A friend of the blog and occasional commenter recently flew ExpressJet from New Orleans to Austin. We asked for them to send us their opinion…
This weekend I took a flight from New Orleans to Austin using ExpressJet. To start with, I prefer discount airlines as they are more efficient and timely than the premium carriers. My favorites are Jetblue and Southwest, but I’ll definitely use ExpressJet again. The plane was small, but comfortable and I had the good fortune of an empty seat next to me, though that was just luck. The flight attendant was courteous and effective at serving the entire plane (19 rows of seat), plus a complimentary meal was offered, though I did not accept as I already ate.
An additional benefit was that I was 15 minutes early and my luggage arrived promptly. While I can only give so much of a review for a short flight with little incidents, I definitely endorse ExpressJet for those who travel between a route they offer.
For those of you unaware…ExpressJet began originally as a collection of small commuter airlines reorganized as a subsidiary of Continental Airlines known as Continental Express. It became ExpressJet, an independent organization, in 2002. In 2005, Continental decided to reduce its contract with ExpressJet by 69 aircraft, and ExpressJet had no choice but to seek work elsewhere. It began a charter operation, which currently uses nine aircraft. Eighteen aircraft are currently operating out of Los Angeles under the Delta Connection banner.
And in April, ExpressJet began service under its own brand, using the remaining aircraft. Its idea was to provide point-to-point service between cities in medium markets which otherwise would not see such service. LA/Ontario Airport is to be its largest operation. They currently serve 24 cities with its fleet of Embraer 50-seat regional jets.
Unlike some operators of the ERJs, ExpressJet offers memory foam leather seating, over 100 channels of XM satellite radio, and name-brand snacks with full service meal options on longer flights.
Finally, for those of you who want more on the airline, we remind you of fellow travel blogger The Cranky Flier…who offers the narrative of his dinner with ExpressJet’s CEO and VP of Marketing back in March, as well as his own trip report from LA/Ontario to Tucson.
We intend to interview our ExpressJet flier for more details and will have them for you in a future post.