American Eagle Embraer E-175
(American Airlines)
American Airlines has decided to place 20 Embraer E-175 aircraft with Minneapolis-based regional carrier Compass Airlines, which will fly the 76-seat jets under the American Eagle brand starting in the 2015 first quarter.
Compass, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Trans States Holdings, currently only flies under the Delta Connection brand. Delta Air Lines sold Compass to Trans States in 2010 for $20.5 million but continues to contract the regional airline to operate six E-170s and 36 E-175s from Delta’s Minneapolis/St. Paul and Detroit hubs.
The 20 aircraft American is placing with Compass are part of a 2013 order for 60 E-175s that American had hoped to place with its regional subsidiary Envoy Air. But Envoy pilots rejected an amended labor contract that would have allowed Envoy to operate those aircraft.
American has not announced the placement of the remaining 40 E-175s that were part of the order, but Compass president and CEO Richard Leach indicated in a statement that there is an “opportunity to grow our operation for American beyond the 20 initial E-175s we have been awarded.”
American SVP-regional carriers Kenji Hashimoto said, “This is the first time Compass will provide regional flight service for American. We are looking forward to Compass operating these new aircraft to provide an exceptional travel experience to American’s customers connecting to our extensive global network.”
The E-175s operated by Compass under the American Eagle brand will feature 12 business-class seats, 20 “main cabin extra seats” with additional legroom and 44 economy seats. The aircraft, powered by GE Aviation CF34 engines, will be Wi-Fi equipped.
(Aaron Karp - ATWOnline News)
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