Story ID: 
US Air Express To Go First Class
By: Gregory Polek
Caption: US Airways announced last month it would add first-class seating and service on 110 US Airways Express regional jets operated by Republic Airways, Mesa Air
Word Count: 152
US Airways announced last month it would add first-class seating and service on 110 US Airways Express regional jets operated by Republic Airways, Mesa Air Group and PSA. Plans call for the airline to install first-class seating on Embraer E170s and E175s, along with Bombardier CRJ700s and CRJ900s, beginning in October with the E175 fleet. It expects to finish outfitting the three remaining types by the end of January.
All the models but the CRJ900 will offer 37 inches of seat pitch, in the two-by-one configuration, while the big Bombardier RJs offer 38 inches. Cabin-class seats will all offer 31 inches of pitch and remain four abreast. The modifications will result in a nine-seat first-class section in the CRJ700s, CRJ900s and E170s, while the E175s get eight. The CRJ700s will hold 58 coach seats, the CRJ900s 70, the E170s 60 and the E175s 72.