The regional jet has barely established a foothold in the Asian market.

The largest U.S. regional carriers each have more RJs than the entire Asian continent. There are 98 regional jets deployed by 16 different airlines in nine different Asian countries, according to data analyzed by BACK Aviation Solutions for Regional Aviation News. The count has nearly doubled from the 53 RJs deployed in 2001. But fast growth is still not in the cards as only 23 new RJs are on order.

"The regional jet has not come close to establishing itself compared to the numbers of turboprops. It is a long way to get close to the narrow bodies. The RJ represents one- ninth of the narrow body fleets," said Frederick Roe, a BACK analyst. "In 1995, around the time the regional jets were beginning to be introduced to the marketplace, North America and Europe could account for 75 percent of all turboprop departures," said John Weber, a BACK vice president and analyst. The two-engine RJ was designed to replace the turboprop. At the time, the Far East had 6 percent of the scheduled turboprop departures.

"It is easy to understand then why the manufacturers targeted these top two markets over all others. The opportunity was there: a very mature turboprop business market; passenger preference for RJs over turboprops, especially among business travelers; no language, cultural or political challenges to make an already complex sale more challenging; and over three-quarters of the potential market in a relatively small, concentrated geographical area."

The Asian regional carrier picture is as diverse as the Asian continent. Geography, population, politics and income levels appear to be variables in the adoption of the RJ.

In some cases the shallow penetration of the RJ is due to the widespread use of turboprops. Yet at the other extreme, some airlines use wide-body jets due to passenger demand on routes best suited for turboprop aircraft.

There are more RJs deployed in China, by far, than in any other Asian nation. In China, there are seven carriers flying 65 RJs. Two Chinese carriers have ordered 21 of the 23 RJs now on order continent-wide.

The largest RJ user is Hainan Airlines, which already flies 29 Dornier 328Jets. It has another 18 on order from Virginia-based AvCraft. China Southern Airlines is the only carrier flying the Chinese-built regional jet, the Harbin Embraer ERJ 145. It has three planes with another three on order. The Harbin Embraer is a joint venture between the Chinese and Embraer [ERJ].

Unlike Western airlines, most of the carriers in Asia are monolithic state-owned entities whose flying ranges from short connecting flights to international routes. China and Japan are the exceptions. The seven state-owned Chinese carriers fly only routes within China. Ibex Airlines and J-Air in Japan also contain their flying to that island nation.

Uzbekistan Airways maximizes the use of its three RJs by flying the longest stage length of any Asian carrier, 703 miles. It uses BAe 146s on at least five international routes. For the most part, Roe said, the regional carriers confine their RJ flights to within their national borders or to adjacent nations. J-Air flies the shortest average stage length - just 195 miles. Its fleet consists of six Bombardier [BBD] CRJ 200s with two more on order.

It is not that these Asian carriers have been slow to replace turboprops with RJs, because there is very little usage of turboprops in the most developed nations. In China, just 1.6 percent of the flights are flown on a turboprop. In Japan, it is 5.5 percent, according to BACK's research. And, in India, turboprops account for just 15.6 percent of the flights.

Instead, many of the Asian carriers use mainline aircraft on short routes that would normally be served by commuter aircraft, either RJs or prop-powered.

South Korea is the most glaring example. There is no scheduled service by an RJ or turboprop plane in that country, Weber said. "They are using everything from a Boeing [BA] 747, 767 and an Airbus 330 for intra-South Korean travel."

The average trip distance in South Korea is 207 miles. The smallest plane flown is a B737-400.

"In Japan, the greatest volume of B777 flying is in short-haul, high-density commuter markets - 90 percent of these flights are under 600 miles," Weber said. "It is certainly not what the plane was built for, but that is how they are using it."

"You don't get the advantage of the speed of the RJ until the stage lengths are about 400 to 500 miles. The cross over point for jet efficiency is just over 400 miles, but that is dependent upon fuel prices," Weber said.

The stage length and the passenger volume could explain why Japan Air Commuter has a firm order with Bombardier for nine 70-passenger Q400 high-speed turboprops. None of the Japanese regional carriers fly an RJ larger than the 50-seat CRJ 200.

National wealth also plays a role in the conversion to RJs. Some developing nations lack the resources or the national infrastructure to replace their turboprop fleets. As state-owned carriers, it is the national treasury that frequently foots the bill for capital expenditures.

In Laos, 81 percent of the flights are on a turboprop - the highest proportion of turboprops flying in Asia. The remaining 19 percent are on mainline jets, according to the BACK data. This Southeast Asian nation has a per capita income of $1,700. In one of the poorest nations as measured by per capita income, Afghanistan at $700, 56 percent of the flights are on turboprops. However, there are only 1,210 scheduled flights during the first quarter of 2005 and none are on an RJ. The low number of flights are also a byproduct of more than 20 years of warfare.

At the far extreme is Mongolia. It has only 28 turboprop flights scheduled for the first quarter, Roe said.

>>Contacts: John Weber, Frederick Roe, BACK Aviation Solutions, (203) 752-2000.<<