We’re headed to New York for a few days, Val grew up here and we’re going back. I love that Greenville has direct flights to LGA and honestly it’s a pretty easy upgrade to clear for Delta Medallion members. I didn’t book or pay for First Class on this short flight, it’s just not worth the money, but I’ll gladly take the free upgrade. The Delta CRJ900 has 12 First Class seats out of 76 total seats so the ratio is great, probably why it’s an easy upgrade.
I like riding in the First Class of Delta’s CRJ900, I’ve reviewed all the different cabins and class on the CRJ900 before, but it’s been a while so I figured I’d review the First Class again. If you’d like to see a comparison of First Class, Comfort Plus, and Economy, Here’s a full review.
Bottom Line: This trip on the Delta CRJ900 in First Class was very smooth. The flight was on time, seat was comfortable, and service was good. It’s about a 2 hour flight, the CRJ900 is great for this.
Delta CRJ900 First Class Boarding
Nice sunny Saturday morning and we’re boarding our flight right on time to New York. We’re boarding via jetbridge, just there’s a pretty big gap between it and the gate, this is normal on the CRJ900s because they’re pretty small.
Delta CRJ900 First Class Cabin and Seats
The Delta CRJ900 has 12 First Class seats. They are arranged over 4 rows with 3 seats per row. The best seats are any of the single seats on the left hand side of the plane. Then you can get a window and aisle. Note: this photo was taken from a different trip.
I’m sitting in seat 4A, Val’s right in front of me in 3A. We normally would have chosen seats on the 2 seat side and sit together, but none were available in pairs. Leg room is very adequate, we’re back-pack only on this trip so that wen’t overhead and I have lots of room to spread out.
The CRJ900 is a regional jet, a large one, but still a regional jet. As such, Delta doesn’t put in seat entertainment onto these aircraft. It’s not a big deal for me, these flights are short, less than 3 hours is about the limit of range on these CRJ900s. Power is provided in each seat so you can charge your devices.
The boarding process was pretty fast, the mood lights were on full display as the flight attendant offered a pre-departure drink. I declined. It’s just about noon and I’m not ready just yet for a beverage.
Delta CRJ900 First Class Push Back and Takeoff
We pushed back from the gate right on time. Again, nice Saturday to take a trip.
We headed towards the runway and tookoff towards the North East. This flight is only about 90 minutes in the air, but taxiing around LGA usually takes a few minutes.
We turned towards New York and got a nice view of the area as we climbed. GSP is kinda in a no-mans land between Greenville and Spartanburg. There’s a large BMW plant, but otherwise it’s very rural as you can see.
As we continued north, we got such a great view. It’s been a while since I’ve been on such a clear day flight. I love getting a nice view. The CRJ900 is also very quiet up front in First Class. The engines are in the rear so it’s a little noisy back there.
Delta CRJ900 First Class Drinks and Snacks
The flight attendant came around and asked if we’d like a drink. I went with a nice Sweetwater 420 beer. Like all domestic Delta First Class flights, drinks are included on the CRJ900.
Next came the First Class snack basket. This is always a little dicey when you’re sitting in the last row, sometimes they run out of the good stuff. Not this time, they had my two favorite items, these little chocolate cookies are fantastic and I love pistachios with beer.
Delta First Class CRJ900 In Flight
As we continued North East so did the nice weather. We got to see the ground from 32k feet the whole flight. With no in seat entertainment, I put on my headphones and listened to a few podcasts while enjoying the view and beverage.
My drink was refilled and the trash from the snack service was cleaned up. I like that the Delta CRJ900 First Class seats have a little cup holder built into the arm rest. Then I don’t have to leave the tray table out and can spread out a little bit more.
Delta CRJ900 Lavatory
The Delta CRJ900 has 2 lavatories, one in the front and one in the rear. They are about the same size but neither are large. It is a small plane after all.
Delta CRJ900 First Class Landing and Arrival
As we started our decent into LGA, the flight attendant came around and asked if I’d like a plastic cup for my beer. She needed to collect the glassware but she could put my drink into plastic and I can keep it. So obviously I kept it.
Outside we finally got some clouds but we’re below them so the window watching was still excellent. The pilots came on and told us we’d be landing in about 15-20 minutes, the seat-belt sign was turned on.
Inside the cabin, everything was stowed and the flight attendants took their seats.
I always enjoy getting a few of Manhattan from the air. Today was an especially great day with the beautiful sunshine.
We’ll be landing to the south today, so before circling around to the runway, we passed LGA. We’ll be landing soon enough.
Just a few minutes later we touched down at LGA. We’re right on time if not a few minutes early. I absolutely love direct flights.
Delta CRJ900 Final Thoughts
I like the CRJ900. I know, regional jets are not amazing, they’re kinda boring and I’m ok with that. With that said Delta’s First Class on the CRJ900 is pretty solid. I think it’s about as good as it gets for a regional jet. The seats are comfortable, I think there’s plenty of space, power to charge devices, and a nice quite cabin in First Class.
The service is standard domestic First Class. Drinks and snacks are provided on this 90 minute flight between Greenville and New York. There’s not too much expected from this type of flight, yet I was perfectly happy. Whenever I ride on the CRJ900 in First Class I’m more than ok with it, I certainly won’t try to avoid them, in fact, I think they are more comfortable than some other narrowbody planes.