Bombardier has delivered the first CRJ700 regional jet to launch customer Brit Air. At the same time the manufacturer is wrestling with the need to ramp up output of the new 70-seater while facing disruption from its move of assembly to a new plant to free up CRJ200 production capacity.
Air France affiliate Brit Air has 12 CRJ700s on order, and will be the first to put the type into service later this month. Three more jets will follow by the third quarter.
Bombardier plans a production rate of four CRJ700s a month, but is looking to "possibly go higher than that", says Guy Blondin, CRJ700 programme director.
The next carriers to receive the jet will be Lufthansa CityLine and, once the US Federal Aviation Administration awards type approval, Horizon Air. With the exception of GE Capital Aviation Services and Shandong Airlines, which is awaiting approval of a 10 aircraft buy, "all [carriers] will have at least one by the end of the year," says Blondin.
Most carriers, including American Eagle, will have to wait until later this year before aircraft can be completed following the production line move from Dorval in Montreal to nearby Mirabel. "We're in fact looking at 2001 as a split year for production," says Blondin. "We're facing a difficult decision between having to ramp up production to deliver aircraft and waiting for the new plant to be completed." Production is due to rise to 12.5 aircraft a month.
Source: Flight International
