FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1999
1999 - 1731.PDF
IPARIS99 Bombardier is planning a two pronged attack on the large regional jet market, with its 70-seat CRJ- 700 and all new 90/110-seat BRJ-Xfamily (above) Regional ramp up Federal Aviation Administration predicting a doubling in annual regional aircraft boardings to 123 million passengers by 2010 in the USA alone, a clear need will exist for larger aircraft. "Everyone's forecasts agree that there is going to be continued pressure for a lot of tradi tional mainline flying. If operations that provide the feed widi smaller aircraft grow in propor tion, there are going to have to be a lot more air craft that are bigger, otherwise there will be no room to fly or park them," suggests Bombardier regional aircraft president Robert Gillespie. MORE RANGE As aircraft size has increased, so has range - opening up new routes beyond the 650km (350nm) reach of traditional turboprops, but which are still too small to support mainline jets. The Bombardier CRJ-100/200 is acknow ledged to have rewritten the book on regional air transport. Testament to this are the 800 orders and options booked over the past six years. The 50-seat Canadian jet has not only changed the thinking of regional carriers, it has also proven an enlightening experience for those air travellers more accustomed to the cramped and mind-numbing confines of a tur boprop. "Airlines are looking for added passen ger comfort and the ability to accommodate FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 June 1999 PAUL LEWIS/SAN ANTONIO/TORONTO/ WASHINGTON DC THE REGIONAL AVIATION industryis in a state of transition. Airlines have bade farewell to major manufacturers such as Fokker, Jetstream and Saab, together with an increasing number of their turboprop air craft. They have been replaced by Bombardier, Embraer and Fairchild, offering a range of new, larger jets that will redefine the regional air transportation business. 0 5 15ft 30ft FLIGHT GARETH BURGESS 98 Two members make up Bombardier's BRJ-X family If sales forecasts can be believed, the market for 70/100-seat regional jets is set to rapidly expand over die next 10 years. Fuelling this is a combination of projected mainline carrier growth and a knock-on demand for expanded hub feeder services, along with a proliferation in city pair routes that until now have been regard ed by die major airlines as too small to be viable. Bombardier and Embraer each forecast a market for around 2,500 regional jets in die 70- seat plus category over the next 10 years, while Fairchild puts die figure nearer to 3,000. "We see a large number of aircraft in the 70/100-seat size... we think it will be the fastest-growing segment of the mar ket," predicts Fair- child Aerospace chief executive Carl Albert. The average size of regional aircraft has been steadily in creasing over die past 20 years and by last year had sur passed 28 seats. With the US 80 seat version 144
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
