175's are done
2019 was an incredible year of transformation and growth at ExpressJet, and 2020 will be no exception. Today we announced we are finalizing a multi-year extension of our Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with United. Additionally, we will be acquiring 36 ERJ145s over the next 12 months that are currently being operated by another airline. This will make us the world’s largest operator of ERJ145 aircraft.
All of this is being driven by United’s decision to make a long-term commitment to the ERJ145 with a multi-million-dollar investment in refreshing the interiors of our ERJ145 aircraft – seats, lights, even adding personal device entertainment. This will create an improved and contemporary passenger experience on the refreshed ERJ145s. All of this points to a long-term commitment from our partner United and indicates they are confident in our ability to grow our fleet and be successful for the long-term. United is committed to the ERJ145 fleet type, and the extension and investment in the customer and employee experience speaks volumes to the importance of our flying in their network.
An additional component of this agreement involves United transitioning our E175 aircraft off of our certificate and transferring them to another United Express carrier. We are incredibly grateful to the entire team for your work making our E175 program such a success this past year. Together we accomplished amazing things! As a regional carrier, we must stay relevant to our mainline partner by providing them the product that is most applicable to the needs of their network. United is confident in our ability to grow our ERJ145 operation to become United’s largest operator of 50 seat aircraft, allowing for simplification and a more reliable, efficient operation. We will also be able to expand our flying footprint, which includes adding additional destinations and bases, starting with Denver later this year.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me or any of your leaders.
Fly safely,
Subodh