Recognizing regional jets: CRJ, E-Jet, A220, Avro RJ and Fokker compared

A small jet floats in toward the runway, two engines, short fuselage, some regional airline. Is that a CRJ? An Embraer? Maybe an A220? With regional jets in particular, many spotters get it wrong, because the aircraft are small, often pass quickly and look alike at first glance. Yet only three questions separate you from the right answer. This guide shows you how to reliably tell the CRJ, Embraer E-Jet, Airbus A220, Avro RJ and Fokker 70/100 apart – and which mix-ups happen most often.

The short answer: three questions

Before you get into rows of windows and fuselage lengths, answer these three questions – in exactly this order:

1. How many engines? Four means BAe 146 or Avro RJ. Done.
2. Where are the engines? At the rear: CRJ, Fokker 70/100 or Embraer ERJ. Under the wings: Embraer E-Jet, E2 or Airbus A220.
3. How wide does the fuselage look? Slim and four-abreast points to the CRJ or E-Jet, wider and five-abreast to the Fokker or A220.

With these three answers, you almost always end up with the right family. You then work out the exact variant – say CRJ700 versus CRJ900 – from the length.

The families at a glance

Feature	CRJ	E-Jet / E2	A220	BAe 146 / Avro RJ	Fokker 70/100
Engines	2, at the rear	2, under the wings	2, under the wings	4, under the wings	2, at the rear
Wing	low wing	low wing	low wing	high wing	low wing
Tail	T-tail	conventional	conventional	T-tail	T-tail
Seats per row	4 (2-2)	4 (2-2)	5 (2-3)	5 to 6	5 (2-3)
Wingtips	winglets	winglets (E1), no winglet (E2)	no winglet	no winglet	no winglet
ICAO codes	CRJ1 to CRJX	E170 to E295	BCS1, BCS3	B461 to RJ1H	F70, F100

Bombardier CRJ: the slim rear-engine jet

The CRJ comes from Canadair, or Bombardier, and evolved from the Challenger business jet. You can tell by looking at it: a very slim fuselage with four seats per row, two engines at the rear, a T-tail and swept wings with small winglets. The windows are comparatively small.

The first CRJ flew on May 10, 1991, and the launch customer in 1992 was Lufthansa CityLine. The stretched family CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 followed later. In 2020, Mitsubishi took over the CRJ program, and the last aircraft – a CRJ900 for SkyWest – was delivered in February 2021.

CRJ200 versus CRJ700, 900 and 1000

• CRJ100/200 (CRJ1, CRJ2): about 26.8 m long, very short and stubby, around 50 seats. The wing leading edge is smooth, without slats.
• CRJ700 (CRJ7): about 32.3 m, slightly wider fuselage, new wing with slats and a larger horizontal stabilizer.
• CRJ900 (CRJ9): about 36.2 m, the most common modern version in Europe.
• CRJ1000 (CRJX): about 39.1 m, the longest CRJ. It looks almost exaggeratedly long in proportion to the small cross-section.

The CRJ900 and CRJ1000 in particular look very similar. At a distance, the length relative to the wing helps: on the CRJ1000, the wing visually sits farther from the nose. Certainty comes from the registration or the type designator.

Embraer E-Jet and E2: wing-mounted engines in a narrow fuselage

The E-Jets from Embraer are today the most common regional jets in Europe. Unlike the CRJ, they carry their engines under the wings and have a conventional tail. The fuselage has a so-called double-bubble cross-section with four seats per row, that is, 2-2. The prototype flew on February 19, 2002, and LOT made the first scheduled flight in March 2004 with the E170.

The four E1 lengths

Variant	Length	ICAO code
E170	29.90 m	E170
E175	31.67 m	E75S / E75L
E190	36.25 m	E190
E195	38.66 m	E195

The E170 and E175 use the smaller GE CF34-8E, the E190 and E195 the larger CF34-10E – and the wing is also larger on the bigger versions. From 2014, the E175 also received larger, more sharply angled winglets.

How to recognize the E2 generation

You recognize the second generation by three things: very large Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans, a visibly taller landing gear (on the E190-E2 about 51 cm taller than on the E1) and wings without winglets, which instead end in a tip swept back at an angle. The E190-E2 entered service in April 2018 with Widerøe; the E195-E2, at 41.51 m, is considerably longer than the E195 and flies in Europe with, among others, KLM Cityhopper, Helvetic Airways and Binter Canarias. You’ll find all the details on the individual Embraer versions in the guide Telling Embraer E-Jets apart.

Airbus A220: the wide regional jet

The A220 is actually a Bombardier design: as the CSeries, it flew for the first time on September 16, 2013, and in July 2016 the CS100 entered service with Swiss. In 2018, Airbus took the majority and renamed the family the A220. That’s why the ICAO type designators are still BCS1 and BCS3 today.

The A220 is larger than most regional jets and, with up to around 160 seats, is already close to the A319. Typical features:

• Five seats per row (2-3) – the fuselage looks noticeably rounder and wider than on the E-Jet or CRJ.
• Very large Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines under the wings, which look almost oversized in proportion to the fuselage.
• Large windows, larger than on the A320, with clearly visible spacing.
• Wingtips without a winglet, the wing tapers off slimly.
• Tapering tail cone and a gently sloping nose with large cockpit windows.

You tell the two versions apart by length: the A220-100 measures 35.0 m, the A220-300 38.7 m. On the -300, there are clearly more windows ahead of the wing. You see the -300 especially often in Europe at airBaltic, which was the first operator of this version in December 2016 and operates a pure A220-300 fleet.

E195-E2 or A220-300?

This mix-up is the most modern and the most difficult: both belong to the same size class, both have large geared turbofans and no winglets. Pay attention to the fuselage cross-section (A220 wider, rounder), the windows (A220 larger) and the landing gear (conspicuously tall on the E2).

BAe 146 and Avro RJ: the four-engine high-wing jet

No other regional jet looks like the BAe 146 and its further development, the Avro RJ from British Aerospace (today BAE Systems). The features are unmistakable:

• Four small engines under a high-mounted wing (high wing).
• T-tail and a rear air brake: the tail cone splits open into two halves on landing. There are no thrust reversers.
• The fuselage sits very low to the ground, and the landing gear is housed in fuselage pods.

The BAe 146 first flew on September 3, 1981, and entered service in 1983 with Dan-Air. From the 1990s, the Avro RJ followed with a more modern cockpit and Honeywell LF507 engines instead of the older ALF 502. Production ended in the early 2000s.

BAe 146	Avro RJ	Length	ICAO codes
146-100	RJ70	26.19 m	B461 / RJ70
146-200	RJ85	28.55 m	B462 / RJ85
146-300	RJ100	30.99 m	B463 / RJ1H

Externally, the 146 and RJ of the same length can hardly be told apart. Engine nacelles and cockpit equipment give clues, but certainty only comes from the registration and type designator.

Today, the type has almost disappeared in Europe. In North America and Australia, however, BAe 146s and Avro RJ85s still fly as firefighting aircraft and with smaller operators. In the past, they shaped airports such as London City, where CityJet, for example, operated BAe 146s and RJ85s for a long time.

Fokker 70 and 100: the wide rear-engine jets

The Fokker 100 is the big brother of the CRJ, at least at first glance: two engines at the rear, T-tail, low wing. Looked at more closely, it differs clearly:

• Wider fuselage with five seats per row (2-3) – the Fokker looks much more bulbous than a CRJ.
• Tail cone as an air brake: as on its predecessor, the Fokker F28, the tail cone splays open sideways on landing.
• No winglets, straight wingtips.
• Rolls-Royce Tay engines with compact, long nacelles.

The Fokker 100 flew on November 30, 1986, and the launch customer in 1988 was Swissair. The shorter Fokker 70 followed in 1993; its fuselage is about 4.6 m shorter than that of the 100 (35.53 m). After the insolvency of Fokker in March 1996, production wound down; in total, 283 Fokker 100s plus prototypes were built.

In Europe, you hardly see the Fokker anymore today. The largest operator is the Australian Alliance Airlines, plus a few examples fly in Iran and with government flight squadrons. If you come across a Fokker in Europe, a photo is definitely worthwhile.

CRJ900 or Fokker 100?

Both are around 36 meters long, both have rear engines. The differences: the CRJ900 is slimmer, has winglets, small windows and a more pointed nose. The Fokker 100 has a fat fuselage, no winglets, a blunter nose and the two-piece tail cone.

More regional jets you may encounter

Besides the five big families, there are a few exotics:

• Sukhoi Superjet 100: wing-mounted engines, conventional tail, five seats per row – visually between the E-Jet and A220. Practically no longer found in the EU.
• Dornier 328JET: high-wing aircraft with two jet engines under the wings and a T-tail, derived from the Dornier 328 turboprop.
• Comac ARJ21: rear engines and a T-tail, similar to an MD-80 in miniature, flies almost only in China.
• Embraer ERJ135/140/145: the smallest rear-engine jets with three seats per row, widespread mainly in North and South America.

Where to see regional jets best

Regional jets mainly fly feeder and city connections. You have good chances at airports with many regional airlines: at the Polderbaan at Schiphol, you see KLM Cityhopper’s Embraer fleet; in Zurich, from observation deck B, A220s from Swiss and E-Jets from Helvetic. In Copenhagen, CityJet’s CRJ900s land on behalf of SAS – a good place for that is the Flyvergrillen. Smaller places are worthwhile too, as the guide Spotting at regional airports shows.

In Germany, the CRJ has become rarer since Lufthansa CityLine ceased flight operations in April 2026. As of October 2026, E-Jets from Air Dolomiti, Helvetic and KLM Cityhopper dominate here, along with A220s from Swiss and airBaltic. An overview of the operators is given in the article Regional airlines in Europe.

Common mistakes

• Looking only at size: At 38.7 m, an A220-300 is even longer than an A319. Size alone says little – engine position and fuselage width say a lot.
• Confusing the CRJ and ERJ: Both have rear engines. Nose and fuselage width decide.
• Mistaking the E2 for the A220: Watch for the tall landing gear and window size.
• Taking every rear air brake for a Fokker: The BAe 146 also opens its tail – but it has four engines.

How to trace an aircraft by its registration is shown in the guide Finding an aircraft by registration. And if you want to read engines better in general, the article Recognizing engines helps.

Conclusion

Regional jets look interchangeable at first glance but follow two clear design principles: rear engines with a T-tail on the CRJ, Fokker and ERJ, and wing-mounted engines with a normal tail on the E-Jet and A220. The BAe 146 and Avro RJ stand alone with four engines and a high wing. If you check engines first, then fuselage width and wingtips, you’ll almost always be right. The length then reveals the variant. If you’re just getting started, the guide Recognizing aircraft types for beginners helps you with the basics.