The prospects for growth of regional airlines globally are enormous as nations around the world are beginning to understand its impact on economic growth. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its 2013-17 forecasts has reported that by 2017 total passenger traffic is expected to rise to 3.91 billion, an increase of 930 million passengers over the 2.98 billion carried in 2012. Of the new passengers, approximately 292 million will be carried on international routes and 638 million on domestic routes, which effectively means enhanced regional connectivity. Considering the growth potential, Forecast International has stated that demand for air travel in developing countries will produce a market of over 6,300 turboprop/turbofan regional aircraft of the nominal 120-seat and under class, valued at over $232 billion. Embraer and Bombardier together will corner 68 per cent of the value, with no less than 12 firms competing for the rest of the pie.

With India and China expected to be the fastest growing major economies over the next 20 years, regional aviation is expected to add to the growth momentum. Hence, there is frenetic activity in China, Russia and Japan, to develop regional aircraft, while India is also toying with the idea. This trend clearly shows that apart from the newly emerging markets, aircraft manufacturing is also going to shift away from the bases in the West. However, the established players—Brazil’s Embraer, Canada’s Bombardier and ATR (joint venture of Alenia Aermacchi and EADS), continue to lead in the growing regional segment.

Embraer Leads the Pack

The Brazilian aerospace major, which is into commercial aviation, corporate aviation, defence and security as also agricultural aviation, is expanding its global footprint with over 5,000 aircraft that operate in more than 80 countries. It is the market leader for commercial jets up to 120 seats.

Established on August 19, 1969, Embraer-Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica has made significant strides in aircraft development. After its privatisation in the 1990s, Embraer shifted gears and it relaunched the EMB-145 programme with engines mounted on the rear end of the fuselage and seating capacity for 50 passengers. It is in this decade that it changed its acronym from EMB to Embraer Regional Jet (ERJ). In 1995, the ERJ-145 had its maiden flight as a pressurised regional jet, featuring high performance and low operational cost.

At the turn of the century, Embraer leapfrogged technologically with various programmes, including the first flights and deliveries of ERJ-140, 170/190 family. As one of the world’s main aircraft manufacturers, it has notched up firm orders of $17.8 billion in the third quarter of 2013. Around 900 regional jets from the ERJ-145 family delivered by Embraer are currently flying in five continents and are operated by over 30 airlines. They have surpassed the impressive mark of 13 million cycles and 15 million flight hours. The 37-to 50-seat segments reached maturity and have become established due to aircraft originating from smaller cities and airports that feed passenger to main flights in larger airports. The 70- to120-seat E-Jets have a strategic function in airline companies, helping them maintain their competitive edge. In India, after Paramount Airways shut operations, Embraer has staged a comeback with regional airliner Air Costa that opted for Embraer jets primarily on account of their cost-effectiveness in short-haul operations.

ATR’s Short-haul Proposition Clicks

European joint venture, ATR, came into being in 1981 and makes regional turboprop aircraft that have become the most cost-effective family of short-haul airplanes. ATR has become the benchmark for regional turboprop aircraft manufacturers with sales exceeding 1,300 aircraft to over 190 operators in more than 90 countries. ATR turboprop airplanes have accumulated a total of around 19 million cycles. Today, ATR is a pioneer in the regional transport field with an ATR aircraft taking off somewhere around the world every 12 seconds.

ATR ended 2013 breaking new annual records, with turnover of $1.63 billion, an increase of 13 per cent compared to the previous year ($1.44 billion). Meanwhile, ATR continued to increase the pace of its deliveries, allowing it to achieve a new record with 74 aircraft delivered to customers during 2013, an increase of 16 per cent compared with 64 deliveries in 2012. Alongside these results were sales of a total of 195 aircraft, 89 firm orders and 106 options, giving ATR a backlog of 221 firm aircraft orders as of December 31, 2013.

Since its entry into service in December 1985, the ATR-42 has become a benchmark in the regional air transport industry for reliability and profitability and is now a best-seller in its market segment. Following a strong market demand, the ATR 72-600 will soon introduce a totally new way of travelling. This new generation of aircraft will be offered with increased payload and operational range, making the platform even more attractive. For over the past five years, ATR has accounted for nearly 85 per cent of sales of all aircraft fewer than 90 seats, in the region of Latin America and the fastest-growing countries in South East Asia, confirming their attractiveness to regional companies for developing their short-haul networks.

Filippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, said, “We are very proud to have the largest portfolio of operators out of all the manufacturers of regional aircraft.”

Bombardier Pegs on Regional Jet Efficiency

The Canadian aerospace company is a major regional aircraft performer with its offering of CSeries, the CRJ Series and the Q-Series. In 2013, Bombardier delivered 55 commercial aircraft, compared to 50 in the previous year, ended December 31, 2012.

The Bombardier CSeries is a family of narrow-body, twinengine, medium-range jet airliners currently under development, albeit delayed. The CSeries family has seat configuration of 110-135 and is to compete with the Boeing 737 series and the Airbus A320 family, as well as the Embraer 195 regional jet. The CS-100 aircraft’s entry-into-service is now scheduled for the second half of 2015 and will be followed by the CS-300 aircraft’s entry-into-service approximately six months afterwards. Bombardier has booked orders and commitments for 445 CSeries aircraft, which include firm orders for 198 CSeries airliners.

Designed for short-haul routes, the 70- to 80-seat Q400 NextGen aircraft is a fast, quiet, fuel-efficient turboprop that delivers a perfect balance of passenger comfort and operating economics with a reduced environmental footprint.

The Q400 NextGen is one of the quietest aircraft flying today, inside and out. Bombardier has booked firm orders for 480 Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft. Worldwide, Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft have transported more than 295 million passengers and have logged over 4.7 million flight hours and more than five million take-offs and landings. The Q400 and Q400 NextGen aircraft programme includes some 50 customers and operators in over 30 countries on five continents.

For medium-haul applications, the CRJ NextGen family of aircraft is a benchmark for regional jet efficiency in the 60- to 99-seat segment, offering low operating costs, reduced environmental impact and enhanced cabin interiors. With over 1,600 CRJ aircraft delivered worldwide, Bombardier’s CRJ Series family of regional jets is recognised as the most successful regional aircraft programme in the world.

Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) Growing Steadily

The SSJ-100 is a 100-seat regional jet designed, developed and built by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC), in partnership with Alenia Aermacchi. On May 19, 2008, SSJ-100 successfully accomplished its first flight. Today, the SSJ-100 is certified by multiple National Aviation Authorities namely European EASA, Russian IAC AR and Mexican, Laos and Indonesian Civil Aviation Authorities. In 2011, the first production SSJ-100 entered service. On April 21, 2011, the SSJ-100 undertook its first commercial passenger flight on the Armavia route from Yerevan to Moscow.

Designed to compete internationally with its An-158, Embraer and Bombardier counterparts, the SSJ-100 claims substantially lower operating costs, at a lower purchase price of $35 million. While SSJ-100 belongs to the regional class, its long-range (LR) version can effectively operate on a number of mainline routes.

SSJ-100 is a new aircraft family allowing its passengers to experience the mainline level of comfort. The fuselage cross section increases the aisle width up to 20.08”, offering optimal aisle height combined with five-abreast seat configuration. The height of the ceiling totals 83.46”, while each seat is 18.31” wide. The four-abreast seat configuration results in a true business class providing every passenger with the equal level of comfort. The company has delivered 30 aircraft till date with options for 107.

MRJ on the Horizon

In the near future, the triad of Bombardier, Embraer and ATR will face competition from other players including Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (MITAC). Though MITAC has announced a second major delay to its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) programme, postponing its first flight and entry into service by over a year, it is certain that aircraft from the Asia-Pacific region will emerge as a competitor. Under a revised schedule, the 70- to 90-seat regional jet’s first flight has been pushed back to the second quarter of 2015.

The MRJ is a next generation regional jet which will offer both top-class operational economy and outstanding cabin comfort. By featuring a game-changing engine, state-of-the-art aerodynamic design and noise analysis technology, the MRJ will significantly cut fuel consumption, noise and emissions.

Mitsubishi states that passenger traffic is expected to be about three times higher after 20 years. Demand for 70- to 90-seat class aircraft for the next 20 years will be over 5,000 units due to the market trend of “upsizing” from 50-seat RJs and route-transfers from mainline jets to large RJs in consequence of high fuel price and low passenger yield. The MRJ family consists of the MRJ-90 (90 seats) and the MRJ-70 (70 seats).

Chinese RJ Programme

The Comac ARJ21 Xiangfeng is a twinengine regional airliner, the design incorporating components from 19 major European and US aerospace suppliers, including General Electric (engine production), Honeywell (flyby-wire system) and Rockwell Collins (avionics production). The development of the ARJ21 regional jet is a key project in the Tenth Five Year Plan of China. It began in March 2002 and was led by the government-controlled ACAC consortium. The maiden flight of the ARJ21 was initially planned to take place in 2005 with commercial service beginning 18 months later. There has been considerable delay in the programme.

Earning a United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification is a precondition for the ARJ21-700 to enter the world market. However, in September 2013, Comac announced that it hopes the ARJ21-700 would obtain certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2014 and enter service by the end of the year.

India Toying with RJ Concept

India has also mooted the regional transport aircraft project to be executed jointly by with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL). Known as the Indian Regional Jet (IRJ), the aircraft is to have 70 to 100 seats. The basic version, the RTA-70, will have 70-90 seats.

On December 23, 2010, it was announced that the Indian Government had asked NAL to consider the use of turbofan engines on the RTA-70. The use of a jet engine was seen as “a stepping stone to the high end” by the government. A special purpose vehicle is being set up for the development and production of the aircraft and there are no timelines mentioned.