[Victor]

"....Unfortnately, there aren't many domestic RJ manufacturers to choose from....."

True. Are there any at all? There seems to be a jump between the smallest "major" aircraft (737, DC-9, etc) right into small prop planes made by Beech, etc.

The RJ market is dominated, it seems, by Fokker, Bombardier, a Brazilian outfit, British Aerospace....but no American companies. Wonder why Lear, Beech, etc., don't jump into the market?

[Larry Lucido]

Wonder why Lear, Beech, etc., don't jump into the market?

I thought Lear was made by Bombardier.

[Daus]

True. Are there any at all?

The closest domestic is the Boeing 717, which is still bigger than these RJ's. Though the RJ's are getting bigger and bigger every year.

Both Boeing and Airbus are missing the boat. RJ's is/will be the future of domestic air travel.

[Squawk 8888]

Canadair (owned by Bombardier) invented the Regional Jet by stretching the Challenger executive jet. They sold nearly a hundred of them before they even had the first prototype built. Embraer of Brazil was the second manufacturer to get into the market.

The Fokker F-28 and F-100 from the 1970s never had the economics of the RJ because it was rather large (70 seats vs. 50 seats for the RJs). Fokker went out of business in the late 1990s after owner Daimler concluded that it was a money pit. The BAe 146 (renamed Avro RJ) from British Aerospace never fared well because it was large (70+ seats), slow (only 50mph faster than turboprops), low (ceiling 28,000 feet) and underpowered (used modified helicopter engines, is known as the only airliner with 5 APUs). The BAe product also fares poorly on short or slippery runways because it does not have thrust reversers; AirBC made the mistake of buying it and every winter a plane skids off the end of a runway at least once.

The closest the Americans have come to marketing a regional jet was a joint venture by Dornier and Fairchild, but I haven't heard anything on it for a couple of years so it may have been cancelled. Right now the smallest American-built airliner is the Boeing 717 at 90 to 100 seats. Bombardier's regional jets are made in versions with 44, 50 and 70 seats with a 90-seater under development.

Chin up, though, lots of American jobs will come of this deal. Bombardier is a truly global firm; major components are made in Canada, Ireland and the USA and many of the subsystems are American-made.

[Buck W.]

No, there are no domestic RJ's produced. Fairchild/Dornier makes a good aircraft, but the company is not faring well in competition. Besides, it's not truly domestic.

RJ's came into vogue as a direct result of pilot contracts at the major airlines. A seat limit was established below which pilots were not required to be unionized (the dreaded "scope clause"). So, the RJ enabled the regional affiliates of the majors to offer jet service and reduce the unprofitable network at the majors.

Today, Bombardier & Embraer are the RJ games in town. BAE makes the AVRO (formerly the BAE146), but it's not a profitable jet (has four small engines--I've heard it referred to an a jet with 5 APU's!).