Regional jet manufacturers Bombardier and Embraer have made their intentions clear: Both will continue to focus primarily on marketing and development of aircraft in the 60/100-seat range.At the Regional Airline Assn. conference yesterday in Dallas, Bombardier VP-Marketing and Communications Trung Ngo noted that rising fuel costs, renegotiated labor contracts and the success of low-cost carriers have helped drive the market for larger regional aircraft. "Airlines are adjusting to a new norm," he said, "[but] they seem to draw the line at 100 seats." The airframer has 372 firm orders for CRJ700s/CRJ900s.

In recent months, Bombardier has seen renewed interest in its 86-seat CRJ900 launched in 2003, Trung said, telling ATWOnline that the company has stepped up marketing efforts for the model. It continues to explore options for a dash 900X as well as a larger derivative of the Q400 turboprop, he said; "Operators have expressed an interest in this. It would depend on the business case."

Embraer sees its growth tied to its 170/190 family, with VP-Marketing and Sales Mark Hale describing it as "tapping the gap between capacity and demand." To date, the manufacturer has 139 of the family in service. Hale said the first 195 is on target for certification and delivery to launch customer FlyBE in August.

There are no plans for a technologically improved 50-seater, according to Embraer Executive VP Frederico Curado. At best there would be a 15% improvement in efficiency, he noted. "That's not enough to initiate a demand. Scope clauses created a demand for 50 seats. We don't believe in designing a new product because we don't see a demand." As Regionals move to larger aircraft, there will be more than sufficient inventory of used 50-seaters, he added.

Embraer also unveiled its latest innovation, an Aircraft Health Analysis and Diagnosis system being developed for the 170/190 family. The Web-based product will maximize dispatch reliability by monitoring an aircraft's performance in flight and relaying information to the ground to ensure that mechanics are prepared to deal with repairs or maintenance once it lands. Republic Airways, which operates 170s, and JetBlue, launch customer for the 190, will test the new system during its development phase.