Two Canadair CRJ 700 jets based in Düsseldorf from September.

From September the Eurowings fleet is expected to expand with the addition of two Canadair CRJ 700 jets. The CRJ 700 is basically a longer version of the CRJ 200 with additional improvements: for example, the shape of the wings and winglets is different and its landing gear is modified. The floor of the cabin is slightly lower in comparison to the CRJ 200 meaning headroom of 1.89 metres. The cabin itself is slightly longer and has room for 70 passengers. The CRJ 700 is also characterised by higher fuel efficiency and uses up to 9% less kerosene compared with its shorter sister model. Both CRJ 700 aircraft come to Eurowings from Maersk of Denmark.

The planes were first of all inspected in Ljubljana and had some specifications adapted to Eurowings and Lufthansa requirements. The craft are only five and six years old and are in exceptional condition. They will be configured to accommodate 70 passengers. The first plane will be put into service on 17th September and the second at some point in October. Both CRJs will be based in Düsseldorf and will fly the remaining part of the summer season on those routes that have increased passenger flows.

The first jet based in Düsseldorf will fly to Rome, Bilbao and Geneva and will also serve Madrid at the weekend. The second jet will start operations in mid October to Stockholm, Birmingham, Nice and Barcelona. Pilot training is already up and running: given the CRJ 200 and 700 belong to the same aircraft family, cockpit crews do not require separate ratings. There is thus no new recruitment drive. We are, however, training an initial set of 60 pilots for the CRJ 700. At the end of the coming year the CRJ pilots should then be ready to operate the CRJ 700. CRJ fleet director Jan Schauries said, “We are already carrying out very intensive preparations for the new aircraft type. By commissioning the CRJ 700 we are sending out a positive signal for our pilots.” For the same reasons there is no need for extra training for cabin crew as the procedures are very similar to those used on the CRJ 200.