BOMBARDIER of Canada has won half of a major order for regional jets by US Airways with the remaining 50% going to Embraer of Brazil Under the Bombardier agreement, US Airways has firm commitments for 60 CRJ Series 200, 50-seat single-class aircraft; and 25 CRJ Series 700, 75-seat dual-class aircraft. The 50-seat order for the CRJ Series 200 aircraft is scheduled to be delivered beginning in October 2003 to US Airways Express wholly owned subsidiary PSA Airlines. All firm order CRJ aircraft will be delivered by April 2005. The two class aircraft will have just three rows of first class configured 2 + 1, the remaining 66 seats 2 + 2. In all, if the options are taken up, US Airways would have ordered over 350 aircraft.
EMBRAER has made the breakthrough that it needed following the virtual collapse of its EMB170 deal with Swiss and its Crossair predecessor. US Airways, now trading out of bankruptcy, has ordered 85 of the yet to be certificated short haul jet with first delivery due in November of this year. US Airways” regional jet division MidAtlantic Airways will operate the aircraft in a 70-seat, dual-class configuration. All deliveries are scheduled to be completed by September 2006. The airline also took options on 50 additional Embraer 170s and 140 of the smaller ERJ 145s. In another announcement Indianapolis-based independent airline Republic Airways said it was upgrading an option for 12 ERJ 145 into firm orders bringing its Embraer fleet up to 83 aircraft. (see also Bombardier above for more US Airways News) http://www.embraer.com