American ramps up spending spree with 15 E-Jets

By May 4, 2018 January 16th, 2020 General News

American Airlines is continuing the renewal and upsizing of its regional jet fleet in the US with another aircraft order this week, this time valued at US$705 million for 15 Embraer E175s.

The firm order of the 76-seater twin-jets for its American Eagle brand, plus options for 15 more, follows on from a similar deal yesterday valued at $719 million for 15 CRJ900s (plus again options for 15 more) from Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

Deliveries of the Embraer jets will take place between March and November 2019. American selected Envoy, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, to operate the 15 E175s, which will be configured with 12 seats in First Class and 64 in the main cabin. The 15 CRJ900s will be operated by another of its wholly owned subsidiaries, PSA Airlines.

The new order will be included in the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer’s 2018 second-quarter backlog. Combined with the airline’s three previous orders for the E175, this latest contract results in a total of 89 E175s for the American carrier. The most recent order took place in October last year for 10 aircraft.

“We are thrilled that the E175 continues to be the right solution for American. This is American’s fourth order for the E175 since 2013 and their repeat order demonstrates how well the aircraft serves their business needs and the confidence they have in our platform,” said Charlie Hillis, vice-president, sales and marketing, North America for Embraer Commercial Aviation.

Including this latest contract, Embraer has sold more than 400 E175s to airlines in North America since January 2013, earning more than 80% of all orders in the 76-seat jet segment.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines has added approximately 200 dual-class regional jets over the past four years. It is planning to retire a growing number of its existing 50-seater CRJ200 aircraft as it continues to upsize its ageing fleet to improve operating efficiencies.