Hi, dear flight-report members and readers! In this FR I'd like to present a review of a rare CRJ-1000 on an Air Nostrum flight from Bologna (BLQ) to Madrid (MAD), taken on 17 February 2019
Intro
This flight was the first leg of the Iberia ticket BLQ-MAD-SCL-MAD-BLQ (the 2nd leg MAD-SCL, operated by comfortable A340-600, but extremely disappointing due to abysmal hostile crew, has already been reviewed). I selected Bologna as the starting point purposedly because it was served by rare CRXs, operated by Air Nostrum - the regional subsidiary of Iberia.
Mitsubishi CRJ-1000 Operators
The last CRJ lineup - CR7, CR9 and CRX - owned by Mitsubishi Aircraft Co. - was produced on Bombardier facilities in Canada until 2020, when Mitshubishi decided to close the production line for good.
CRX, the longest member of the CRJ family, is rare aircraft nowadays with very few operators. It would be useful to list them and their layouts.
1) Air Nostrum: 30 units (CY100). 4 units are parked.
2) CityJet: 5 units (Y100).
3) ValueJet: 3 units (Y100).
Bologna Guillermo Marconi Airport (BLQ)
BLQ is located quite close to Bologna and connected with Bologna Centrale train station by monorail and bus service. BLQ has single terminal, which is quite dated for today's standards. Its airside is quite dull and cramped, but has quite good planespotting possibilities.
The Aircraft
My flight from Bologna to Madrid was operated by 2010-built EC-LJR. In December 2023 it was phased out from Air Nostrum fleet, and in February 2024 scrapped. It was not possible to take good photos of the aircraft in BLQ and I made it later in MAD.
The Cabin
The cabin consists of 100 seats in standard 2-2 layout, with some front rows used for "eurobusiness" depending on the load.
The Economy Seat
My seat was 4F in the front part of the cabin. The seatwidth is narrow - just 17.0", which is an inch less than seatwidth in E1- and E2-jets, also having 2-2 layout. No surprises - the CRJ fuselage is very narrow.
Though, the seat itself is well-padded and feels comfortable for mid-haul flights. The seat has leather upholstery, tray table and seat pocket. But the seats were showing their age and felt tired, with cracked armrests. The row pitch was OK.
The seat pocket content: safety card…
… and 2 inflight magazines - both IB and YW, plus Wi-Fi instruction.
The overhead panel with airvents.
The overhead bins. Everything inside was promoting Spanish region Extremadura.
The Flight
On this flight zero service was provided. Although, the crew were relatively OK (compared to abysmal crews on MAD-SCL and SCL-MAD flights), these were the best crew I had on my flights with IB.
CRX wing view with Alps in sight, lit by morning sun.
Beautiful views while crossing the Alps.
A couple of inflight cabin views.
The crew's jumpseat and intercom in the very rear of the cabin.
The lavatory.
The iconic view of GE CF34 engine from the rear of the cabin.
Flying over sunlit Mediterranean Sea.
Descent to MAD over the highlands of the Iberian peninsula.
The Cabin After The Flight
Some cabin views upon disembarkment.
The famous CRJ's front door, turning to a stair by opening down.
The Aircraft After The Flight
And, finally, a decent view of the aircraft. Its livery was dedicated to Cantabria.
The arrival was to the main building of T4, from where I had to clear immigration and to take the shuttle train to T4S, from where my MAD-SCL flight was departing. With 3 hours layover the transit went smooth.
Nice review of a rare aircraft! Just one note, I believe the mountains you referred to in the pictures were the Alps, not the Andes? Great shots by the way.
Hi! Thanks for the comment!
Sure, Alps, not Andes, my misspelling. The Andes were on the next flight MAD-SCL, and in the darkness.