too many cities in the Mountain West and the Great Plains that, while able to support air service, cannot support larger aircraft. The CRJ will be needed to maintain service to these smaller communities.