The new aircraft will be similar to this Embraer 170 captured at Port Columbus International last November. Photo: Micheal Wass – OPShots Contributor //
US regional airline group SkyWest has agreed to buy at least 40 Embraer E175s, in a deal that could climb to 200 aircraft and a total price tag of more than USD$8 billion.
“This is truly a milestone order for Embraer,” Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, the head of Embraer’s commercial aviation unit, said in a Tuesday announcement calling the deal one of the biggest ever for both companies.
The first 40 E175s, which SkyWest will fly for United Airlines, enter directly into Embraer’s order backlog, while orders for another 60 planes depend on the operator’s upcoming contracts with major airlines. SkyWest also has options for an additional 100 aircraft, bringing the potential value of the contract to USD$8.3 billion at list prices.
With that, Embraer has all but guaranteed the rebound of its commercial aircraft division, which had slumped to about half of revenue as the company trimmed production on weak order flow.
