Key takeaways
- The CRJ900 is the stretched version of the CRJ700: a regional jet with rear engines, a T-tail and up to 90 seats.
- Fastest way to identify it: engines at the rear plus a very long, thin fuselage – that immediately sets it apart from the Embraer E175 and E190.
- In flight plans and tracking apps the type shows up as CRJ9, its sisters as CRJ7 and CRJX.
- Between the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000, fuselage length mainly decides: about 32, 36 and 39 meters.
- In Germany the CRJ900 has become rare: Lufthansa shut down its CityLine fleet in April 2026, and the biggest fleets today fly in North America.
Contents
- 1.What is the Bombardier CRJ900?
- 2.The three features that are enough to identify it
- 3.CRJ700, CRJ900 or CRJ1000?
- 4.CRJ900, Embraer E175 or Fokker 100?
- 5.The CRJ900 in Germany: Eurowings and Lufthansa CityLine
- 6.Where you can still see the CRJ900 today
- 7.Spotting tips for the CRJ900
- 8.Common mix-ups and how to rule them out
- 9.Conclusion
Profile
| Manufacturer | Bombardier (Canada), program with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries since 2020 |
|---|---|
| Family | CRJ700 series (CRJ550, CRJ700, CRJ900, CRJ1000) |
| ICAO type designator | CRJ9 |
| Type designation | CL-600-2D24 (Canadair Regional Jet) |
| Program launch | July 2000 |
| First flight | February 21, 2001 |
| First delivery | 2003 (Mesa Air Group) |
| Engines | 2 × General Electric CF34-8C at the rear |
| Length | about 36.2 m |
| Wingspan | about 24.9 m |
| Height | about 7.5 m |
| Cabin | four seats per row (2+2), one center aisle |
| Seats | up to 90 |
| Cruise speed | about 830 km/h |
| Last delivery | February 28, 2021 (SkyWest Airlines) |
Identifying features
Is this really the aircraft type in front of you?
- Two engines at the rear, mounted on the sides of the fuselage – the wings are completely clear
- T-tail: the horizontal stabilizer sits at the very top of the vertical fin
- A very slim, long fuselage with low ground clearance – the aircraft looks like a stretched pencil
- A long, tapering nose and small, rather low-set cabin windows
- Short wings with small winglets angled upward and slats on the leading edge
- Main landing gear with only two wheels per leg, retracting under the fuselage
Updated: October 2026 – A narrow, long jet taxis to the runway, the wings look almost bare because both engines hang on the rear fuselage, and the horizontal stabilizer is perched on top of the fin: that is very likely a regional jet of the CRJ family. Whether it is a CRJ900 or one of its shorter or longer sisters, how to tell it from Embraer jets, and where you can still get it in front of your lens after the end of Lufthansa CityLine, you can read here.
Lock in the CRJ9 in your hangar
With Planetrack you log every CRJ900 sighting with photo, registration, airline and spot, and tick off the type in your hangar. The app is launching soon – join the waitlist and get early access.
What is the Bombardier CRJ900?
The CRJ900 belongs to the CRJ700 series from the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, whose roots in aircraft building go back to Canadair – hence the abbreviation “CRJ” for Canadair Regional Jet. The family comprises the CRJ700 with about 70 to 78 seats, the stretched CRJ900 with up to 90 seats, the even longer CRJ1000 with just over 100 seats and the CRJ550, a version of the CRJ700 limited to 50 seats for the US market.
Bombardier gave the go-ahead for the CRJ900 in July 2000. The first flight followed on February 21, 2001, and the first production aircraft went in 2003 to the US regional company Mesa Air Group, which used them for America West. Technically, the CRJ900 is a lengthened CRJ700: Bombardier stretched the fuselage, added extra slats to the leading edge of the wing, enlarged the horizontal stabilizer and lowered the cabin floor slightly to create more headroom.
The CRJ900 is powered by two General Electric CF34-8C engines mounted on the sides of the rear fuselage. Cruise speed is about 830 km/h, and the service ceiling is 41,000 feet. For European feeder routes with one to two hours of flight time, that was a very fitting package – hence the great importance of the type at Lufthansa.
In 2007 came the CRJ900 NextGen with more economical engines, a revised cabin with larger overhead bins and longer maintenance intervals. In June 2019, Bombardier announced the sale of the entire CRJ program to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with the deal completed on June 1, 2020. Mitsubishi only finished building the open orders. The last aircraft of the family, a CRJ900, went to SkyWest Airlines on February 28, 2021. Bombardier itself has since concentrated on business jets such as the Global 7500.
The three features that are enough to identify it
For the CRJ900, basic identification is pleasantly simple, because its design principle has become rare among today’s airliners. Three glances are usually enough.
Look for the engines
If nothing hangs under the wings, the engines sit at the rear. That immediately rules out the A220, E-Jets, the A320 family and the Boeing 737.
Look at the tail
The horizontal stabilizer sits at the very top of the vertical fin – a classic T-tail. Together with the rear engines, that narrows it down to the CRJ, Fokker 70/100 and a few other types.
Check the proportions
The CRJ900 has a strikingly slim, long fuselage that sits low to the ground and, in proportion, very short wings. The typical “pencil” look is the hallmark of the stretched CRJs.
With that you know for sure that a jet of the CRJ family is in front of you. Which variant exactly is settled by length – and when in doubt, the registration. How to read and look up registrations is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations. Basics on identifying aircraft are in the guide Identifying aircraft types for beginners.
Pro tip for the first glance
On approach from the front, the rear engines are often hidden behind the wings. Then look for the “empty” wings without engine nacelles – at an angled head-on view, that is the quickest sign of a CRJ.
CRJ700, CRJ900 or CRJ1000?
The three large CRJ variants share the cockpit, basic wing, tail shape and engine arrangement. The difference lies mainly in fuselage length, and the wingspan grows slightly with it.
| Feature | CRJ700 | CRJ900 | CRJ1000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICAO type designator | CRJ7 | CRJ9 | CRJX |
| Length | about 32.3 m | about 36.2 m | about 39.1 m |
| Wingspan | about 23.2 m | about 24.9 m | about 26.2 m |
| Seats (maximum) | about 70 to 78 | 90 | about 100 to 104 |
| First flight | 1999 | 2001 | 2008 |
Between the CRJ700 and CRJ900 there are about four meters – you can see that with a bit of practice: the CRJ700 looks stubbier, and on the CRJ900 the fuselage extends clearly farther forward of the wing. The CRJ1000 is another just under three meters longer; without a comparison object that is hard to judge. Tracking and the registration help most reliably here.
The older CRJ200, by contrast, is easy to rule out: at about 27 meters it is much shorter, has no slats on the wing leading edge and a narrower fuselage for a maximum of 50 passengers. Anyone who has seen a CRJ200 next to a CRJ900 won’t mix the two up again.
The code gives away the variant
Some apps simply show all variants as “Bombardier CRJ.” So filter by the ICAO code CRJ9 rather than by model name. What lies behind IATA and ICAO codes is explained in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained.
CRJ900, Embraer E175 or Fokker 100?
The most common mix-ups happen with other regional jets of similar size. The finder helps you narrow it down.
Quick ID: regional jets around 90 seats
Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900 or CRJ1000
Rear engines, a T-tail and the long, thin fuselage are the typical CRJ look. Now estimate the length or check the type code: CRJ7, CRJ9 or CRJX.
Embraer E-Jet
Engines under the wings and a thicker fuselage point to an E-Jet like the E175 or E190. The wingtips then tell you the generation.
Fokker 70 or Fokker 100
The Fokker jets also have rear engines and a T-tail, but look sturdier, with a thicker fuselage and a blunt tail cone with airbrakes. They have meanwhile become rare themselves.
The Embraer E175 is the CRJ900’s direct competitor in the US and often flies there for the same brands. It is similar in size but has engines under the wings and a normal tail. With the Fokker 100, fuselage thickness and tail shape help, and with the Avro RJ85 the first glance is enough: it has four engines under a high-mounted wing. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 and the Airbus A220-100 also carry their engines under the wings.
The CRJ900 in Germany: Eurowings and Lufthansa CityLine
For German spotters, the CRJ900 was an everyday aircraft for a long time. Two chapters are important here.
Eurowings (regional operation): The then regional company Eurowings flew CRJs for years on behalf of Lufthansa Regional. On February 15, 2017, scheduled CRJ900 service ended there: the last scheduled flight was operated by D-ACNM from Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden to Hamburg. The remaining aircraft moved to Lufthansa CityLine in Munich, where numerous former Eurowings CRJ900s were already flying. Eurowings has since relied essentially on Airbus jets.
Lufthansa CityLine: In April 2007, Lufthansa had ordered 15 CRJ900s for its regional subsidiary to replace older BAe 146 and Avro RJ jets. For many years, CRJ900s in Lufthansa colors shaped the feeder traffic at the hubs Munich and Frankfurt. In April 2026, Lufthansa then announced that it would shut down CityLine effective April 18, 2026 and permanently withdraw the 27 CRJ900s from service – two years earlier than originally planned. The trade press cited sharply higher kerosene prices, labor disputes and the high maintenance effort of the older jets as reasons. The new Lufthansa City Airlines takes over a large part of the regional traffic.
Photos from the CityLine era are now archive shots
There have been no scheduled CRJ900s in Lufthansa colors since April 2026. Stored aircraft, ferry flights or resales you can only follow through tracking and registration databases – don’t rely on older schedule lists.
If you still have pictures from that time, you’re sitting on a small piece of German aviation history. How to log older sightings properly and keep them organized is shown in the article Documenting sightings and keeping a logbook.
Don’t miss a rare CRJ900
Set up a sighting alert for the CRJ9 type or individual registrations – Planetrack tells you when a matching aircraft approaches or lands at your airport. Planetrack is launching soon – join the waitlist.
Where you can still see the CRJ900 today
The focus of the CRJ900 fleets is clearly in North America. There, the type flies with regional companies operating on behalf of big network airlines:
- Delta Connection: Delta ordered 40 CRJ900s in December 2012; the aircraft fly with, among others, Delta’s subsidiary Endeavor Air and with SkyWest. You can find more about the airline at Delta Air Lines, which belongs to the SkyTeam alliance.
- American Eagle: For American Airlines, PSA Airlines mainly flies a large CRJ900 fleet. Mesa Airlines, formerly also a CRJ900 operator for American, has since retired the type. American is a member of Oneworld.
- SkyWest Airlines is one of the largest CRJ operators of all and also took delivery of the very last CRJ900 built.
If you spot at a large US hub, regional jets of these brands are an everyday sight. On the West Coast, for example, Imperial Hill and the famous In-N-Out Burger spot in Los Angeles offer a lot of regional traffic – whether a CRJ900 is among them, you check beforehand in a tracker.
In Europe, by contrast, the type has become rare. Many operators have switched to larger regional jets, E-Jets or the A220, while others, like the Estonian Xfly, which flew CRJ900s for SAS, have ceased operations. A few individual aircraft still turn up with smaller airlines, on wet lease or on ferry flights – what “wet lease” exactly means is explained in the article Wet lease explained. That makes the CRJ900 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland a type for the category spotting rare aircraft.
| Region | Chance of a hit (as of October 2026) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| USA and Canada | high | Large fleets at Delta Connection and American Eagle |
| Germany | low | Lufthansa CityLine shut down, at most guest appearances |
| Austria and Switzerland | low | No known regular scheduled service |
| Rest of Europe | low | At most individual operators or wet lease operations, changing quickly |
How to follow individual flights live and filter by type code is covered in the guide on flight tracking with ADS-B.
Spotting tips for the CRJ900
The CRJ900 is a small, slim aircraft. That has consequences for focal length, framing and timing.
Plan for more focal length
At the same distance, a CRJ900 fills the frame much less than an A320. Better plan for a bit more focal length; which lenses work well is covered in the article on the right focal length.
Choose the side profile
Rear engines, T-tail and the long fuselage show to best advantage in side profile. Head-on, the CRJ looks very narrow and loses its character.
Start low
Because the fuselage sits so close to the ground, taxiing shots from a low perspective look especially dynamic – as long as your vantage point allows it.
Capture the registration
Especially with the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000, the registration often decides. Make sure the registration on the rear fuselage stays legible in the frame.
If a CRJ900 is announced in Germany after all, classic spots like the Munich visitors’ hill or the Zeppelinheim viewing platform in Frankfurt are a good choice. Which runway is used depends on the runway direction in use, and for the light, a look at the guide on sun position at your photo spot is worthwhile.
Ready for your CRJ900 hunt?
- I’ve filtered the tracker for the type code CRJ9.
- I know the aircraft’s registration and expected arrival time.
- I know which runway direction is likely in use.
- My vantage point is publicly accessible and permitted.
- Focal length and battery are right for a small regional jet.
Whether your vantage point is legally fine is covered in the article Is plane spotting allowed?.
Common mix-ups and how to rule them out
It points to a CRJ900 if …
- the engines sit at the rear and the horizontal stabilizer on top of the fin
- the fuselage looks very long and slim
- you see slats on the wing leading edge and small winglets
- the tracker shows CRJ9 as the type
Look closer if …
- the fuselage looks strikingly long – then it could be a CRJ1000
- the aircraft looks rather stubby – then more likely a CRJ700
- you only see the front and the engines are hidden
It’s not a CRJ900 if …
- the engines hang under the wings – then it is, for example, an Embraer E190 or E175
- four engines sit under a high-mounted wing
- the aircraft is clearly shorter and has no slats – that points to a CRJ200
Conclusion
The CRJ900 stands for an era in regional traffic that is just coming to an end in Europe: slim fuselage, rear engines, T-tail, 2+2 cabin. In Germany, with Eurowings and above all Lufthansa CityLine, it shaped feeder traffic for almost two decades, and since April 2026 it has become a rare guest here. In North America, by contrast, it remains part of everyday life.
In short
Engines at the rear, a T-tail, a long, thin fuselage: that is a CRJ of the 700 series. About 36 meters in length and the code CRJ9 make it the CRJ900. If you still want to catch one in Germany, rely on tracking and registration alerts – it works more reliably on trips to the US.
Summary
- The CRJ900 first flew in 2001 and entered scheduled service from 2003; it was built until early 2021.
- Rear engines, a T-tail and the very slim fuselage make it easy to tell from E-Jets and the A220, even for beginners.
- Within the CRJ family, fuselage length helps, and in trackers the codes CRJ7, CRJ9 and CRJX.
- After the end of CRJ900 operations at Eurowings (2017) and Lufthansa CityLine (2026), the CRJ900 is mostly worth seeking out on trips to the US or as a rare guest in trackers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Bombardier CRJ900?
A twinjet regional jet from the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier with up to 90 seats. It is the lengthened version of the CRJ700, first flew on February 21, 2001 and was delivered from 2003. The engines sit at the rear, the horizontal stabilizer at the very top of the vertical fin.
What ICAO type designator does the CRJ900 have?
The CRJ900 is listed as CRJ9. The shorter CRJ700 has the code CRJ7, the longer CRJ1000 the code CRJX, the small CRJ200 the code CRJ2. You can use these codes to filter for the right variant in trackers.
How do I tell the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 apart?
All three look very similar; the difference is length: the CRJ700 measures about 32 meters, the CRJ900 about 36 meters, the CRJ1000 about 39 meters. In the field, the CRJ900 looks clearly more stretched than the CRJ700. Between the CRJ900 and CRJ1000 the difference is hard to see without a comparison – here the registration or the type code in the tracker settles it.
How do I tell the CRJ900 from the Embraer E175?
Simply by the engines: the CRJ900 carries them at the rear and has a T-tail, while the E175 has its engines under the wings and a normal tail. In addition, the E175’s fuselage is thicker and sits higher above the ground.
Does Lufthansa still fly the CRJ900?
In April 2026, Lufthansa announced that it would shut down its regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine effective April 18, 2026, and permanently withdraw its 27 CRJ900s from service. The reasons given included sharply higher fuel costs and labor disputes. Lufthansa City Airlines takes over a large part of the regional traffic. Scheduled Lufthansa CRJ900s are therefore history.
Is the CRJ900 still being built?
No. Bombardier sold the CRJ program to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and the takeover was completed on June 1, 2020. Mitsubishi only completed the open orders; the last CRJ, a CRJ900, went to SkyWest Airlines on February 28, 2021.
What is the CRJ900 NextGen?
A further development unveiled in 2007 with more economical engines, a redesigned cabin with larger overhead bins and longer maintenance intervals. From the outside, the NextGen hardly differs from the original CRJ900; only the registration in a database tells you the exact version.
Collect the Bombardier CRJ900, don’t just see it
Post a photo with registration, type, airport and spot, check off the type in your hangar and get an alert when a registration you are looking for lands. Planetrack is launching soon – join the waitlist and get early access.
Related aircraft types
Embraer E175
The small E-Jet with the big US career: the E175 flies with roughly 76 to 88 seats in a 2+2 cabin, is Embraer’s bestseller and in Europe is seen mainly with KLM Cityhopper and LOT.
Regional jetEmbraer E190
The regional jet with mid-haul comfort: the E190 puts around 100 passengers in the air in a 2+2 cabin with no middle seat – and is often mistaken for its successor, the E190-E2.
Regional jetFokker 100
Two Tay engines at the rear, a tall T-tail and a tail cone that splits open on landing: the Fokker 100 is the largest airliner Fokker ever built – and today a rare catch.
Regional jetBAe 146 / Avro RJ85
High-mounted wing, four small engines, a T-tail and a tail cone that doubles as an air brake: the Avro RJ85 is one of the most distinctive regional aircraft ever built – and these days a genuine rarity.
Regional jetSukhoi Superjet 100
Russia’s regional jet with Franco-Russian engines: the Superjet 100 briefly flew in Western Europe too and is now a true rarity there. Here is how to recognize it and place its history.
NarrowbodyAirbus A220-100
Short, stocky, with surprisingly big engines: the A220-100 began as the Bombardier CS100 and is getting rarer. Here is how to identify the little sister of the A220 family with confidence.
Related airports & manufacturers
Airports, manufacturers, airline groups and alliances – who is behind them and what you should know as a spotter.
Lufthansa Group
Lufthansa Group is not an airline but a group with a dozen operating carriers – from Lufthansa to SWISS and Austrian to Eurowings and ITA Airways. If you only look for the crane at the fence, you miss half the group.
AirportMunich Airport
Germany’s second-largest airport and Lufthansa’s second hub: two parallel 4,000-meter runways in the Erdinger Moos, a Terminal 2 just for Lufthansa and Star Alliance – and, with the visitors’ park, one of the most convenient spotting places in the country.
AirportFrankfurt Airport
Germany’s largest airport and Lufthansa’s home hub: four runways, two passenger terminals and a traffic mix from regional jets to widebody freighters.
AllianceStar Alliance
The aviation alliance founded in 1997 around Lufthansa, United and Air Canada – headquartered in Frankfurt am Main and with its own special alliance livery.
Where to see the Bombardier CRJ900
Specific vantage points with the runway configuration, light times, coordinates and an honest take on whether the trip is worth it.
Munich Airport visitors’ hill (Besucherhügel)
The best-known vantage point at Lufthansa’s Munich hub: from the visitors’ hill in the Besucherpark you look out over the airport grounds from above – with its own S-Bahn stop right next door.
Spotting hillZeppelinheim viewing platform at Frankfurt Airport
The classic among Frankfurt’s spotting spots: from the platform at the motorway bridge near Zeppelinheim, most landings in a west wind glide in onto the south runway – free, public and a quick S-Bahn ride from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.
Spotting hillImperial Hill at Los Angeles Airport
The classic among LAX spots: from Imperial Hill in El Segundo, now officially Clutter’s Park, you look from the south at the two south runways of Los Angeles – with benches, the sun at your back and widebody jets every few minutes.
Approach pathIn-N-Out Burger at Los Angeles Airport
Burger in hand, widebody overhead: at the In-N-Out on Sepulveda Boulevard and the little park across the street, landings on runway 24R at Los Angeles come in so low you can count the rivets. One of the best-known spots in the world – with clear rules.
Related guides from the blog
- How to identify aircraft types: a beginner’s guide
- Spotting rare aircraft: unicorns, first visits and ferry flights
- Flight tracking for spotters: using ADS-B, Flightradar and more
- IATA and ICAO codes explained: decoding airports, airlines and aircraft types
- Aircraft registrations explained: how to read any tail number
- Which lens for plane spotting? The right focal length for every spot
- Documenting sightings: from notebook to digital logbook