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Bombardier CRJ900

Type
Regional airliner (Regionalverkehrsflugzeug)

Country (Land)
Canada (Kanada)

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Regional Aircraft
Garratt Blvd.
Downsview, Ontario, Canada M3K 1Y5
Canada

Phone: 001-416/633-7310
Fax: 001-416/375-4540
Internet: www.aero.bombardier.com

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2
Passengers (Passagiere):
   - 90 at 79 cm pitch with reduced baggage room behind
   - 86 at 79 cm pitch
   - 80 at seat pitchs of 83 to 78 cm, with four galley stations
   - 76 in a dual class configuration with 12 first class and 64 economy class seats, as chosen by Northwest
   - 75 in a two-class arrangement, with 15 business seats at 86 cm pitch
Baggage volume (Gepäckraumvolumen): 21,17 cu m including overhead bins

Power plant (Antrieb): 2 x General Electric CF34-8C5
Thrust (Schub): 14255 lbs (63,35 kN) with automatic power reserve, flat rated to ISA + 15 deg C. Normal take-off thrust is 13123 lbs (58,4 kN)

Take-off noise level: 89 EPNdB according to FAR 36 (or 83.9 EPNdB)
Approach noise level: 94 EPNdB according to FAR 36 (or 92.4 EPNdB)
Sideline noise level: 98 EPNdB according to FAR 36 (or 89,1 EPNdB)

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 36,40 m
Height (Höhe): 7,51 m
Span (Spannweite): 24,85 m
Maximum fuselage diameter (Rumpfdurchmesser): 2,69 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 70,61 sq m

Cabin width (Kabinenbreite): 2,57 m (half height / in halber Höhe)
Cabin height (Kabinenhöhe): 1,89 m
Cabin length (Kabinenlänge): 21,16 m
Cabin area (Kabinenfläche): 45,12 cu m

Weights (Massen)
Operating weight empty (Leermasse): 21432 kg
Max. payload (max. Nutzlast): 10319 kg for the CRJ900 and CRJ 900 ER, 10591 kg for the LR variant
Max. fuel load (max. Kraftstoff): 8822 kg
Max. zero-fuel weight (max. Masse ohne Kraftstoff): 31750 kg or 32025 kg for the LR version
Max. ramp weight (max. Rollmasse): 36628 kg or 37535 kg for ER or 38555 kg for LR
Max. take-off weight (Max. Startmasse): 36514 kg normal, or 37421 kg in ER-version, or 38329 in the LR variant. “European versions” certified at 36995 kg or 37995 kg are available to minimize operational charges and fees
Max. landing weight (max. Landemasse): 33345 kg or 34020 kg for the LR version

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): Mach 0.83 or 881 km/h
Normal cruise speed (Reisegeschwindigkeit): Mach 0.80 or 850 km/h
Long-range cruise speed (Langstrecken-Reisegeschwindigkeit): Mach 0.78 or 827 km/h
Max. operating altitude (Dienstgipfelhöhe): 12495 m (41000 ft)
FAR take-off field length (Startstrecke): 1778 m or 1860 m for ER variant or 1944 m for LR
FAR landing field length (Landestrecke): 1595 m at sea level, max. landing weight, or 1622 m for the LR version
Range (Reichweite):
   - 2500 km for the basic variant with 86 passengers
   - 2950 for the ER-version with 86 passengers
   - 3385 km (1828 NM) for LR-version (86 passengers and bags, Mach 0.8 cruise)
   - 3660 km (1976 NM) for LR-version with 86 passengers at long-range cruise (Mach 0.78)
A break-even load factor: 31 passengers (36 %) for a North American operator was mentioned early in the programme

Costs (Kosten)
The list price of the CRJ900 was approximately $35 million US-Dollars in the spring of 2006.
The price of the CRJ Series 900 was mooted at around 28 – 29 million US-Dollars in October 1999.
Development cost was given as around 200 million Canadian Dollars.

Customers (Kunden)
As of early February 2007, thirteen airlines had placed firm orders for 2005 CRJ705 and CRJ900 aircraft. As of October 31, 2006, 90 of these aircraft had been delivered.
The CRJ900 was selling quite slowly, with more customers coming in only during 2006. As of July 31, 2006, firm orders for the Bombardier CRJ900 stood at 102 aircraft with 59 delivered.
As at April 30 2006, Bombardier's Program Status Report showed total orders for CRJ900 aircraft standing at 95 with 43 delivered and a backlog of 52 aircraft.
Among the customers are:
Air Nostrum: 9. The first letter of agreement for 8 was announced at Farnborough in July 2000, but deliveries began much later, with only one in service by the spring of 2006. This was probably from a contract of 16 July 2004 for CRJ200s that included conversion rights to other models of the family.
Air One: 10. The company signed a contract on15 May 2006 for a list price vailue of approximately $215 million US. Air One joined partner airline Lufthansa, Air Nostrum and Atlasjet as European customers for the CRJ900 regional jet. It had four options which were taken up on 16. January 2007 at a list price of 142 million US-Dollars.
Arik Air: 4. An order for two was announced on 3 May 2006. Arik Air will be the first CRJ900 operator on the African continent, and the first airline to introduce new commercial aircraft into Nigeria since 1982. Another aircraft was ordered in August 2006 and a fourth on 24 November 2006.
Atlas Jet: 3 + 2 options. Announced on 20 January 2006 The firm order contract is valued at approximately $107 million US.
Delta Air Lines: 30 + 30 options. Announced on 8 February 2007 after the approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. The contract value for the 30 firm ordered aircraft, based on CRJ900 aircraft list price, was approximately $1.1 billion US.
Lufthansy CityLine: 12. An order for CRJ900 LRs was signed on 8 December 2005 to complement the CRJ200 and CRJ700 fleet of the carrier. Service entry was in August 2006. All were planned for operations from Munich.
Macedonian Airlines (MAT): 1. Took delivery of a Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet on April 13, 2006. In addition to this firm-ordered aircraft, the contract with MAT also included conditional orders for two additional CRJ900 airliners.
Mesa: 45. 5 of these orders were converted from previous CRJ700 contracts, after a first order for 20.
My Way Airlines: 19. The order by the airline from Vicency, Italy, was announced on 25 September 2006. It was said that should Bombardier launch its CRJ900X program, 15 of these firm orders will be converted into CRJ900X aircraft. In the event program launch does not proceed, the firm order remains for 19 CRJ900 jets. The value of the contract based on the CRJ900 aircraft list price is approximately $702 million US.
Northwest Airlines: 36. The deal was announced on 5 October 2006. It included options on an additional 96, for a total of 132 aircraft. The transaction was conditional upon Northwest Airlines receiving approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. The value of the orders based on CRJ900 aircraft list price would be approximately $1.35 billion US.
SkyWest Airlines: 17. Deliveries started in July 2006. Order probably from September 2005 and then converted to the CRJ900 model.
By April 2006, 18 customers had placed firm orders for a total of 367 CRJ700, CRJ705 and CRJ900 airliners.
Orders that have lapsed include:
Brit Air: 4 (worth around 116 million US-Dollars, plus eight options. Announced at Farnborough, July 2000)
GE Capital Aviation Services: 10 plus 20 options (announced at Farnborough, July 2000)
Styrian Spirit: 1. Ordered in 2005, but not delivered as the company went bankrupt.
Tyrolean Airways: 12 (letter of agreement, announced at Farnborough, July 2000. Worth around 416 million US-Dollars)

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Embraer 190

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The CRJ900 is a stretched version of the 70-seat Canadair Regional Jet Series 700. It offers maximum commonality, including crew qualification. Main differences are:

fore and aft fuselage plugs to lengthen the fuselage by 3,86 metres. The forward plug is 2,29 m, the aft one 1,57 m
strengthened wing for higher operating weights
strengthened landing gear with upgraded wheels and brakes
additional underfloor baggage door on the forward fuselage
two overwing exits added over the wing
an additional aft service door

As with its other programmes, Bombardier is working with risk sharing partners from around the world. The line-up is essentially unchanged from the CRJ700, but Gamesa is now building the vertical and horizontal stabilisers in place of Avcorp. In detail, the work packages are allocated as follows:

Canadair: nose, flight deck, wing and rudder, passenger and service doors, baggage door, main undercarriage fairings
Gamesa: elevators and fin-tip fairing
GKN Westland: tailcone
Goodrich: main and nose undercarriage, flight-control system
Hella: lighting system
Honeywell: APU
Intertechnique: hydraulic systems
Latecoere: forward baggage door
Liebherr: air system
Mitsubishi: aft fuselage
Parkes/Abex: hydraulic systems
Rockwell Collins: avionics
Shorts: mid fuselage
Sundstrand: slat/flap system and electric power system

History (Geschichte)
In 1999, Embraer with its ERJ 170/190 and Fairchild with its 528JET/728JET/928JET family took the initiative in the highly competitive regional airliner market. To respond, Bombardier launched a study on the all-new BRJ-X, but by October also offered a 90-seat stretch of the existing CRJ Series 700.
A decision on the launch of the CRJ900 was first expected by the end of 1999, but was delayed, first to February 2000 and then to later in the year. Meanwhile, Bombardier completed a joint definition phase with its partners and froze the design in May 2000.
After finding some launch customers (GECAS, Air Nostrum and Tyrolean), Bombardier finally announced the launch of the CRJ900 Series at the Farnborough Air Show on 24 July 2000.
Assembly of the prototype CRJ900 began in the fall of 2000 at the Montreal Mirabel factory. Shorts in Belfast delivered two plugs, measuring 2,29 m and 1,57 m. These were mated to the CRJ700 prototype serial number 10001 in September 2000 to create prototype CRJ900 serial number 15991. This aircraft retained the original CRJ700 wings, engines, wheels and brakes.
The prototype CRJ900 (C-FRJX) flew on February 21, 2001. The flight lasted two hours and 54 minutes and reached an altitude of 10670 m. Its primary role in the flight test programme was to explore the flight envelope and serve as the main platform for aircraft systems validation.
The 21.3 m fuselage for the first production CRJ900, serial number 15001, arrived in Montreal in April 2001 from Belfast. The fuselage and wing were mated in early July.
This first all new CRJ900 regional jet (C-GRNH) flew for the first time on 20 October 2001 at Mirabel International Airport, where Bombardier CRJ700 and CRJ900 are assembled. The aircraft flew to an altitude of 17000 feet and a maximum speed of 463 km/h during the mission, which lasted 2 h, 2 min.
After initial test work, both CRJ900s were relocated to the Bombardier Flight Test Center in Wichita. Flight testing of the aircraft was completed at the Bombardier Aerospace Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kansas in June 2002 following a 13-month program that accumulated some 895 hours in 347 flights by two aircraft.
On 9 September 2002, Transport Canada awarded the 86-seat Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet aircraft its Type Certificate. The wing and fuselage of the first production aircraft, serial number 15002, were joined at Bombardier's assembly plant in Mirabel, Québec on July 28, 2002.
The type certificate from the FAA followed on 31 October. On 23 December, Bombardier Aerospace announced that Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) have recommended Type Validation/Certification for the CRJ900.
Delivery of the first Bombardier CRJ900 to Phoenix, Arizona-based Mesa Air Group, launch customer for the new 90-seat class regional jet, was announced on 3 February 2003. Mesa was the first airline to operate all three variants of Bombardier´s family of regional jets, the 50-seat CRJ200, 70-seat CRJ700 and 86-seat CRJ900. The Bombardier CRJ900 are flown by Mesa under the America West Express banner.
After slow sales, Bombardier announced upgrades to the CRF900 in March 2005. They led to improved take-off and landing performance and increased range. In addition, the fuel consumption was reduced. The improved take-off and landing distances are made possible by combining the optimization of wing leading-edge devices and a redesigned wing tip and winglet that results in a lower lift/drag ratio and reduced approach speeds. The winglet also contributes to the lower fuel burn. Bombardier also launched a new Long Range (LR) CRJ900 variant which complements the existing Baseline and Extended Range (ER) aircraft. The CRJ900 LR provided an increased payload and range over the ER version and can carry a full passenger load more than 1,030 miles (1,658 km) from a 5,800-foot (1,767 m) runway.
As the first operator in Europe, Styrian Sprit of Graz, Austria signed a contract to acquire one CRJ900 jetliner, as announced on 6 October 2005. Later, the company went bankrupt and thus did not receive the aircraft.
On 8 December 2005, Bombardier announced that Deutsche Lufthansa AG had signed a firm order to acquire 12 CRJ900 regional jets for its regional airline network. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
On 20 January 2006, low-cost airline Atlasjet of Istanbul, Turkey signed a firm order for three 90-seat Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet airliners and has taken options on two additional CRJ900 aircraft. The firm order contract is valued at approximately $107 million US.
Macedonian Airlines (MAT), the designated flag carrier of Macedonia, took delivery of a Bombardier CRJ900 regional jet on April 13, 2006. In addition to this firm-ordered aircraft, the contract with MAT also includes conditional orders for two additional CRJ900 airliners.
Bombardier Aerospace delivered the first two Bombardier CRJ900 regional jets to SkyWest Airlines in July 2006. Of SkyWest Inc.'s 17 firm orders for CRJ900 aircraft, the first six are scheduled to be delivered to SkyWest Airlines in 2006. The two CRJ900 aircraft, fitted with 10 Business Class and 60 Economy Class all-leather seats, are flying under the Delta Connection banner for Delta Air Lines.
In mid-2006 Bombardier said that the fatigue tests had reached 120000 cycles, clearing the CRJ900 for 60000 flights. Continued testing is set to reach 160000 flight cycles, clearing the airframe to an economic life of 80000 flights.
Lufthansa CityLine introduced its CRJ900s into service in the summer of 2006. The new aircraft are mainly based at Munich, where LH operates its second largest hub.
My Way Airlines from Vicency, Italy, announced an order for 19 on 25 September 2006. It was said that should Bombardier launch its CRJ900X program, 15 of these firm orders will be converted into CRJ900X aircraft.
An important deal was struck in October 2006, when Northwest Airlines placed an order for 36 Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft and took options on an additional 96, for a total of 132 aircraft. The value of the orders based on CRJ900 aircraft list price would be approximately $1.35 billion US. The value could rise to $5.18 billion US if all options are exercised.

On 8 February 2007, Bombardier Aerospace announced that Delta Air Lines had placed a firm order for 30 CRJ900 and has taken options on an additional 30. The approval for this contract was granted by the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York.

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Last updated 12 February 2007

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