With the Canadair/Bombardier CRJ100 and its further developed variant, the CRJ200, Tyrolean Airways flew its first own regional jets from the mid-1990s onward, the smallest yet also the most widely produced series in the later CRJ family.
Photo: Paul Davey · Licence: GFDL 1.2 · Source: Wikimedia Commons
Development: From Business Jet to Regional Jet
The CRJ series traces back to the Challenger 600 business jet. After Bombardier’s acquisition of manufacturer Canadair in 1986, early design studies for a stretched regional-jet version began in 1987. The Challenger’s fuselage was lengthened by a total of around 5.9 metres, the wing reworked for higher subsonic speeds and fitted with winglets, and the landing gear and emergency exits were reinforced or added. The programme officially launched in spring 1989, with a sales target of at least 400 aircraft. The first flight took place on 10 May 1991 in Montreal. Launch customer Lufthansa CityLine put the CRJ100 into service in October 1992.
Technical Data
- Crew: 2 pilots, capacity 50 passengers
- Engines CRJ100: 2 × General Electric CF34-3A1
- Engines CRJ200: 2 × General Electric CF34-3B1, more efficient and designed for higher cruise altitudes
- Length / Wingspan / Height: 26.77 m / 21.18 m / 6.30 m
- Cruise speed: Mach 0.74 (around 786 km/h)
- Range: around 1,650 to 1,700 nautical miles, depending on version
- Service ceiling: 12,496 m (41,000 ft)
The CRJ200 at Tyrolean and Austrian Arrows
Tyrolean Airways introduced the CRJ100/200 in 1996, adding to its route network a fast, 50-seat jet for connections that had become too long for the pure turboprop types Dash 7 and Dash 8. Under the later “Austrian arrows” brand, the CRJ200 remained part of the flight schedule for many years, until the small, 50-seat aircraft were progressively withdrawn from the fleet starting in 2010, a development many European and North American operators carried out around the same time for cost reasons.
A total of 1,021 aircraft of the CRJ100/200/440 family were built between 1991 and 2006. In 2020, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries took over the entire CRJ programme, including spare-parts supply, from Bombardier.
For the complete fleet of Tyrolean Airways, see: The Fleet of Tyrolean Airways
Sources (Selection)
Part of the fleet history of Tyrolean Airways. Independent, private history project with no connection to Austrian Airlines AG or the Lufthansa Group.