Embraer has reached a sales agreement with SkyWest Inc regarding the sale of 19 Embraer 175 regional jetliners. The value of the contract is $1.1 billion, based on list price. The aircraft are slated to be operated exclusively in the United Airlines network under SkyWest’s Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with that carrier. The new E175s will join the 90 E175s that SkyWest already operates for United.
Deliveries of the 19 E175s are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2024. The 70-seat aircraft are to be delivered in a three-class configuration.
SkyWest Inc is the parent firm of the regional carrier SkyWest Airlines. Headquartered in St. George, Utah, SkyWest Airlines has a fleet of nearly 500 aircraft and serves 249 destinations throughout North America. The airline operates through partnerships with United, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, and carried more than 40 million passengers in 2022.
SkyWest is already the largest operator of the Embraer 175 in the world. The aircraft are variously configured in 70-seat and 76-seat layouts. With the delivery of the 19 new aircraft, the regional carrier will have a fleet of more than 250 E175s.
The Embraer 175 entered service in 2005. As of September 30, 2023, Embraer had delivered 746 E175s over the life of the program and had a firm order backlog for 101 E175s. Nearly 90 percent of the orders in the backlog are from U.S. airlines. The popularity of the E175 with U.S. operators stems from the fact that the aircraft can be configured and effectively operated with 70-76 seats, making it compliant with scope clauses at all three U.S. majors (American, Delta, and United). Seventy-six seats is the maximum capacity generally allowed by the scope clauses at the three U.S. legacy airlines for aircraft operated by regional airline partners in their networks.
Forecast International projects that Embraer will produce 321 E175s during the 10-year timeframe from 2023 through 2032.
Raymond Jaworowski currently co-authors three of Forecast International's best-selling products: Civil Aircraft Forecast, Military Aircraft Forecast, and Rotorcraft Forecast. As a contributor to Aviation Week & Space Technology's Aerospace Source Book, he has authored Aircraft Outlooks, and provided input for the publication's Aircraft Specifications tables. Raymond has represented Forecast International at numerous conferences and trade shows, often as a featured speaker. He is a member of the American Helicopter Society.
