SkyWest Airlines has agreed with Embraer to delay the delivery of four E175 jets

Utah-based regional carrier SkyWest Airlines has reportedly agreed with Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer to delay the delivery of four E175 jets as it is struggling with staffing issues. SkyWest, which operates flights that are scheduled, marketed and sold by mainline carriers, does not currently have enough qualified captains to fly the planes.

The affected jets are part of orders for Delta and Alaska Airlines
During the third quarter of 2022, SkyWest took delivery of seven E175 aircraft for Delta Air Lines, adding to the five already in its fleet. It will also take another four on behalf of Delta in the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile, deliveries have been extended for the final three out of a contract of 16 in total to be flown for Delta. These will now arrive between the end of 2023 and mid-2024.

Additionally, the airline has pushed the delivery of the final E175 to be operated on behalf of Alaska Airlines as far ahead as mid-2025. The Alaska order totals 11 E175 aircraft, with ten already having been delivered this year. Overall, SkyWest will still take delivery of eight E175s to be added to its current fleet of 232 units.

American Airlines order complete
Meanwhile, an order for 20 E175s on behalf of American Airlines was completed with the delivery of two of the type in Q3. Combined, SkyWest anticipates placing 47 E175 aircraft into service on behalf of the three mentioned mainline carriers by the end of 2025. This means it will operate a total of 240 E175 aircraft.

Overall there was good news during the presentation of SkyWest’s Q3 financial results. The airline reported a net income of $48 million, compared to just $10 million during the same quarter last year.

Chip Childs, Chief Executive Officer of SkyWest, commented on the results, “We continue to experience strong demand for our product and our operational performance through the busy summer season was strong with 99.9% adjusted completion this quarter. We were pleased to have finalized new salary scales for our pilots during the quarter and continue efforts to stabilize our crew imbalance. I want to thank our people for their dedicated, world-class efforts.”

This strong performance has allowed the airline to negotiate a new four-year pilot agreement, including substantial pay increments. Childs was quoted by ch-aviation.

“This four-year agreement is a significant investment in our pilots and became effective mid-September. While it is still early, we expect the agreement to help manage attrition and encourage career progression into the left seat.” simpleflying.com & ch-aviation