Embraer, the Brazilian aerospace group that is the world number one manufacturer of jet airliners with up to 150 seats, announced on Monday that it had received an order for a further 16 E175 aircraft from US operator SkyWest Airlines. The contract is worth $798.4-million. The E175 can carry up to 88 passengers (in single-class configuration), but the aircraft for SkyWest will have a three-class configuration and carry 76 passengers.

The aircraft, although acquired by SkyWest, will be exclusively operated by that airline for major US carrier Delta Air Lines, under what is termed a ‘Capacity Purchase Agreement’. The aircraft will be delivered in Delta livery. SkyWest already operates 71 E175s for Delta. SkyWest also operates E175s on behalf of other airlines in North America.

“Our superb partnership with SkyWest continues with this new provision for Delta,” enthused Embraer VP sales and marketing: the Americas Mark Neely. “The E175 is the backbone of the North American regional market, and as the industry begins to emerge from the pandemic we are seeing growing long-term demand for right-sized aircraft to deliver profitable domestic connectivity. The E175 has been a lifeline for carriers as they are perfectly suited to rebuild routes, add frequencies, and add incremental capacity to meet rebounding domestic demand.”

“SkyWest operates more E175s than any other carrier in the world,” highlighted SkyWest president and CEO Chip Childs. “With these aircraft, we will have nearly 240 E175s operating with airlines in North America. This month we are proud to reach two-million flight hours in the E175. Our customers love the E175, and we have great confidence in and appreciate our partnership with Embraer.”

Embraer has delivered more than 8 000 aircraft since it was founded in 1969. Aircraft manufactured by the company carry, on average, in a normal year, more than 145-million passengers, with an Embraer aircraft taking off somewhere in the world every ten seconds. The company is also active in the agricultural aviation, defence, space and security fields.