SkyWest Inc. of St. George continues to grow with the announcement last week that it has ordered nine E175 jet airliners from Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. Delivery of the jests is expected to begin this year. Based on current pricing, the order is worth $422 million.
“We’re pleased to continue adding new E175 aircraft under long-term contract to our increasingly efficient, agile and flexible fleet,” said Chip Childs, SkyWest CEO and president. “We appreciate Embraer’s strong partnership and remain impressed with the Embraer product.”
SkyWest Inc. is a regional airline company and the holding company of SkyWest Airlines. The airline was founded in 1972 and employs nearly 14,000 in its North America operations. Its airlines operate 2100 daily flights carrying approximately 40 million passengers annually.
“Since 2013, SkyWest has purchased a total of 158 E175s, including these nine, in order to expand their large existing fleet of Embraer aircraft,” said Charlie Hillis, vice president of sales and marketing for Embraer’s Commercial Aviation division. “We are extremely proud of their ongoing support for the E-Jets program.”
Embraer has sold about 565 E175s to airlines in North America since January 2013, representing 80 percent of all orders in the 70-75-seat segment preferred by regional airlines.