Documentary: The Rise Of Regional Jets

[Music] have you ever had to fly to or from a small rural or remote community a regional jet is likely what you traveled on it's nowhere near as exciting as larger planes but the regional aircraft market is seeing plenty of change in recent years and continues to evolve let's look at both turbo props and regional jets and the choices airlines currently have in this market segment before moving into the different manufacturers and their aircraft it is worth looking briefly at the differences between turboprop and jet aircraft in general jet engines allow aircraft to fly higher and faster on longer journeys this makes them more fuel efficient however on shorter flights turbo props can be more desirable the engines are lighter and more efficient at low altitudes as well as during takeoff and landing turboprops can also operate with shorter runways and are also preferable on rough surfaces they're also generally cheaper to maintain and operate turbo props have the ability to take off and land on concrete and shorter runways so since they can land on surfaces such as grass and gravel they are the most suitable aircraft for hard to reach airports also common turboprops can easily take off and land at any runway under the length of 5000 feet they are also generally more efficient than jets for shorter distances a main reason behind this is the higher power to weight ratio at takeover landing overall they're much lighter the choice comes down to an airline's operations and the airports they will serve for shorter distance low capacity regional flights turbo props remain very popular but for longer flights or to allow higher capacity jets are preferable there are two leading manufacturers of turboprop regional jets atr and de havilland canada their current range of turboprop aircraft were first introduced in the mid 1980s at a time when many airlines were looking to replace older propeller aircraft embraer has the emb 120 which is still in service with some airlines but has been out of production since 2001. embraer may soon re-enter the market though with a 70 to 100 seat turbo prop we'll have to wait and see what it comes up with franco italian company aire da trasporto reginale atr mainly offers two aircraft the atr 42 and atr 72 both have had several different variants over the years the atr 42600 and atr 72600 are the currently produced models both types share cockpit commonality as well as parts and equipment up to 90 according to atr the atr 42 was the company's first aircraft entering service in 1985 it can accommodate up to 48 passengers subsequent variants improved on performance with the latest 600 offering a glass cockpit improved propeller design and increased maximum takeoff weight the atr 72 evolved as a stretched version of the atr 42 and entered service in 1989 its longer fuselage could fit up to 78 passengers range and capacity are obviously the main differences between the two models the atr42 offers a maximum range of 1302 kilometers this has increased to 1404 kilometers for the atr 72 moving on the other big name in the turboprop market in recent years is the dash 8. this aircraft with its multiple manufacturers has a long and varied history but to make a long story short the dash 8 was introduced by de havilland canada or dhc in 1984 sold to boeing in 1988 and then to bombardier in 1992. most recently bombardier sold it to longview aviation capital in 2019 the aircraft's name was changed to the q 400 under bombardier but has now been returned to the dhc-8 the original dash 8 entered service in 1984 and was a 39-seat aircraft and was soon followed by a more powerful 200 variant a 300 was also offered featuring a higher capacity of 56 passengers finally the dash 400 expanded capacity to 90 and added upgraded engines bombardier released this as the q400 with quieter operation and reduced vibration this 400 series is the only variant currently in production and has a range of up to 2040 kilometers the choice of atr or dash 8 and which is better really comes down to airline needs there is certainly a place for both as their split dominance of the market demonstrates the dash 8 offers higher capacity and a greater range this may be desirable for some operators but others may prefer the lower operating cost of the smaller atr especially as there are two different sized models available there are other factors too adr aircraft are cheaper while the dash 8 is faster the dash 8 is also well known for its performance in harsh environments alaska airlines horizon air and ethiopian airlines both like it for this reason the dual production of the atr 42 and atr 72 has worked well for its manufacturer the two models have a lot in common and share the same production line this has kept the smaller variant in production despite much lower sales as with turbo props the regional jet market is mainly dominated by two aircraft types embraers erj and e-jets and bombardier's crj series there is a lot of change currently in the market though bombardier recently sold the crj program to mitsubishi in 2020 and its larger c-series to airbus just before that despite coming close to a merger with boeing embraer remains independent and is arguably the dominant jet manufacturer at the present time new competition and new aircraft are on the horizon japan's mitsubishi offers a long anticipated and long delayed competitor while russia and china also have their own regional jet competitors while there are older aircraft still in service such as the fokker 70 and 100 and the bae-146 let's look at the current manufacturers and their offerings along with upcoming new entrants if you're liking this video so far why not click subscribe and hit the like button oh and be sure to click that notification bell too embraer introduced its first regional jet programme the enterprise regional jet or erj at the paris air show in 1989 the first erj145 entered service in 1997 and fit up to 50 passengers with a range of 2783 kilometers it was followed later by additional variants production of the erj series ended in 2020 but aircraft remain in service with many airlines in fact embraer has delivered 1 22 erj aircraft as of january 2021 an impressive 758 of these remain in service u.s regional airlines are among the largest operators and include united express's commute air american airlines envoy air and piedmont airlines following the erj success embraer moved on to produce larger regional jets through the ejet program this has likewise been a great success with over 1 400 aircraft built the e170 was the first produced launched with lot polish airlines in 2004 the first ejet series now includes the following variants the improved e2 program was launched in 2013 offering similar capacity jets with several improvements including new wing design more efficient engines and updated avionics it's still early days for the e2 series but as of q2 2020 embraer had received 25 orders for the e190e2 and 148 orders for the e195 e2 brazilian airline azul is the largest customer so far having ordered 51 e195 e2s embraer's main competitor in the regional jet market has been bombardier with its crj series this was sold to mitsubishi in june 2020 but remains well in service with over 2 000 aircraft built and over 1400 still in service as of january 2021. the first aircraft launched was the crj 100 introduced with lufthansa in 1992. this was a 50-seat regional jet with a range of 3056 kilometers bombardier improved on this with the same sized crj 200 which had upgraded engines the crj 700 series followed entering service in 2001 it has a range of 2553 kilometers meanwhile the stretched crj 900 takes up to 90 passengers to a range of 2876 kilometers finally the largest crj-1000 offers a capacity of up to 104 with a range of 3004 kilometers the regional jet market has developed a lot over the past 30 years or so bombardier got a solid lead by launching its first aircraft in the early 1990s and as a north american manufacturer it was well placed to build up relationships and orders with u.s airlines its aircraft were designed to meet the needs of these airlines in fact some aircraft capacities take into account airline and union requirements empreya was later to enter the market but it was already well established as both a turbo prop and military plane maker even before bombardier sold the crj program embraer's e-jets were arguably the more attractive option with more attention and updates including developments such as extended range options now with the crj program sold empreya looks to lead the way each manufacturer's models though have competed strongly with one another the erj145 and the crj200 for example are closely matched with a capacity of 50. the erj145 gets slightly ahead on range and fuel efficiency but not a great deal other models can be compared similarly and the choice often comes down to airline fleets and manufacturer relationships empreya's other major competition is airbus at the larger end of the ejet series there is also overlap with the a220 this is where the regional and short haul markets start to mix at the top end the a220 300 edges ahead of the e195e2 in specification it has a higher capacity 160 against 146 and range 5920 kilometers against 4815 the a220 is more expensive to buy but also cheaper to operate for a true regional jet imbrea is still the best option for many airlines the a220 may beat the e195e2 in some respects but remember that this is the largest offering from embraer the commonality of smaller aircraft in the same range is a big advantage now let's briefly look at some of the newer and at present smaller competitors and consider what they have to offer the superjet 100 or ssj100 is a regional jet built by russian state-owned manufacturer sukhoi in service since 2011. the jet offers a passenger capacity of up to 108 in dense one class configuration it has a standard range of 3048 kilometers and comes in a long-range version that boosts distance to 4578 kilometers by specification the ssj-100 competes well against the embraer e170 and e175e2 although embraer beats it significantly for rage as of january 2020 302 ssj-100 aircraft had been ordered with 175 delivered the ssj100 has struggled outside russia so far almost all orders have been from russian airlines or those in surrounding countries european operators cityjet and mexico's interjet gave the ssj100 a try but both carriers have had issues with the plane [Music] the final operational regional jet we'll discuss is the chinese arj21 built by comac this aircraft has a capacity of around 90 and first flew in 2008 and entered service in 2016 with chengdu airlines there is only one variant so far the arj21 700 but a larger arj21 900 is planned it should have a capacity of around 105. the arj21 competes against the e190 and e190e2 embraer beats it both in range and capacity it's kilometer range is a letdown but reflects its role on domestic asian routes this could be improved in later models for a more international appeal its one attractive element against embraer is a lower list price 38 million dollars compared to 60 million dollars according to comac as of september 2020 616 orders have been placed for the arj21 from 23 customers most orders have been from chinese airlines finally mitsubishi has had plans for a new regional jet for some time but despite developing several test aircraft its space jet program is unfortunately now paused back in 2007 the japanese manufacturer revealed plans for its mitsubishi regional jet or mrj program with two different sized planes there was even an initial order from a a with target delivery in 2013. there have been plenty of delays since then with a first flight eventually taking place in 2015. certification delays after that pushed back entry to service again in 2019 mitsubishi announced a revamp of the programme as the space jet with two variants the m90 accommodates up to 88 passengers and one class with a range of 3770 kilometers meant to work with us airline scope clauses the slightly smaller m100 has a two class capacity of 76 and a range of 3540 kilometers the space jet would compete well against the e175 with a similar capacity and range as of early 2021 mitsubishi has put the space jet program on hold and it's unclear when production or development will resume before this there were 150 firm orders for aircraft but delays had already caused the cancellation of some other orders there have also been issues with orders from u.s airlines in late 2019 it became apparent that the m90 would not meet union regulations for operation on regional routes trans state airlines cancelled an order for 50 m90 aircraft and 50 further options following this while regional jets don't get the same media attention or buzz as their larger counterparts they fill an important part to the market ultimately which aircraft is considered best highly depends on route and how an airline intends to use it it does seem however that umbrella and atr have done the best at withstanding the test of time and turbulent market forces and what about you of the various aircraft we've covered which one is your favorite or which one do you think is the best let us know in the comments did you know that we publish over 175 stories every single week on simpleflying.com be sure to check the link in the description for more great stories just like this thanks for watching and be sure to like and subscribe before you go

Channel: Long Haul by Simple Flying

Views: 295,836

Keywords: aviation, flying, flight, boeing, airbus, planes, aircraft, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 777x, a320, a321, airbus a380, a380, airports, american airlines, united airlines, delta airlines, british airways

Id: -xBHT6q9qHA

Length: 17min 15sec (1035 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 02 2021