Meet the Bombardier CRJ1000 EuroLite

All this chatter about how Bombardier's new CSeries 130XT variant is aimed at clients in Europe and elsewhere gets one to thinking about whether the airframer has a special CRJ1000 variant in mind for Europe too. Well, by golly, it does. In addition to the baseline CRJ1000 and CRJ1000ER, Bombardier is offering a CRJ1000 EuroLite (EL) variant with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 85,968lb and range of 1,030nm. And get this; it has already secured a customer!

"The CRJ1000 EuroLite was designed to help minimize weight-related charges for European operators who need a short- to medium-range jet. Some operators have expressed an interest in the EuroLite and one has already ordered it," confirms a Bombardier spokeswoman.

So who is the customer? Bombardier isn't telling just yet. Orders for the CRJ1000 stand at 39 aircraft and customers include Adria Airways, Air France subsidiary Brit Air, Italian operator Myair and an undisclosed operator.

Check out the key differences in the three CRJ1000 variants below.