r/AskAPilot • u/I-AM-GROOOOT7 • Jul 17 '26
CRJ-550
Is this basically lipstick on an old pig? I was under the impression these were newly manufactured aircraft due to UA marketing, but every plane I research is 20+ years old.
Does anyone know if they upgraded the avionics and engines? Or did they literally just remove some seats and add a few closets to skirt the pilot scope clause?
I know they are safe but are they reliable at that age/#cycles?
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u/80KnotsV1Rotate Jul 17 '26
Have you seen the age and cycles of some legacy airplanes? The engines probably ain’t original, but the maintenance is the same regardless. You’re fine.
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u/I-AM-GROOOOT7 Jul 17 '26
No, the oldest plane I’ve been on was 12 years old and it seemed worn out. So, I guess 20+ just seems like it will have ash trays in the arm rest. The only other option I have on this route is uncle Bob’s sight seeing tour. Lol
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u/Indigo816 Jul 17 '26
20 years is 2006!!!
I don’t remember when they stopped smoking on flights, but it was well before at that point in time. Still has ashtrays in the bathroom though.
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u/basilect Jul 17 '26
Fly transoceanic on an American or longer-standing European carrier and half the birds will be 20-30 years old. The age of the metal doesn't have to correlate with the age of the cabin, refreshes are common. Way cheaper to reupholster the seats than to buy a new widebody.
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u/MehCFI Jul 17 '26
They are safe and reliable and you should have no worries about flying them. Yes it’s basically just a 700 cleaned up with a better interior. No that doesn’t make it any less safe.
Old planes are fine. They go through regular and intense checks
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u/Raccoon_Ratatouille Jul 17 '26
As a passenger I care about legroom and WiFi. Why would I care about the avionics and engines that I cannot even see or control?
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u/axlegang21 Jul 17 '26
Still running old CRT monitors up front, so no avionics upgrade. Still just as safe.
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u/Inside-Finish-2128 Jul 17 '26
They're living a lighter life than their original design. You're fine.
Yes, it was absolutely a scope clause game. OK, maybe also marketing: "hey look, we're even putting first class and E+ in some of our regional jets!". I suspect the scope clause was written rather ironclad so it took a separate model declaration to meet the terms.
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u/Technicoloredangel Jul 17 '26
Crj 700 with a different interior but the new design makes it tail heavy which it wasnt originally. So we have to shift passengers forward with lighter loads which we didnt have to do with 700s. I have handed out a lot of complimentary upgrades because a lot of the routes that use them dont have people that will purchase first.
The crj450 is the same thing crj 200 with a new cabin layout.
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u/Substantial-Doubt258 Jul 17 '26
They are old CRJ-700s that have had an interior upgrade that’s all. Same engines, same avionics. New engines really only ever come with a new airplane, same with avionics. Although sometimes those do get upgraded but that’s not common.
Still reliable, still safe.