Regional airliner

Aregional airlineror afeeder lineris a smallairlinerthat is designed to fly up to 100 passengers onshort-haul flights,usually feeding larger carriers'airline hubsfrom small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by theregional airlinesthat are either contracted by or subsidiaries of the larger airlines. Regional airliners are used for short trips between smaller towns or from a larger city to a smaller city. Feeder liner, commuter, and local service are all alternative terms for the same class of flight operations.

ADash 8in front of aBAe 146

History

TheDouglas DC-3first flew in 1935 and had a range of around 1,000 miles (1,625 kilometers.)

To keep short routes economical, airlines preferred using second hand aircraft than costlier new aircraft.Older aircraft were put into short haul service as they were replaced by new longer-range designs.

Post-war era

Propeller aircraft of larger airlines were transferred to smaller airlines. Examples included theDe Havilland Dragon Rapidebiplane and theDouglas DC-3s,in large surplus after the war, which theaircraft manufacturerswanted to replace.

The first piston-powered airliners with 40 seats were theMartin 2-0-2s(introduced in 1947) andConvair CV-240s(1948).

Turboprop designs

TheFokker F27 Friendshipwas introduced in November 1958

The firstturboproppowered aircraft emerged like theVickers Viscount(75 seats, introduced in 1953) andFokker F27(44–52 seats, 1958). Some smaller turboprop airliners were developed in the 1960s like the BritishShorts Skyvan(19 seats, 1963), and FrenchNord 262(29 seats, 1964) or BrazilianEmbraer EMB 110 Bandeirante(1973). This "hand-me-down" process of supplying aircraft continued with designs like theConvair 440andDouglas DC-6also serving in this role while the first jets were introduced.

By the mid-1950s, demand for even more economical designs led to the production of the first custom feeder liners. These were almost alwaysturboprops,which had fuel economy on par withpiston enginedesigns, but had far lower maintenance costs. Often, the time between engine overhaul periods was five times that of the best piston engines. Early examples of these designs include theFokker F27 Friendship,Avro 748,andHandley Page Dart Herald.

These designs were so successful that it was to be many years before newer designs bettered them enough to make it worthwhile in terms of capital investment to develop. Among the first purpose-built airliners developed for theCABsanctioned local-service airlines in the US, the predecessors of the modern regional airliner industry; was the interim and custom-builtFairchild F-27/FH-227's for the needs of these smaller but expanding airlines of the late 1960s.

There were a few other exceptions, generally tailored to more specific roles. For instance, theHandley Page Jetstream(first flight in 1968) was intended for fewer passengers at much higher speeds, displacing smaller designs like theBeechcraft Queen Air.The Fairchild/SwearingenMetro(developed from the original Queen Air through a number of stages) filled a similar niche.

By the 1970s, the first-generation regional airliners were starting to wear out, but there had been little effort in producing new designs for this market. A varied list of light transport aircraft supplanted by newer and more modern 30-seat designs by Shorts with theirShorts 330and360as well as other aircraft manufacturers, replaced and sometimes provided growth to established commuter markets. Additional development came to the regional airline industry with the arrival of some of the earlierDe Havilland Canadatypes such as theDash 7delivered in 1978, but this was tailored more to the short-range andSTOL(Short Take-Off and Landing) role than as a regional airliner. Feedback from the airlines was fairly consistent, andDe Havillandresponded with theDash 8in 1984, which had economic benefits over the earlier generation machines and was faster and quieter as well.

TheATR 72was introduced in October 1989

In the early 1980s, theDash 8's success sparked off development of a number of similar designs, including theATR 42/72,Saab 340,Embraer BrasiliaandFokker 50.Consequently, there were a relatively large number of aircraft offered by manufacturers in this sector of the market, pushing older 1950s designs fromFokker,Vickersand others into retirement. Due to the high level of competition, production of a number of these types ceased.Saab ABexited the civil aviation market and wrote its debts off, Daimler-Benz Aerospace "pulled the plug" onDornier,andBritish Aerospaceended production of theirBAe Jetstream 41after 100 delivered. By 2006 only the ATR 42/72 models and theDash 8remained in production.

Turboprop airliner deliveries are correlated withoil priceswith a lag of a few years.

In 2018, 245.4 million two-way seats were offered on turboprop flights, up from 201.4 million in 2009, with 97% of flights below 500 nmi (930 km) and 87% below 300 nmi (560 km), and an average capacity increasing to 51 seats from 44 seats in 2009. The largest user wasAir Canadawith 12.7 million seats, followed byFlybewith 10.3 million andWings Airwith 9.24 million. Canadawas the largest market with 30.5 million seats, thenIndonesiawith 14.3 and theUSwith 13.4. The busiest turboprop airport wasVancouver(2.75 Million seats) followed byToronto Pearson(2.64) thenSeattle-Tacoma(2.39).

Noise

Although turboprops arequietto outside observers, prop wash makes them noisy inside. Active noise reductionshould reduce the cabin noise of theBombardier Q400or theATR 72-600.

Market forecast

Flight Globalfleet forecasts 3,081turbopropdeliveries for a $63 billion value and 4,042regional jetdeliveries for a $130 billion value for the 2016–2035 period. Embraer claims crossoverregional jetsare more cost-efficient than current turboprops beyond 200 nmi (370 km), representing 45% of 70-seat turboprops flights in 2017, leadingWiderøeto switch toE-Jets E2except for destinations with short runways and severe weather conditions north of the Arctic Circle orAirBalticto replace its 12Q400sbyCSeries. From 2018 to 2037, ATR forecasts 3,020 turboprop deliveries: 630 with 40–60 seats and 2,390 with 61–80 seats.

Hybrid aircraft

As legacy regional aircraft are used on very short sectors like connecting islands, their replacements could behybridorelectric aircraft. Hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion remains impeded byenergy storage,high-powerelectric distributionand the lack ofcertificationframework. ATR Aircraftdismiss a fully electric propulsion as carrying the same payload over the same distances as an 18 t (40,000 lb)ATR 42,current batteries would weigh 21 t (46,000 lb).

Current projects are small 10-seaters, like the IsraeliEviation Aliceor the Boeing-backedZunum AeroZA12 powered by aSafran Ardidenturboshaft and targeting 40-80% lower operating costs. The FrenchVoltAero Cassiobased on theCessna 337 Skymasterlike the U.S.Ampaire,U.S.Wright Electricworks with Spain’sAxter Aerospaceto re-engine a nine-seater and theCessna Caravanis re-engined with aMagniXelectric motor. United Technologiesis re-engining aDash 8Q100 on one side with a 1 MW (1,300 hp) gas turbine and a 1 MW (1,300 hp) electric motor instead of the current 2,150 hp (1.60 MW)Pratt & Whitney Canada PW121,for at least 30% energy savings.

Design

Turboprop regional aircraft

Regional airlines serving small hubs or airports with short runways will often useturbopropaircraft with propeller engines versus jet engines.de Havilland Canada(Dash 7andDash 8),Antonov(An-24andAn-140),Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation(MA60,MA600andMA700) andATR(ATR 42andATR 72) are manufacturers of this type.

Regional jets

TheEmbraer E-Jet familyit's one of the most delivered regional jets still in production as of July 2024

Main article:Regional jet

Aregional jet(RJ) is ajet airlinerwith less than 100 seats. The first one was theSud-Aviation Caravellein 1959, followed by the widespreadYakovlev Yak-40,Fokker F-28andBAe 146.The 1990s saw the emergence of theCanadair Regional Jetand itsEmbraer Regional Jetcounterpart, then the largerEmbraer E-Jet familyand multiple competing projects. In the US, they are limited in size byscope clauses.

Accommodation

Four-abreast cabin seating of aCRJ1000NextGen

Seating on regional airliners tends to be narrow and tight, and passengers typically are restricted from bringing on board carry-on items which would fit without difficulty in the overhead bins of larger aircraft. Often carry-on luggage is collected immediately prior to boarding and placed in the cargo hold, where it can be quickly retrieved by the ground staff while the passengers exit.Compared with bigger planes, many frequentfliersfind regional jetscabinscramped and uncomfortable, with a lower ceiling, tight seating and single-class cabins forbidding a first-class upgrade.

Operations

Costs

In the US,major carrierscontracts withregional airlineson a per-flight basis regardless of the number of passengers, and the major carrier keep the ticket revenue. These contracts are typically 10-year terms, the regional aircraft operators are certain of their revenue and have to control their costs to earn a return, but they face airline bankruptcies, fleet reductions, and increasing operating costs. Major carriers avoid shouldering losses from regional aircraft operators and competition between regional airlines has grounded many regional aircraft.

In production aircraft

Regional Airliners

Model	First flight	Net orders	Deliveries	Backlog	MTOW (t)	seats	Range (nmi)
An-148/158/An-178	17/12/2004	54	35	19	41.9-52.4	68-99	1,350-2,160
AVIC MA60/MA600/MA700	25/02/2000	143	97	46	21.8-26.5	60-86	770-1,460
ATR 42-600	04/03/2010	528	503	25	18.6	48	720
ATR 72-600/600F	24/07/2009	1247	1217	30	23	70-78	830
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400	31/01/1998	1316	1258	58	28.0–29.5	74–90	700-1,110
Comac ARJ21-700/900	28/11/2008	252	137	115	40.5–43.6	78–98	1,200
Embraer E-Jet/E-Jet E2	19/02/2002	2180	1803	396	38.6-61.5	66-146	2,150-2,850
Superjet 100	19/05/2008	386	206	180	49.4	98	2,390
Ilyushin Il-114-300					23.5	64	1,030

See also

• List of regional airliners
• Regional jet