American Receives First Embraer 175 from 60-Aircraft Order

American Airlines has taken delivery of the first of 60 Embraer 175 regional jets the carrier ordered in December 2013 for operation under the American Eagle regional service brand.

Embraer handed over the first aircraft from the American Airlines order to the carrier at the manufacturer’s final-assembly and headquarters facility at São José dos Campos in Brazil on February 11.

On February 11, 2015, American Airlines took delivery of the first of 60 Embraer 175s it ordered in December 2013, for operation under the American Eagle regional brand. American also took options on 90 more Embraer 175s

American Airlines’ purchase contract for the 60 Embraer 175 jets also included options for another 90. If it exercises all 90 options, American’s total order would reach 150 aircraft.

Dallas/Fort Worth-based American Airlines has chosen Compass Airlines, a subsidiary of regional-airline holding company Trans States Holdings, to operate the first 20 Embraer 175s from American’s order.

All 20 will be operated under the American Eagle brand and each will be configured with 12 First Class, 20 Main Cabin Extra and 44 Main Cabin seats, giving each aircraft a total of 76 passenger seats.

“The E175 is an important part of American’s fleet renewal, providing us the right size aircraft for the right routes,” said Peter Warlick, American’s vice president of fleet planning.

The first 20 of 60 Embraer 175s ordered by American Airlines in December 2013 are for operation by Compass Airlines, a subsidiary of Trans States Holdings. All the Embraer 175s flying on the American Eagle network (including aircraft ordered by other companies such as Republic Airways Holdings) fly in two-class configuration and each aircraft has 76 passenger seats installed

“With a two-class cabin and Wi-Fi connectivity, these modern and efficient aircraft ensure our customers have a seamless transition between regional and mainline flights on the largest network in the world,” Warlick added.

The Embraer E-Jets family entered revenue service in 2004. Currently, E-Jets are flying with 65 airlines from 45 countries.

The Brazilian manufacturer claims currently to hold a 62 per cent market share (based on deliveries) of commercial jets with capacity up to 130 seats.

In June 2013, Embraer launched the second generation of the E-Jets family, the E-Jets E2 family. The first E-Jet E2, an Embraer 190-E2, is slated to enter service in 2018, according to the manufacturer.