Hi, dear flight-report members and readers!
In this FR I'd like to present a retro-review of a LOT Embraer E175 on a flight from Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO) to Warsaw Chopin (WAW), taken on 25 April 2018. Such flights are completely unimaginable nowadays. It was the first leg of the SVO-WAW-CDG-WAW-SVO ticket, with the 2nd leg being operated by a rare classic B737-400 (already reviewed) and return legs being operated by (the same on both legs) E195.
E175 Scope Clause in US - The PITA for Embraer
E175, being the second-smallest E-jet, is by far the most (and still) produced E-jet. The largest (by far) E175 customers are in US.
The reason is the US's scope clauses (pilot's union contracts), which limit seat capacity of aircrafts, operating for US regional airlines, to 76 seats and MTOW to 86K lbs, thus making E175 the largest aircraft these airlines can operate. The larger Embraers could be operated only by mainline carriers (DL, UA, AA, AS, etc) under their own brands with very different policies of pilot's salaries and, understandably, these legacies show no interest in larger E-jets. Due to these factors some US airlines (listed below in the next section) have huge E175 fleets (because US regional market is huge itself), operating for regional subsidiaries of the aforementioned legacies: Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle, etc.
These scope clauses are the main reason why E175 is still produced in large numbers (despite belonging to the older 1st generation) and why larger Embraers, including the newest E295s and E290s, are produced in much less numbers than E175. If the regulatory environment in US was less insane (sad sigh), the larger Embraers, especially, E2s, could've seen the US domestic market unlocked for them, resulting in big success these excellent jets really deserve. The reality is that outside US the market for E2-jets is quite limited (with some exceptions for Canada and Brazil - their homeland).
It feels so unfair that US regulations make an excellent planemaker - which Embraer really is - to struggle with the sales of its excellent new-gen production, but this world is very unfair with no chances to improve. At least, E295 is slowly but steadily gaining some popularity among non-US carriers. The recent order from LATAM also adds to its brighter future.
Embraer E175 Operators
It would be useful to list the current E175 operators to make one clearly see the stark difference between the fleet sizes in US and outside of US.
1) Air Botswana: 1 unit (Y88).
2) Airlink: 4 units.
3) Belavia: 1 unit (C12_Y64).
4) BermudAir: 2 units (C88).
5) Envoy Air: 130 units (C12_Y64), operating for American Eagle.
6) Fuji Dream Airlines: 13 units (Y84).
7) Horizon Air: 47 units (C12_Y64), operating for Alaska Airlines.
8) Jazz Air: 25 units (C12_Y64), operating for Air Canada Express.
9) KLM Cityhopper: 17 units (CY88).
10) LOT Polish Airlines: 12 units (CY82) plus 3 units (CY88).
11) Mesa Airlines: 21 units (C12_Y58) plus 39 units (C12_Y64), all operating for United Express.
12) Overland Airways: 2 units (Y88).
13) Republic Airways: 13 units (C12_Y58), operating for United Express plus 172 units (C12_Y64), operating for Delta Connection, United Express and American Eagle.
14) Royal Jordanian: 2 units (C12_Y60).
15) SkyWest Airlines: 88 units (C12_Y58) plus 178 units (C12_Y64). These units operate for Delta Connection, United Express, American Eagle and Alaska Airlines.
16) Star Air (India): 7 units (C12_Y64).
Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO)
Before pandemic LOT operated from Terminal D in SVO, which is quite dated by modern standards. This is the terminal I visited the most when flying out of SVO. The advantage of this terminal is that gate zone is located high above the apron, thus giving excellent angles for planespotting.
The Aircraft
My flight from Sheremetyevo to Warsaw was operated by 2009-built SP-LIK with CY82 layout. Currently this aircraft is grounded.
The aircraft was parked near gate 40 of the Terminal D. The beautiful orange "Belarus" tractor adds to the entourage.
Boarding
View of the portside GE CF34 engine from the jetbridge with some planes of Russian airlines on the backdrop.
The 1L door.
The Cabin
The cabin consists of 82 seats in 2-2 layout, standard for E-jets. Up to 4 front rows can be occupied by "eurobusiness" (red antimacassars) with 1 pax per duo block. On this flight "eurobusiness" occupied 3 front rows. On the 4th photo in the gallery one can see how severely misaligned can be windows and rows in Embraers. The windows are quite large, but their pitch is also large and it creates misalignment problems.
The 2L door, the galley and pre-flight tour de lavatorie.
The Economy Seat
My seat is 15A right after the wing. The seat, having a lot of padding, feels comfortable and has (almost) 18.0" width between armrests. The seat has adjustable headrest, leather upholstery, tray table and seat pocket. The row pitch is OK. Having flown on a quite a number of different Embraer operators, I can say that this seat model is one of the best for Embraers, so kudos to LOT.
The seat pocket content was abundant:
The overhead panel is standart for 1st-gen of E-jets.
The Flight
E175 wing view at the cruise level.
The crew handed wet wipes…
… and then snack and drink service followed, which seemed not-so-generous by pre-Covid standards, but seems more than OK by today's standards of mid-haul flights within Europe. The crew were nice, as on all my LO flights, taken in 2018-2019.
A couple of inflight cabin views.
Frozen window at the cruise level.
Crossing mighty Wisla river.
The final approach.
The Cabin After The Flight
A couple of cabin views upon disembarkment.
The Aircraft After The Flight
Views of the aircraft from the stair (it was parked at a remote stand) and from the bus, taking the passengers to arrivals.
Thank you for your attention and see you in the next FRs!
