Market Presence. Part of the structure of the ERJ145 can be traced to the successful EMB120 Brasilia. The airframe is therefore something of a known quantity in terms of being able to cope with the short sector lengths. The ability of the regional jets to offer a similar service life to their larger narrowbody contemporaries still remains something of an unknown. As the primary U.S. market has already moved to new types after 20 years, perhaps a 30-service life is not important – except for residual values. The structural integrity of both the ERJ and CRJ are likely to come under increasing scrutiny in the latter part of the decade. Both Embraer and Canadair offer long-range versions of their aircraft. To some extent long-range capability is not issue for a large proportion of operations. While some U.S. airlines in particular are using the range capability to the maximum to expand the horizon of existing networks, for others a 300-500nm sector length does not require 1,000nm capability. However, the ability to carry a maximum passenger load on a hot day places greater emphasis on payload/range performance. The replacement of turboprops combined with scope clauses has previously kept demand high but high fuel prices have forced operators to reconsider turboprops and larger regional jets at the expense of the 50 seaters.
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