Delta CRJ-550 Seat Map & Best Seats (2026)
✈️ Quick Verdict
Aircraft: Bombardier CRJ-550 · 50 seats · 10 Delta First / 20 Delta Comfort+ / 20 Delta Main Cabin
Operated by: SkyWest, as Delta Connection · Detroit, Minneapolis–St Paul and Salt Lake City
Layout: 1-2 in First, 2-2 in the Main Cabin — there is no middle seat anywhere on this aircraft
Version lottery: No — one configuration. But see the United comparison below; the two CRJ-550s are not equally equipped.
Best seats: 4A in First (the only seat in its row). 11A/11B/11C/11D in Comfort+ — the exit row, and the one extra-legroom row that still reclines.
Seats to avoid: 7A and 7D (Comfort+ with no usable window), row 10 (Comfort+ that does not recline), 15B/15C/15D and all of row 16 (the lavatory).
Entertainment: Delta Studio streamed to your own device. No seatback screens.
Wi-Fi: Air-to-ground, roughly 10 Mbps — browsing speed, not streaming speed.
The trap: two of the Comfort+ window seats have no window
Row 7 is the first row of Delta Comfort+. It is a bulkhead row, so the seat map shows it with obvious extra space in front, and Delta charges accordingly. Seats 7A and 7D are the window seats in that row.
7A and 7D have no usable window. The window in that section of fuselage sits well behind the seat, so you are looking at wall. They also lose underseat storage to the bulkhead, and the tray table lives in the armrest, which narrows the seat you actually sit in. You are paying a Comfort+ premium for a windowless seat with nowhere to put your bag.
If you want row 7, take 7B. It is the one seat in the row with a genuine advantage: the bulkhead ahead of it only covers about 55% of the width, so there is open floor on the right-hand side and real stretch-out room. 7C sits behind a bulkhead that covers about 90% of the width — technically a gap, practically none.
The second trap is one row further back. Rows 8 and 9 carry the full 34-inch Comfort+ pitch, but 8A, 8D, 9A and 9D all have windows set behind the seat, so you have to lean back to see out. And then there is row 10.
Row 10 versus row 11: the decision that matters most
Rows 10 and 11 are both Delta Comfort+, both cost the same, and on a booking map they look like adjacent rows of the same product. They are not.
| Row 10 | Row 11 | |
|---|---|---|
| Legroom | 34" Comfort+ pitch | Roughly 40" — the exit row gap |
| Recline | Restricted — the exit behind must stay clear | Full recline |
| Windows | Normal at 10A and 10D | Normal at 11A and 11D |
| Verdict | The weakest Comfort+ row | The best seats in the cabin |
Row 11 sits at the overwing exit. It gets about six extra inches of space ahead of it, and because row 12 is a normal row, nothing stops row 11 from reclining. Row 10 gets the pitch but surrenders the recline. If the seat map offers you either at the same price, take row 11 every time.
Delta First (rows 1–4)
Ten seats in a 1-2 layout at 36-inch pitch. The left-hand side is a single seat; the right-hand side is a pair. Row 4 is a single seat on its own — there is no 4C or 4D.
Best pick: 4A. It is the only seat in row 4, which makes it the most private seat on the aircraft: no seatmate, no one across the aisle, and it is the last row of First so nobody reclines into you from a pair. 2A and 3A are the next best — solo seats with well-aligned windows.
1A, 1C and 1D are the bulkhead row. Fine seats, but the bulkhead means your bag goes overhead for taxi, takeoff and landing. If you are travelling as a pair and want to sit together, the C/D pairs in rows 1, 2 and 3 are the only way to do it — there is no other two-seat unit in First.
Delta Comfort+ (rows 7–11) and Main Cabin (rows 12–16)
Both cabins are 2-2, so every passenger has either a window or an aisle. That is the CRJ-550's single best structural feature and the reason it is a nicer ride than the 70-seat CRJ-700 it was built from.
| Rows | Cabin | Pitch | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | Delta First | 36" | 1-2. Four solo seats: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A |
| 7 | Comfort+ | Bulkhead | 7A and 7D have no usable window. 7B is the pick |
| 8–9 | Comfort+ | 34" | A and D windows sit behind the seat |
| 10 | Comfort+ | 34" | Does not recline |
| 11 | Comfort+ | ~40" | Exit row, full recline — the best economy seats |
| 12–14 | Main Cabin | 31" | Clean, unremarkable, no flags |
| 15 | Main Cabin | 31" | 15B, 15C and 15D back onto the lavatory |
| 16 | Main Cabin | 31" | Last row: no recline, and the lavatory is right behind |
Rows 12, 13 and 14 are the quiet middle of the Main Cabin — nothing special, nothing wrong. If you are not paying for Comfort+, that is where to sit. Note that Delta does number row 13 on this aircraft; United's CRJ-550 skips it.
One lavatory, fifty passengers. The CRJ-550 has a single lavatory, at the very back behind row 16. There is none in First, so the First cabin walks the length of the aircraft to use it. That is the real cost of sitting in rows 15 and 16: not just the door noise, but everybody on board queuing beside you.
Delta's CRJ-550 versus United's
United launched the CRJ-550 in 2019 with GoJet; Delta's arrived with SkyWest and rather less fanfare. The airframes are the same idea — a CRJ-700 capped at 50 seats, with a First cabin, in-cabin closets and a self-serve snack area — and the seat layouts are close to identical, including the same windowless bulkhead seats and the same row-10-versus-row-11 trap.
| Delta Connection | United Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | SkyWest | GoJet |
| Front cabin | 10 Delta First, rows 1–4, 36" | 10 United First, rows 1–4, 36" |
| Extra-legroom economy | Comfort+, rows 7–11, 34" | Economy Plus, rows 7–11, ~35" |
| Standard economy | Rows 12–16, 31" | Rows 12–17, row 13 skipped, ~30" |
| Exit row | Row 11 | Row 11 |
| Wi-Fi | Air-to-ground, ~10 Mbps | Starlink |
| Screens | None — stream to your device | None — stream to your device |
The one difference that will change your flight is the Wi-Fi. United's CRJ-550s carry Starlink; Delta's are on an air-to-ground system rated at around 10 Mbps, which is enough to browse and message but not enough to reliably stream. Since neither aircraft has seatback screens, and Delta Studio is delivered over that same connection, this is worth knowing before you plan to watch something.
Delta does not publish an in-seat power specification for the CRJ-550. On its CRJ-700s, power is fitted in First and Comfort+ only, with nothing in the Main Cabin. Assume the same here and board with a charged battery.
Quick picks by traveller
| You are | Take | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Travelling alone, in First | 4A | The only seat in its row — no seatmate, nothing across the aisle |
| A couple, in First | 2C and 2D | The furthest-forward pair that is not the bulkhead, so you keep your underseat storage |
| Legroom above all | 11A or 11D | Roughly 40", a real window, and it still reclines |
| A couple in Comfort+ | 11C and 11D | A two-seat unit at the exit row; nobody climbs over anybody |
| Not paying for extras | Row 12, 13 or 14 | Standard pitch, but away from the lavatory and clear of every flagged seat |
| First off the aircraft | 1C or 1D | Boarding and deplaning are both through the forward left door |
How to tell you are on a CRJ-550
Delta Connection's regional jets are easy to confuse at booking. The tell is the seat map itself:
- CRJ-550 — 50 seats, the last row is 16, and row 4 has a single seat in it (4A, with nothing across the aisle).
- CRJ-700 — 69 seats, the last row is 18, and First is rows 1–3.
- CRJ-900 — 76 seats, the last row is 20, and although First also runs to row 4, row 4 is a full row rather than a single seat.
All three are 2-2 in economy with no middle seat. What the CRJ-550 buys you over the CRJ-700 is the same fuselage with twenty fewer people in it: a bigger First cabin, wider aisles at the front and a noticeably less crowded boarding process. What it costs you is the lavatory ratio.
SkyWest is converting CRJ-700s into this layout for Delta on a rolling basis, so the number in service keeps moving: the programme has been described as reaching 19 aircraft, and around ten were flying in Delta Connection colours when we last confirmed the cabin data. They fly mostly from Detroit, Minneapolis–St Paul and Salt Lake City into smaller markets that used to see the single-class CRJ-200 — which is the real story here. If your route has switched, you have gone from a 50-seat jet with no First cabin at all to a 50-seat jet with ten First seats and no middle seat anywhere.
Comparable guides
- United CRJ-550 seat map and best seats — the direct sibling, with Starlink
- Delta CRJ-700 seat map and best seats — the aircraft this one is built from
- Delta CRJ-900 seat map and best seats — the larger Delta Connection CRJ
- United CRJ-200 seat map and best seats — the 50-seater the CRJ-550 replaces
- United CRJ-700 seat map and best seats
Frequently asked questions
Does the Delta CRJ-550 have middle seats?
No. First Class is 1-2 and the Main Cabin is 2-2, so every seat on the aircraft is either a window or an aisle. It is one of the few aircraft in Delta's network where that is true.
What is the best seat on the Delta CRJ-550?
4A if you are in First — it is the only seat in its row. In economy it is row 11, which combines the exit-row legroom with full recline. 11A and 11D add a properly aligned window.
Which seats should I avoid?
7A and 7D, which are sold as Comfort+ window seats but have no usable window and no underseat storage. Row 10, which has the Comfort+ pitch but cannot recline. And 15B, 15C, 15D and all of row 16, which sit against the aircraft's only lavatory — row 16 also does not recline.
Is Delta Comfort+ worth paying for on the CRJ-550?
In row 11, yes — roughly 40 inches against 31 in the Main Cabin is a large difference on a two-hour regional flight. In rows 8 and 9 it buys you three inches. In row 7 and row 10 it is hard to justify: row 7's window seats have no window, and row 10 does not recline.
How many lavatories does the CRJ-550 have?
One, at the rear behind row 16, shared by all 50 passengers including First Class. It is the strongest argument against sitting in rows 15 and 16.
Does the Delta CRJ-550 have seatback screens or Wi-Fi?
No screens — Delta Studio streams to your own phone, tablet or laptop. Wi-Fi is an air-to-ground system rated at around 10 Mbps, which is fine for messaging and browsing but slower than the Starlink fitted to United's CRJ-550s.
Where does Delta fly the CRJ-550?
SkyWest operates them as Delta Connection from Detroit, Minneapolis–St Paul and Salt Lake City, largely on routes that previously used the 50-seat CRJ-200.