Embraer announced the sale of eight new E175 jets to SkyWest (NASDAQ: SKYW) for operation by Alaska Airlines, adding to another 32 SkyWest E175 jets that already operate in the company's fleet.
The E175 aircraft will fly exclusively with Alaska Airlines under a Capacity Purchase Agreement (A).
The value of the contract, which will be included in Embraer's second-quarter backlog, is US$399,2 million, based on current list prices.
Alaska Airlines, a new member of the oneworld Alliance, currently has 62 jets Embraer E175 in its fleet, operated by Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines. The 76-seat aircraft will be delivered in Alaska Airlines livery and a three-class configuration starting in 2022.
SkyWest President and CEO Chip Childs said: “With these aircraft, we will have more than 220 E175 jets in service, more than any other airline in the world. Our customers love the E175; and we have great confidence in and appreciate our longstanding partnership with Embraer for more than 35 years.”
“We managed the impacts of the pandemic and are on a solid recovery path. The E175 remains a key part of our strategy.”, said Nat Pieper, Senior Vice President, Fleet, Finance and Alliances for Alaska Airlines. “We are excited about growth in the coming years, which has always been in Alaska's DNA. The E175 is an excellent aircraft to help us add new routes and frequencies and to complement our mainline aircraft to meet fluctuating demand with the right capacity.”
Mark Neely, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Embraer Commercial Aviation for the Americas, says “The E175 is truly the backbone of the North American regional market; Embraer's market share in the 70-90 seat segment in the region is 85%. There are currently 588 E175s flying with US and Canadian carriers to cities in Canada, the US, Mexico and Central America.”
The E175 has been critical for operators as they are perfectly suited to rebuilding frequencies and adding incremental capacity to meet growing domestic demand.
During 2020, it was the first aircraft type to recover, meeting 100% of Alaska Airlines' 2019 schedule in November 2020. Last October, the E175 began to supplement larger aircraft on several domestic Alaska routes to meet demand fluctuations .
Alaska Airlines is also building its presence in California with the addition of new seasonal routes between cities in California and Montana with the E175.
