Republic firms up 100 E175 deal with Embraer

By December 20, 2018 January 16th, 2020 General News

US airline Republic Airways and Embraer have firmed up an order for 100 E175 aircraft, based on a Letter of Intent first unveiled at the Farnborough Airshow in July.

Republic is the world’s largest operator of E-Jets, with this latest order valued at US$4.69 billion, based on current list prices. The order will be included in the Brazilian manufacturer’s 2018 fourth-quarter backlog, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2020.

The contract also includes purchase rights for an additional 100 of the same aircraft type, with conversion rights to the E175-E2 (due to enter into service in 2020), which would give the overall deal a value of $9.38 billion.

Bryan Bedford, Republic’s president and CEO, said the order represented “another significant advance” in its relationship with Embraer, and that it “positions Republic to compete for the more than 300 regional aircraft we anticipate being up for bid during the next five years as existing flying agreements expire with our global codeshare partners.”

“What a great way to finish this very hectic year for us at Embraer,” said John Slattery, president and CEO at Embraer Commercial Aviation. “As we promised in Farnborough, we are now closing a very important contract with Republic for these additional E175s, continuously growing our long-standing partnership.”

The airline currently operates a fleet of nearly 190 E170/175 aircraft and provides fixed-fee flights operated under its major airline partner brands of American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express.

Embraer has now sold more than 535 E175s to North American airlines since January 2013 including this latest order, which it says means it has taken more than 80% of all orders in the 76-seat jet segment.

Earlier this week it also delivered its 1,500th E-Jet, an E175, to Seattle-based Horizon Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alaska Air Group. By the end of the year West Coast-focused Horizon will have a fleet of 26 E175s, with four more scheduled for delivery in 2019.