Aregional jet (RJ) is ajet-poweredregional airliner usually defined by having fewer than 100 seats. The first aircraft considered part of this category was theSud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed byDouglas DC-9,BAC One-Eleven,Yakovlev Yak-40,Fokker F28, andBAe 146. The early versions of theBoeing 737 also competed in this category. The 1990s saw the emergence of theCanadair Regional Jet andEmbraer Regional Jet families, followed by the largerEmbraer E-Jet and multiple competing projects. This time period also saw the bankruptcy ofFokker in 1996 and departure ofBAE Systems from the market in 2001, significantly reducing the number of RJ manufacturers.

Market consolidation continued asBombardier Aviation sold its airliner programs between 2017 and 2019, leavingEmbraer as the sole large independent regional jet manufacturer with itsEmbraer E-Jet E2 family.Comac of China introduced theC909 (at the time ARJ21) jet to fill China's missing regional industry since the retirement of the DC-9.Antonov of Ukraine was producing theAntonov An-148 until a fatal crash,Saratov Airlines Flight 703, and theRussian invasion of Ukraine halted its production. LastlySukhoi of Russia created theSukhoi Superjet 100, although production has slowed down since the war in Ukraine.

Regional Jet is a term in industryjargon and not a regulatory category.Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University defines the regional jet as up to 100 seats in capacity.^[3]This is also the limit capacity for twoflight attendants in both the US and Europe.^[4][5]

FlightGlobal sort the 66- to 146-seatEmbraer E-Jet/E2 as a regional aircraft,^[6] but the 116- to 141-seatAirbus A220 (ex Bombardier CSeries) as amainline airliner.^[7]Boeing defines regional jets as below 90 seats.^[8]

Regional Jet is used in the name of multiple airliners:

• the 50-seatCanadair Regional Jet CRJ-100/200 was introduced in 1992 and evolved from 2001 in the 70- to 100-seatCRJ700/900/1000;
• the 70- to 112-seatBAe 146 was renamed as theAvro Regional Jet in 1993;
• the 34- to 50-seatEmbraer Regional Jet ERJ-135/140/145 entered service in 1996;
• the later 66- to 124-seatEmbraer E-Jet, introduced in 2004, still carries the ERJ type certificate name;
• the 98-seatSukhoi Superjet 100, introduced in 2011, was initially known as the Russian Regional Jet, and is still called RRJ-95 in its type certificate;
• the 78- to 98-seatComac ARJ21, introduced in 2016, stands for Advanced Regional Jet;
• the 78- to 92-seatMitsubishi SpaceJet, marketed as theMitsubishi Regional Jet before 2019^[9]

Thescope clauses, limiting the aircraft size and number in USregional airlines, are often a design point for regional jets. Since 2012,American Airlines,Delta Air Lines andUnited Airlines cap their regional airlines' jets at 76 seats andmaximum take-off weight at 86,000 lb (39 t).^[10]

For anEASA assessment ofaircraft noise, regional jets were defined byICAO/CAEP experts as 30–50 t (66,000–110,000 lb)MTOW aircraft.^[11]

These aircraft are widely used by commuter airlines such asSkyWest andAmerican Eagle. The low rate of fuel consumption, which translates to low cost of operation, makes regional jets ideal for use as commuter aircraft or to connect lower traffic airports to large or medium hub airports. Regional jets are heavily used in the USEssential Air Service program.^[12]

TheSud Aviation Caravelle (80 to 140 seats), introduced in 1959 and ordered by many Europeanflag carriers, was the first purpose-built short-haul jetliner. It was a twinturbojet design for inter-European routes. The Caravelle used the forwardfuselage nose section of thede Havilland Comet, the first commercialjetliner, not effective for continental-European flights. TheBAC One-Eleven (89 to 119 seats) was then introduced in 1965.

In 1968,Aeroflot introduced the 32-seatYakovlev Yak-40 and the 65- to 85-seatFokker F28 Fellowship was introduced in 1969. In 1975, the 40- to 44-seatVFW-Fokker 614 saw service entry with its distinctive overwing engines, 19 were built. Some business jets like theBritish Aerospace 125 (first delivery: 1964) andDassault Falcon 20 (1965) were operated by small airlines from the 1960s, and the smallAerospatiale Corvette (1974) was used as a regional airliner from the 1970s.

In 1978, the USAirline Deregulation Act led to routeliberalization, favouring small airliners demand. US passengers were disappointed by these, lackingaircraft lavatories orflight attendants of larger jet aircraft. As feeder routes grew,regional airlines replaced these small aircraft with larger turboprop airliners to feed largerairline hubs. These medium airliners were then supplanted by faster, longer range, regional jets like the firstBombardier CRJ100/200. Early small jets had higher operating costs than turboprops on short routes. The gap narrowed with better turbofans, and closed with the higherutilization due to higher speeds.

In 1983British Aerospace introduced itsBAe 146 short-range jet, produced in three sizes between 70 and 112 seats: the -100, -200, and the largest -300, later renamed the Avro Regional Jet. Lowaircraft noise and short takeoffs were suited to city-center to city-center service, a small market niche, like thede Havilland Canada Dash 7, but four engines led to higher maintenance costs than twin-engine designs and BAe did not produce a lower operating cost twin-engine design, unlike theDash 8.

In 1988, the 97- to 122-seatFokker 100, a stretched F28, was introduced, followed by the shorter, 72– to 85-seatFokker 70 in 1994.

Low fuel prices drove the development of the regional jet: in the 1990soil prices were around $10–20 per barrel.Turboprop manufacturers wanted to develop their portfolio.Canadair's purchase byBombardier in 1986 enabled a 50-seat stretched development of itsChallenger business jet, green-lighted by then chief executiveLaurent Beaudoin in March 1989. The first Bombardier four-abreastCanadair Regional Jet was delivered in October 1992 toLufthansa CityLine.^[13]

Embraer then developed the 50-seat three-abreastERJ 145 from theEMB-120 Brasilia turboprop, which was introduced in December 1996. They replaced the turboprops thanks to their better perceived image and larger range. On small-capacity long routes, they could offer a better service by increasing frequencies at a smaller capacity and could replace mainlinejet airliners likeMcDonnell Douglas DC-9s andBoeing 737s.^[13]They can be used for direct airport-to-airport flights, to the detriment of thehub-and-spoke model.

Since 1999, theFairchild Dornier 328JET was also competing but the type did not enter large scale production asFairchild Dornier went bankrupt, also ending the largerFairchild Dornier 728 family development. The CRJ/ERJ also resulted in the end of the BAe 146 line.^{[citation needed]}

The CRJ and ERJ success also played a minor part in the failure ofFokker, whoseFokker 100 found itself squeezed on both sides by new models of theBoeing 737 andAirbus A319 on the "large" side and the RJs on the "small side".^{[citation needed]} On 5 February 1996, Bombardier started looking at atakeover of a strugglingFokker, producer of theFokker 100 100-seater. After evaluating Fokker's opportunities and challenges, Bombardier dropped the prospect on 27 February.^[14] Bombardier was feeling that the 100-seat market was already saturated by designs like the A319, a decision that looked foolish with the successful introduction of the E-Jets.^{[citation needed]}

The share of US domestic passengers flying in 32- to 100-seat regional jets grew to one-third from 2000 to 2005, asnetwork carriers subcontracted low-volume routes to cheapercommuter airlines with smaller planes. Amid regional jet usage saturation, bankruptcy of regional airlines and shrinking ofDelta Air Lines andNorthwest Airlines, cramped 50-seaters were evolving into more spacious 70- to 100-seaters, limited by union rules.^[15]

In late 2005, Bombardier suspended its CRJ-200 production line.^[16]

Between 2000 through 2006, 385 large planes were grounded while 1,029 regional jets were added.^[17]By June 2007, nearly a third of US domestic flights on major airlines were late, as using more smaller jets led to more crowded skies and runways in an already saturated system.^[18]

USmajor carriers high pilots' wages led them to subcontract flights toregional airlines with lower labor costs. Pilot unions then demanded to regulate subcontracted aircraft size to a 50 seats maximumscope clause. In turn, large routes were served by sub-optimal 50-seat jets which accelerated demand for those types inNorth America. Embraer envisioned a market for more than 500 aircraft and planned to produce up to 80 a year, but at peak delivered 157 ERJs in 2000 while Bombardier delivered 155 CRJs in 2003.^[13]

After9/11, high fuel prices returned and jets had to grow to keep seat-mile costs down. Airlines renegotiated scope clause to limit jets to 70 seats as the marketconsolidated. Larger aircraft came back on regional routes for theirefficiency, and on shorter routes turboprops were not much slower for a lower cost, reversing the 1990s trend. Bombardier delivered its last 50-seat CRJ in 2006 and Embraer delivered its last ERJ in 2011.^[13]

Bombardier switched to its lengthened 70- to 100-seatCRJ700/900/1000, while Embraer launched the four-abreastE-Jet series 170/175/190/195. 50-seat jet demand is lower with high fuel prices, and this reflects on their lowermarket value. A majority of them will bescrapped.^[13]

Bombardier and Embraer have started a series of lawsuits over export taxes and subsidies.

Although not as economical as the turboprop, by flying directly to and from smaller airports, regional jets reduced the need for low-cost regional airliners.

The 68- to 99-seatAntonov An-148, designed and produced byAntonov in Ukraine, made its maiden flight on 17 December 2004 after a development started in the 1990s. It was certified on 26 February 2007 and introduced in 2009. The stretched An-158 can seat 99 passengers.

United Aircraft Corporation subsidiarySukhoi developed theSuperjet 100, it made its maiden flight on 19 May 2008 and was introduced in April 2011 withArmavia.^{[citation needed]} It typically seats 98 passengers and is powered by 2PowerJet SaM146 turbofans from aSafran/NPO Saturn joint venture.^[19]

ManyCRJ100/200 were retired since 2003 and in 2013 the firstEmbraer ERJ were disassembled: 50-seaters' value was dwindling as US carriers were dropping them.^[20]The ERJ retirements could be exacerbated becauseRolls-Royce plc restricts parts choice, making engine maintenance more expensive, but its TotalCare agreements provide cost predictability.^[21]

TheComac ARJ21 is a 78- to 90-seat jet manufactured by the Chinese state-owned aerospace companyComac.Development began in March 2002, the first prototype was rolled out on 21 December 2007, and made its maiden flight on 28 November 2008.It received itsCAAC Type Certification on 30 December 2014 and was introduced on 28 June 2016 byChengdu Airlines.Resembling theMcDonnell Douglas MD-80/MD-90 produced under licence in China, it features a 25°swept,supercritical wing designed byAntonov and twin rear-mountedGeneral Electric CF34 engines.

Bombardier Aerospace developed the 108- to 160-seat CSeries powered by twoPratt & Whitney PW1000G geared turbofans.^[22] The smaller CS100 entered service in July 2016 withSwiss Global Air Lines and the larger CS300 entered service withairBaltic in December.^[23] After the April 2016CSeries dumping petition by Boeing,Airbus acquired a 50.01% majority stake in the program in October 2017 and renamed it theA220-100/300 in July 2018.^[24]

In 2017,Embraer started calling large, almostnarrowbody regional jets "crossover" jets, for theEmbraer E-Jet E2 and theCSeries.^[25]While those rival theA320neo, the smallerMRJ andSSJ100 could be stretched.^[26]They are often the largest airliners which can access city airports likeLondon City Airport, benefiting from their longerrange and lowerfuel burn to open new markets while making lowernoise for better local community acceptance.^[27]

In 2019, after attempting to renegotiate scope clauses, United Airlines ultimately decided to order fifty CRJs for its regional affiliates; the aircraft will be sourced from existing CRJ700 airframes and reconfigured with 50 seats in 3 classes. Bombardier will recertify the aircraft as the CRJ550 model, with a lowerMTOW to comply with the scope clauses, and hopes to sell this new configuration to replace up to 700 existing 50-seaters with US regional airlines.^[28][29]

By August 2019, there were 1,100 50-seat jets operated worldwide including 700 in the US, many more than 20 years old.SkyWest wants to replace 150 of its 200 ageing Bombardier CRJ200s and ERJs and while many have logged 30,000 cycles, their life may be extended to 60,000 cycles for 10-15 more years of service.SkyWest asked Bombardier, Embraer and Mitsubishi Aircraft to develop a new aircraft but the market is regulated byscope clauses.^[30]

TheMitsubishi SpaceJet (ex MRJ), seating 70–90 passengers and manufactured byMitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, made its first flight on 11 November 2015.^[31] After several delays, the program was canceled in February 2023.^[32][33]AfterBombardier Aviation divested itsCSeries andDash 8 programmes, it sold theCRJ programme toMitsubishi Heavy Industries, in a deal that closed on 1 June 2020.^[34]

A smaller airplane is more costly per seat mile than a larger plane, but it mostly depends on the airline: in 2005,Bombardier was estimating regional jet costs at 9 to 10 US cents per seat mile while flying a Boeing 737 costs less than 8 cents per seat mile atSouthwest Airlines but 15 cents atContinental Airlines.^[35]

While designed primarily for medium stage lengths, regional jets may now be found supplementing major trunk routes alongside traditional larger jet aircraft. RJs allow airlines to open new "long, thin" routings with jet equipment which heretofore did not exist, such as Atlanta toMonterrey, Nuevo León. RJs have also meant a return of jet service to cities where full-size jet service had departed over a decade ago, such asMacon, Georgia, andBrownsville, Texas.^{[citation needed]}

The idea that regional jets would provide point-to-point service and bypass the hub-and-spoke system is debated. As of January 2003, 90% of all regional jet flights in the United States had a hub or major airport at one end of that flight, and this number has been gradually increasing since 1995.^{[citation needed]} However an International Center for Air Transportation Report in 2004 noted that regional jets were no longer used solely for hub feeder operations. As such they filled a gap in the market by flying on longer routes than turboprops, but shorter than the narrow body jets.^[36]

• List of regional airliners
• List of aircraft
• Regional airliner

• Mike Lewis (September 26, 2006)."Regional Aircraft ... The Way Forward"(PDF). Bombardier.
• "The 50-Seat Jet: A Plane With No Future. Think again!"(PDF).Oliver Wyman. 2010.
• Bombardier (June 19, 2017)."The Rise and Rise of Regional Aircraft". Aviation Week.

• Civil aircraft
• Airliners

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