Abstract Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is widely used in aerospace, marine and automotive industries for trimming composites. However, AWJM demonstrates some challenges when cutting carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites materials such as cut accuracy and quality. More experimental work is needed to provide sufficient machinability databases for manufacturing engineers. This paper presents an experimental study and statistical analysis for cutting 2 lay-up configurations of multidirectional CFRP laminates. Different AWJM conditions including jet pressure, feed rate, and standoff distance are experimented using full factorial design of experiments. Machining process responses such as top and bottom kerf width, kerf taper, machinability and surface characteristics have been evaluated using analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. A process cost model for the AWJM is presented.