From the existing guide library. Pricing, loan examples and source dates may be historical. Use current written quotes for your purchase. The worksheets use the shared calculation method.

The True Operating Cost of Bombardier CRJ700

The Bombardier CRJ700 is a proven regional jet offering 76-seat capacity, excellent efficiency, and reliability. Plan for $265,000–$345,000 annually in operating costs at 100 flight hours, or $2,650–$3,450 per hour. The CRJ700 dominates regional markets worldwide.

Quick Specs: Bombardier CRJ700

Specification CRJ700
Engines 2 × General Electric CF34-8C5 (9,220 lbf thrust each)
Fuel Burn 250–280 gal/hr cruise
Cruise Speed 450–490 mph
Service Ceiling 43,000 ft
Useful Load 18,000–20,000 lbs
Seats 76
Range 2,000–2,500 nm

TL;DR: Bombardier CRJ700 Annual Operating Cost Summary

  • Fixed costs: $95,000–$130,000/year (insurance $45,000–$65,000, hangar $35,000–$45,000, annuals $10,000–$15,000, crew)
  • Variable costs at 100 hours: $170,000–$215,000/year (Jet-A fuel, oils, engine reserves)
  • Total at 100 hours: $265,000–$345,000/year (~$2,650–$3,450/hour)
  • Finance an $18,000,000 CRJ700: Add $263,000/month ($3,156,000/year) at 6.5% over 10 years
  • At 50 hours: ~$180,000–$240,000/year (~$3,600–$4,800/hour)
  • At 200 hours: ~$435,000–$560,000/year (~$2,175–$2,800/hour)

Regional Jet Operating Costs

Fixed Costs

  • Insurance: $45,000–$65,000/year for $15M–$21M hull
  • Hangar: $35,000–$45,000/year (regional facility)
  • Annual inspection: $10,000–$15,000 labor
  • Crew training: $5,000–$10,000/year

Variable Costs (per flight hour)

  • Jet-A fuel: 265 gal/hr × $5.50/gal = ~$1,457/hour
  • Oil and lubricants: $20–$30/hour
  • Engine reserves: $30–$36/hour ($165K per engine ÷ 5,000 TBO × 2)
  • Avionics/systems: $120–$180/hour
  • Landing fees: $150–$400/landing
  • Maintenance: $150–$220/hour

Jet Fuel & Operating Economics

Fuel Cost by Hours

Annual Hours Gallons Jet-A Cost @ $5.50/gal $/Hour
50 13,250 $72,875 $1,457
100 26,500 $145,750 $1,457
150 39,750 $218,625 $1,457
200 53,000 $291,500 $1,457

Maintenance & Engine Reserves

General Electric CF34-8C5 Engines

  • CF34-8C5: 5,000 hours TBO
  • Overhaul cost: $165,000–$195,000 per engine
  • Combined reserve: $360,000 ÷ 5,000 = $72/hour
  • Reliability: Proven turbofan with excellent support

Regional Jet Maintenance

  • Engine system checks: $12,000–$18,000/year
  • Avionics updates: $8,000–$12,000/year
  • Pressurization/environmental: $6,000–$10,000/year
  • Landing gear service: $4,000–$7,000/year
  • Budget: $210–$280/hour for all maintenance

Insurance & Storage

Regional Insurance

  • $15,000,000 hull: $45,000–$55,000/year
  • $21,000,000 hull: $60,000–$75,000/year
  • Commercial operations: +10–20% premium

Storage Costs

Option Monthly Annual
Regional Hangar $2,900–$3,800 $34,800–$45,600
Tie-Down $600–$1,000 $7,200–$12,000

Annual Ownership Scenarios

Operating Cost (Not Financed)

Hours/Year Fixed Variable Total $/Hour
50 $112,500 $120,000 $232,500 $4,650
100 $112,500 $240,000 $352,500 $3,525
200 $112,500 $480,000 $592,500 $2,962

Total Cost of Ownership (With Financing)

Assume $18,000,000 Bombardier CRJ700, 6.5% APR, 10 years = $3,156,000/year.

Hours/Year Operating Finance Total $/Hour
100 $352,500 $3,156,000 $3,508,500 $35,085
200 $592,500 $3,156,000 $3,748,500 $18,742

Financing the Bombardier CRJ700

  • Purchase price: $15,000,000–$25,000,000
  • Down payment: 15–20%
  • Loan amount: $12,500,000–$21,000,000
  • Term: 10–15 years
  • APR: 5.75–7.0% (2025)
  • Monthly payment: $220,000–$550,000

Lender Requirements: 700+ credit, airline experience, $1,000,000+ net worth, detailed flight plan, hull insurance $15M+. Lenders like JakenAviation support regional jet financing.

Bombardier CRJ700 vs. Competitors

  • vs. Embraer E190: CRJ700 70-seat; E190 98-seat larger
  • vs. Airbus A220: CRJ700 older; A220 newer technology

Get prequalified for regional jet financing »

Sources: Bombardier Aircraft Specs | AOPA Owner Reports | FAA TCDS

Operating-cost worksheet

Defaults are round assumptions, not a shop quote. AOPA’s worksheet splits fixed costs (insurance, hangar, the annual), direct costs (fuel and maintenance), and a reserve (overhaul cost divided by hours to TBO). Their old teaching example used half the hourly fuel bill as a maintenance starting point. Type your own gph and prices.

Stop dividing one year’s costs by too few hours

The expensive mistake on a Bombardier Crj700 is to take insurance, hangar, and an annual, divide by 80 or 100 hours, and call the result the cost of flying. Those bills arrive if you fly or not. AOPA’s operating-cost worksheet treats them as fixed costs, then adds direct costs that do move with hours: fuel, oil, and maintenance. A reserve for the engine or propeller is a third bucket, optional in their sheet and not optional in real life if you intend to keep the aircraft through an overhaul. The worksheet on this page follows that split. Any annual dollar range printed higher up on this page, if it does not cite an invoice or AOPA, is an illustration. Do not repeat it as a quote.

Fuel is a multiplication, not a rumor

AOPA’s instruction is price per gallon times gallons per hour. The gallons per hour belong to the way you actually fly the Bombardier Crj700, not to the brochure cruise at the most flattering altitude. Oil is the same idea: price per quart times quarts per hour. Type both into the worksheet. If you do not know burn, leave a conservative guess and replace it after five tanks of your own notes. A blog’s “cost per hour” that hides the burn and the fuel price is not usable, because you cannot tell which assumption broke.

The maintenance starting point AOPA actually published

For a first pass, AOPA equates routine engine and airframe maintenance, on an hourly basis, to about half the hourly fuel and oil bill, and says to adjust it once you have your own invoices. The checkbox on the worksheet does that and nothing fancier. Turn it off and type a maintenance figure when you have one. A separate AOPA line for avionics is 5 percent of the avionics’ replacement value per 500 hours. That is a starting point from their sheet, not a prediction that your Bombardier Crj700 panel will fail on schedule. Unsupported radios cost more than that formula, because the fix is often a replacement, not a repair.

The overhaul reserve is a division

AOPA’s method is the shop’s overhaul or remanufacture price divided by hours left until the published TBO, not divided by the full TBO if the engine is already mid-time. Their sheet walks through a Cessna 172 example: $17,000 over 2,000 hours is $8.50 an hour, while a $27,000 reman with 900 hours left is $30 an hour. Those dollars are the example in the article, and they are not a 2026 quote for a Bombardier Crj700. The arithmetic is what you copy. Propeller overhaul, in the same AOPA sheet, is penciled at about $0.25 an hour for a fixed-pitch prop and about $1 an hour for a constant-speed prop, with more for a three-blade. Treat those as historical placeholders and ask a prop shop.

Sources