Bombardier — Commercial
Explore the CRJ-700's range on the map →The Bombardier CRJ-700 can fly up to 1,640 nautical miles (3,037 km) as a ferry flight with no payload. With a full load of passengers and cargo, the range drops to approximately 1,378 nm (2,552 km). At its cruise speed of 447 kt, that's about 3h 40m of non-stop flying at ferry weight, or 3h 5m fully loaded.
The CRJ-700 is the aircraft that professionalised US regional flying - a 70-seat jet that gave regional carriers genuine commercial airliner standards of performance and passenger experience rather than the flying bus reputation of earlier turboprops. Developed from the Bombardier CRJ-100/200 (itself derived from the Canadair Challenger business jet), the -700 stretched the fuselage to accommodate 70 passengers in a 2-2 layout and added more powerful GE CF34-8 engines.
Delta Connection's SkyWest and Atlantic Southeast operations built large CRJ-700 fleets to feed Delta's major hubs from smaller cities that couldn't support mainline service. United Express and American Eagle followed. The aircraft's 1,378 nm range was sufficient for the typical US regional mission - hub-to-spoke flying rarely exceeds 500 miles, so range was never the limiting factor. The limiting factor was the scope clause: US mainline unions negotiated maximum seat counts and weight limits for regional jets, and the CRJ-700's 70 seats at 75,000 lbs MTOW sat right at the edge of what was permitted.
The CRJ-700's days are numbered. Bombardier discontinued the CRJ program, and no new examples will be produced. The E175 has captured most new regional jet orders in North America due to its superior cabin experience. The existing CRJ-700 fleet will continue flying until leases expire or airframes reach their life limits, gradually retiring through the late 2020s as E175s and, eventually, E175-E2s (if scope clauses allow) take over the routes.
