Industry Bombardier CRJ certified for higher maintenance intervals

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft said, that the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has issued an approval for a maintenance interval escalation of the CRJ-series. This approval includes the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ 1000 regional aircraft.

Now, the line maintenance interval (A-check) was being extended to 800 flight hours. A heavy maintenance interval, known as C-check, has to be completed every 8,000 flight hours now. Since the launch of the CRJ aircraft family, the maintenance intervals have doubled.

Charles Comtois, Head of CRJ Series Program commented: “With the longest maintenance intervals on the regional jet market, the CRJ aircraft family continues to deliver more value to operators, along with its excellent reliability and its proven outstanding operational capability.”

Operators of the CRJ series will benefit from the increased maintenance intervals, as now less maintenance days will be needed. Every day an aircraft sits on the ground, it will heavily cost the airline.

Comtois confirmed: “We are thrilled that our operators are benefitting from our continuous improvement mindset as with this evolution, the CRJ Series operators can now take advantage of 14 per cent less maintenance days, meaning more days of revenue flying.”

Bombardier has seen an increase in orders in the second half of 2018. A new cabin design makes the CRJ-series more attractive for customers. The so-called Atmosphère cabin offers more space for luggage and passengers. It also features customizable LED-lighting and bigger windows.

The Canadian manufacturer has included its Atomsphère product in the Q400 Turboprop as well. In recent days, the first Q400 with the new cabin was delivered to Indian carrier SpiceJet. The new Q400 cabin has an increased passenger capacity and can now accommodate 90 passengers. This allows a 15 percent reduction of seat costs compared to previous standard Q400 aircraft.