As of one month ago, I have flown on the United Express Embraer 175 eleven times between San Diego and LAX. Every single one of those flights have been in first class.
I decided to switch things up for my most recent trip by going in economy class instead.
The verdict: I’m an idiot (as if you didn’t already know that). More specifically, I’m an idiot who has maybe been wasting his money for no good reason all these years. Economy class is perfectly fine.
UA5636 San Diego, CA (SAN) – Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Tuesday, November 26, 2024 Aircraft: Embraer 175 Registration: N161SY Duration: 27 minutes Seat: 22A (Economy)
United Express ERJ-175 (N161SY) side view illustration by NorebboStock.comOur route from San Diego to Los Angeles this evening as UA5636.
My full review of United Embraer 175 economy from San Diego to Los Angeles
As a reminder, all United Express flights between San Diego and Los Angeles are operated by SkyWest (the same airline that operates Delta Connection flights up to LAX as well). So it’s not technically United. But close enough.
Arrival at SAN
Despite having flown on so many United/SkyWest Embraer 175’s out of San Diego over the years, this 8:49 PM departure was kind of an all new experience for me. I don’t think I’ve ever done this flight at night.
As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time that I’ve been on a flight departing San Diego after 4 PM. I’m a morning-centric frequent flyer!
How to make a United Express Embraer 175 economy class flight more exciting: Enter the airport through the Japan Airlines / Lufthansa entrance and pretend that you’re going somewhere fun. I’m trying to pretend, but it’s not working. Whoa. Planning on walking right up to the United Airlines baggage drop counter without having to wait (not even for a second) was not what I was expecting. This is exciting again!Want to know what I want for Christmas? Hourly A350’s and A380’s (instead of E175s) between SAN and LAX, that’s what.Familiar: the sight of a United Express Embraer 175 parked here in the dark at gate 44. Not familiar: the fact that it’s 8 PM (as opposed to 5:30 AM). Flying up to Los Angeles near my usual bedtime is all new experience for me.
The boarding process
I was keeping an eye on the inbound flight via the Flighty App, and I could see that it was running way behind schedule. I naturally assumed that this flight would be delayed a bit.
I therefore chose to sit and wait at a quiet gate located elsewhere in Terminal 2 to wait out that impending delay.
Bad decision. Despite the late arrival of the aircraft, they somehow started the boarding process exactly on time. Everyone else was already onboard by the time I finally decided to mosey on down to the gate. Whoops.
“Last call for all passengers traveling to Los Angeles on United Airlines flight number 5636!” Missing this flight would have been bad (because I had an international connection to make at LAX), but it wouldn’t have been the end of the world either (because Embraer 175 economy class).You have no idea how satisfying it felt to be the very last passenger to board this airplane. My goal of spending as little of time as possible inside this E175 was coming to fruition. This kink in the road represents the moment when first class turns to economy class. Pay attention, or else you will crash land directly into the lap of the person sitting in seat 5B.Upon successfully navigating the kink, you’ll see huge overhead bins. It’s one of the many reasons why the United Embraer 175 experience kicks the ever-living snot out of the United CRJ-200 experience IMHO.While I’m waiting for the aisle to clear, here’s a look at the Economy Plus seats (located at the very front of the economy class cabin). Not very exciting is it? Just wait till you see where I’m going to be sitting!
Seat overview
As you’re about to see in the following pictures, economy class seats on the Embraer 175 aren’t all that much to talk about. Other than the fact that they’re very narrow, really hard, and not very good looking I mean.
But you know what? They’re not much worse than the seats you’ll find in United 737-800 economy.
Seat 22A and B. I told you this wasn’t going to be exciting.Leg room? Not all that exciting, but it certainly ain’t bad either.Holy sh*t this might actually be a halfway decent flight up to LAX.Interesting. These Embraer 175s almost look like real airplanes from way back here in economy. Regional jet my a**!But then you take a look to your right and become suddenly reminded that yes – this is a regional jet (and that maybe this isn’t going to be as luxurious as you thought). Silently hoping that I’ve been good enough this year for Santa to grant me the wish of A350’s and A380’s between SAN and LAX starting next month.The embroidered seat tag. You asked for a detailed United Express Embraer 175 economy class review, and gosh darn it, that’s what I’m delivering. Armrest footage too. OMG this is the best review ever.
The departure
Somehow – despite how late this aircraft arrived from LAX – they managed to get us pushed off the gate five minutes early (at 8:44pm). Not only that, was it a completely traffic-free taxi all the way to the threshold of runway 27. I don’t think we ever stopped once along the way.
Pushing off the gate and the person in front of me is already dead. That was quick. The only thing I can think of is that she died of boredom. I mean, it’s not that uncomfortable back here.Taxiing to runway 27. There’s a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer joke in here somewhere, but it’s getting late, and I ain’t feeling clever enough to pull it off.Faster than a speeding bullet (and as noisy as a Dyson)! Yeah, she may sound like a handheld vacuum cleaner at full throttle, but she quick.
In-flight entertainment
Good news: United offers their full catalog of streaming movies and TV shows (and Wi-Fi) to all passengers on the Embraer 175. Bad news: it wasn’t offered on this 25 minute flight up to Los Angeles (likely due to the fact that we didn’t spend much time above 10,000 feet). At least we know it exists.
Picture proof of my failed attempt to find power outlets (USB or 110 V) hidden beneath and between the seats. The verdict: You better be darn sure that your personal devices are all charged up before you even think about consuming the streaming in-flight entertainment.
Snacks and drinks
Sorry. You’re never gonna get more than just a drink (and maybe a small bag of pretzels or peanuts) in economy here on the E175. Don’t feel bad though – because it’s all that first class passengers get as well.
The flight attendant did come by offering cups of water on this short hop up to LAX, but that was it.
Seat comfort
It’s not that I found my seat to be really comfortable or anything, but it was probably one of the most tolerable regional jet experiences I’ve had in a while. At least in economy class.
What this flight lacked in entertainment and food was made up by the surprisingly generous seat recline. It’s almost like I’m straight pimpin’ my way up to LAX. Almost (because pimpin’ ain’t pimpin’ without sippin’ on gin and juice). They really need to step up their snack and beverage service I think.
There’s not enough legroom the cross your legs if you’re over 5’-5”. There won’t be enough wiggle room for anyone blessed with thunder thighs. And everyone is going to be rubbing elbows with the person sitting next to them. It’s all part of the regional jet experience.
The arrival into LAX
Seeing rain and fog during decent and landing into LAX was completely unexpected. The pilots made no mention of it in their welcome announcement, so maybe it hit them by total surprise as well? I wonder what else they missed along the way?
UA5636 coming in hot to runway 25L! I would so totally crash and burn a limited visibility landing like this in Microsoft Flight Simulator (so bad that you wouldn’t even wanna know the body count).
We landed on runway 25L at exactly 9:44 PM (8 minutes behind schedule). The taxi to the gate took 12 minutes.
These people have no idea how lucky they are that I wasn’t flying this plane this evening. SANspotter + rain + fog = very bad things.What is it with these San Diego United Express flights and gate 87 (the one all the way at the end – farthest from any other gate in the entirety of LAX)? We parked here the last three times I’ve done this flight.“Unclench me from this wretched airplane!” In all honesty, this was decently comfortable and I wasn’t that eager to get off. It’s just more fun to pretend to be dramatic as I wait my turn to deplane, that’s all.Whoa. Those exit row seats are kinda legit! Noted for next time…Actually, seat 4A (the one up there on the left) is the most legit seat on this entire airplane. You can read my United Embraer 175 first class review if you’re curious to see what that experience is like.Next stop: ANA 787-8 economy class!
Pros and cons
I’m actually kind of glad that I gave economy class a try for once. Whether or not I enjoyed it enough to lure me away from first class is yet to be seen, but I’m certainly not totally opposed to it anymore. It’s perfectly fine(ish) for short hops.
Pros
Legroom is surprisingly generous.
Streaming in-flight entertainment and Wi-Fi – just as good at it is on the big boy airplanes.
The overhead bins are large enough to make you wish that you bought a larger carry-on bag.
Cons
Narrow seats mean sitting uncomfortably close to the person next to you. Eww!
No power outlets (USB or 110 V).
There’s just no way you’re gonna impress anyone telling them what kind of aircraft you flew in on.
Wow. Last time I flew the United E175 was a terrible experience, and this time through the images and your responses, it actually looked pretty good! They still need to add the IFE….
I think the thing that made it look so good was the fact it was just a 25 minute flight. 🙂 I don’t think this would be much fun (or comfortable) on longer segments.
Scott, I agree gate 87 is a crappy assignment if you’re trying to make a connection but have you flown from the TBIT “expansion” gates? The long, long walk to/from those gates is a new level of hell.
Sylvan
Wow. Last time I flew the United E175 was a terrible experience, and this time through the images and your responses, it actually looked pretty good! They still need to add the IFE….
Scott (SANspotter)
I think the thing that made it look so good was the fact it was just a 25 minute flight. 🙂 I don’t think this would be much fun (or comfortable) on longer segments.
JNSD
Scott, I agree gate 87 is a crappy assignment if you’re trying to make a connection but have you flown from the TBIT “expansion” gates? The long, long walk to/from those gates is a new level of hell.
Scott (SANspotter)
Yup, I’ve done it a bunch of times already. It’s a long walk – especially from T8 / gate 87!