At its St Laurent facility in Quebec, Bombardier has now developed the first tool for an optimised wing to fuselage belly fairing composite design.

Among the cabin seating layouts available is this mixed two- and three-class configuration. The fuselage section is similar to that of the CRJ900, but with an extension to provide room for three more seat rows.

A 7% scale model of the CRJ1000 was tested in late 2006 at the National Research Council in Ottawa to assess the aircraft's low-speed handling characteristics. These lasted three weeks and the CRJ1000’s final design will reflect the test's findings.

Artist's impression of the Bombardier CRJ1000 in the colours of launch customer MyAir.com.
MyAir, one of the three launch customers of the CRJ1000, is planning to introduce the aircraft on point-to-point routes in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean area in 2009.

It is indicative of its satisfaction with its CRJ100ER and CRJ700 aircraft that Brit Air will be one of the launch customers of the CRJ1000. The company claims that the exceptional operating economics of its existing CRJ fleet was one of the major factors in its decision to order the larger member of the family.