Summary

• The Avro RJ family includes three variants - RJ70, RJ85, and RJ100 - each with different seating capacities and lengths.
• The RJ series, known for its four-engine design and high-wing structure, is becoming increasingly rare in today's aviation industry.
• Different operators worldwide still utilize the Avro RJ aircraft for various purposes, including passenger flights and VIP transport.

For many of us, the term 'quadjet' will conjure up images of double-decker giants such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747. Looking further back into history, you may be reminded of the likes of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. However, a certain family of regional aircraft also features a four-engine design - the Avro RJ series. This was a development of the BAe 146 and is becoming increasingly rare nowadays.

The Avro RJ family in a nutshell

While the Avro RJ family is a product of the 1990s, its story actually began in the previous decade, with the launch of the British Aerospace (BAe) 146 series. According to Aerospace Technology, this family of regional quadjets was produced between 1983 and 1993, with 229 examples rolling off the factory line during this time. The series consisted of three different variants with the following specs:

• BAe 146-100: 26.19 meters (85.9 feet) long, 70 - 82 seats.
• BAe 146-200: 28.55 meters (93.7 feet) long, 85 - 100 seats.
• BAe 146-300: 31 meters (102 feet) long, 97 - 112 seats.

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The aircraft quickly turned heads in the aviation community, with its high-wing design and bulbous undercarriage being particularly conspicuous. Another factor that made it stand out from most other regional aircraft (apart, perhaps, from the De Havilland Canada DHC-7 quad-turboprop) is the fact that rather than being powered by the usual two engines, it was instead driven by four geared turbofans.

Around a decade after the BAe 146 entered service, Avro International Aerospace developed a second-generation version of the quirky quadjet, which it christened the Avro RJ series. This family also had three variants, with the RJ70, RJ85, and RJ100 corresponding to the BAe 146-100, 146-200, and 146-300 models. Aerospace Technology notes that 170 RJs were delivered between 1993 and 2003.

The Avro RJ70

Today, only around a quarter of the RJ series aircraft that Avro produced in the 1990s and 2000s are operational today, with data from ch-aviation showing that just 45 are currently listed as active at 14 different operators. Starting off small, the RJ70 model is now incredibly rare, accounting for just two of the family's remaining active aircraft. Interestingly, these quadjet aircraft perform rather different roles.

The older of the pair is 29.74 years old at the time of writing, and flies for QinetiQ as a testbed/demo aircraft under the registration G-ETPK. It has been fulfilling this role for more than a decade now, having joined QinetiQ in March of 2012. Prior to this, it flew between 1994 and 2012 for various European carriers, including the likes of Air Malta, Azzurra Air, Transwede Airways, and Malmö Aviation.

Slightly younger is the 29.21-year-old A9C-BRF, which is operated by the Bahrain Defence Force on behalf of the country's Royal Flight. Configured with a VIP configuration with space for just 19 guests onboard, this aircraft joined the Bahrain Defence Force in July of 2021. Previously, it flew for Air Malta and Azzurra Air before transitioning to VIP work for Amiri Flight, Presidential Flight, and Formula One.

The Avro RJ85

The mid-sized Avro RJ85 model is considerably more numerous than its short-fuselage counterpart nowadays, with 22 active examples spread across nine operators at the time of writing. As pictured below, eight of these are used in the field of aerial firefighting, and are subsequently designated as Avro RJ85 AT aircraft. Six of these serve Aero Flite in the US, while two fly for Canadian operator Conair.

The remaining 14 active examples of the Avro RJ85 today fly for Aerovías DAP (two), the Bahrain Defence Force (two), EcoJet (two), the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (two), Mahan Air (four), Summit Air Charters (one), and TezJet (one). As is the case with the aforementioned example of the Avro RJ70, the RJ85 aircraft that are operated by the Bahrain Defence Force serve the Royal Flight.

According to present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, there are 3,803 passenger flights scheduled to be operated by the Avro RJ85 this year. Collectively, these services are set to offer grand totals of 311,846 seats and 62,302,698 available seat miles (ASMs). Bolivia's EcoJet is the largest operator in this regard, accounting for 2,719 of these flights.

The Avro RJ100

Moving on to the larger Avro RJ100 model, ch-aviation's data lists 21 examples of this variant as presently being active today. These are currently spread across 10 operators, namely Aerovías DAP (three), Air Libya (three), the Bahrain Defence Force (two), EcoJet (one), Mahan Air (three), North Cariboo Air (two), Qeshm Airlines (two), QinetiQ (one), Royal Air Maroc (one), and Summit Air Charters (three).

As well as the Bahrain Defence Force's units flying for the country's Royal Flight, ch-aviation's data also shows that Royal Air Maroc's sole active example of the Avro RJ100 actually flies for the Force Aérienne Royale Marocaine. In terms of scheduled passenger operations, scheduling data from Cirium shows that EcoJet and Qeshm Airlines have collectively scheduled 6,536 RJ100 flights in 2024, offering:

• 633,992 seats.
• 232,440,712 available seat miles.

How many aircraft from the Avro RJ family have you flown on over the years? What do you make of the quirky quadjet? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!