Country of origin:

Canada

Description:

Twin-turbofan regional transport

Power Plant:

Two 9,220 lbst General Electric CF34-3B1 turbofans

Specifications:

History:

Produced by the Regional Aircraft Division of Bombardier Inc of Canada, the Regional Jet was a development of the Canadair Challenger to meet the requirements of regional airlines. Design studies commenced in 1987 and formal program go-ahead was given in March 1989. Three development aircraft were built (c/ns 7001 to 7003) and one static test airframe, the prototype (C-FNRJ) flying for the first time on 2 August 1991. First customer delivery aircraft (c/n 7004 – D-ARJA) was delivered to Lufthansa City Line in October 1992.

The standard aircraft initially was known as the Series 100 but, to meet customer requirements, other variants were made available, these including: Model 100ER for extended range, later replaced by the Model 200ER; Model 100LR announced in March 1994 and supplied to Lauda Air of Austria; Model 200, the later standard aircraft designed to carry 50 passengers over 1,824 km (1,133 miles) with General Electric CF34-3B1 engines replacing the CF34-3A1 of the Model 100; Model 200ER for extended range with an increase in max take-off weight to 23,133 kg (51,000 lb) and additional fuel capacity to give a range of 3,046 km (1,893 miles); Model 200LR, a longer range variant to give a range of 3,713 km (2,307 miles) with a max take-off weight of 24,040 kg (53,000 lb); the Model 700 seating 68 passengers, and the Corporate Jetliner.

Launch customers were Lufthansa City Line, MT Aviation, and Comair. Later the type proved very popular and more than 500 examples were ordered. Accommodation was provided for two pilots, one or two cabin attendants, and a cabin seating up to 50 passengers in the commuter airliner role in four-abreast standard configuration.

First of the type seen in this region was a demonstrator, C-GVRJ (c/n 7003), which made a South Pacific tour in 1993, during its tour making demonstrations to Qantas and Ansett Airlines in Melbourne, VIC, and Sydney, NSW; and then to Air New Zealand and Mt Cook Airlines in New Zealand. A further example seen in this region was a CRJ-100LR (OE-LRC) of Lauda Air from Austria, which was used to demonstrate the performance of the aircraft on routes and into airports.

In 1995 it was announced Hazelton Airlines would be purchasing examples of the type for its longer routes, particularly Sydney to Geelong, VIC, but operations on this route ceased and the type was not imported.

In 1998 Kendell Airlines based in Wagga Wagga, NSW ordered 12 examples, to commence services from November 1999, with an option on a further 12. These aircraft were registered as CL600-2B19 CRJ-200s. The first VH-KJF (c/n 7336) was registered in August 1999. The company’s aim was to operate high-frequency regional jet services, such as Melbourne to Launceston and Hobart, TAS and extend its network to operate the regional jets on the Melbourne – Canberra, Sydney – Canberra, Launceston, Hobart, Coffs Harbour and Ballina routes, plus direct Canberra – Brisbane and Canberra – Adelaide services. However, following the demise of Ansett Airlines, followed by Kendell Airlines and Hazelton Airlines in 2001, the CRJs were withdrawn from service and stored in Melbourne and Wagga Wagga, until they were exported to Canada during 2002.

Kendell aircraft included: VH-KJF (c/n 7336), VH-KJG (c/n 7357), VH-KJJ (c/n 7361), VH-KJN (c/n 7367), VH-KJQ (c/n 7372 – ex C-FMMY), VH-KJS (c/n 7401 – ex C-FMMX), VH-KJU (c/n 7405 – ex C-FMKW), VH-KJV (c/n 7422 – ex C-FMND), VH-KJX (c/n 7471 – ex C-FMLS) and VH-KJY (c/n 7481). Deliveries took place between August 1999 and May 2001. One example VH-KJZ (c/n 7489) was never imported, following a decision as to the use of the aircraft on the airlines routes, and was leased to Eurowings in Germany for six months from 1 April 2001, ceasing operations with that company on 14 September that year and never coming to Australia.

The twelfth aircraft for Kendell was VH-KXJ (c/n 7508) registered on 24 May 2001. Its last service was on 14 September 2001, after which it was stored at Tullamarine, VIC and later Essendon, VIC. It was registered to Interair Pty Ltd on 11 April 2002 and ferried to Calgary, Canada, being struck off the Australian register on 24 April 2002. It later entered service with Eurolynx for Anadarko Petroleum Company as G-ELNX. Registrations VH-KAM and VH-KDN were reserved for a further two for Kendell but also were never imported.

Another purchaser of the type with connections to this region was Ansett Worldwide Aviation Equipment of Hong Kong, with an order for ten Series CRJ-100ERs with an option on a further ten.

Canadair later became Bombardier and continued to develop the series, new models commencing with the Series 700. Design and market evaluation of this model commenced in 1995 and launch was announced in January 1997. Commonality with the earlier series was important, and the fuselage was lengthened by 4.72 m (15 ft 6 in) with plugs fore and aft of the centre-section in order to seat up to 70 passengers.

Further models were designed, including the CRJ-900X which, when it entered production, became known as the CRJ-1000 Regional Jet and seated 100 but retained the low operating costs and high standard of cabin comfort. The 90-seat CRJ-900 appeared in 2000. Operators included Air France subsidiary Brit Air, My Way Airlines, etc. The CRJ-1000 had a max take-off weight of 41,632 kg (91,800 lb) and a max range of 3,139 km (1,950 miles).