United Airlines transforms devil’s chariot into premium CRJ-450

LOS ANGELES — Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the airline industry, one-third of all United Airlines’ domestic US departures were on 50-seat regional jets. While that number has fallen to just 10% today, United isn’t resting on its laurels as demand for premium travel products remains high.

Enter the CRJ-450. Similar to the CRJ-550, which is simply a lower-capacity CRJ-700 configured with 50 seats, the CRJ-450 is a Mitsubishi CRJ-200 in disguise. The total seat count drops by nine seats to 41, and introduces seven First Class seats and four rows of extra-legroom Economy Plus to the type.

In a day full of announcements at United’s maintenance hangar at Los Angeles International Airport, the CRJ-450 was perhaps the most unexpected. Introducing premium products to domestic destinations that cannot support the 50-seat CRJ-550 is a powerful signal from United that premium demand stretches to even the most far flung domestic destinations.

The drab generic blue seats that are so familiar to CRJ passengers are being replaced with seats featuring the airline’s latest branding and color palette.

“We made a real big commitment to a premium offer on all of our aircraft, but we did have a gap in our smallest communities where our aircraft did not have premium seats,” United Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said at the event.

“And I’ll tell you, of all the things we’re announcing today, this is probably, I would say, the most unexpected transformation. When you have an opportunity to go visit this aircraft and you get on board, you’re gonna realize that this — an aircraft today that is not our customers’ most favorite for all the reasons you know — is suddenly gonna be transformed into a private jet experience.”

One of the defining features of the CRJ-450 is the removal of overhead bins in the new First Class section. While it may not actually create the private jet feeling that the airline suggests, it does indeed feel more open and far less claustrophobic than the 50-seat CRJ-200, which has been nicknamed by frequent flyers as “the devil’s chariot” due to its cramped cabin conditions.

In place of the overhead bins is a bag storage locker area found immediately after boarding. The locker appears to have just enough space to house one larger bag for each First Class passenger.

Passengers in economy will still have to gate check a few bags, however.

United worked to modify the motion of the overhead bin doors to allow full-size bags to be placed sideways, something not typically possible on traditional CRJ-200 bins, but it isn’t enough to fully squeeze in all bags.

Fifty-seat (and now 41-seat) regional jets are the last gap in the inflight connectivity portfolio of many airlines’ fleets, but United has promised to extend its Starlink rollout to the 41-seat jet.

That leaves the Embraer E145 as the sole unconnected aircraft in United’s fleet once the Starlink rollout is complete in 2027.

Sear Morris, who heads up United Express, says that the CRJ-450 will also be equipped with USB-C ports from nose-to-tail by the end of the introductory year.

All CRJ-200s in United’s regional fleet will transform into CRJ-450s, with the first of the type hitting the skies in the fall of 2026, and operated by SkyWest Airlines. The aircraft will be based out of the airline’s Denver and Chicago hubs.

United plans to introduce more than 50 CRJ-450s by 2028, joining the nearly 120 CRJ-550s in service.

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