SkyWest transitions from 50-seat aircraft with Bombardier agreement

SkyWest, parent of regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, announced Dec. 13 the company has entered into a termination agreement with Bombardier covering the Canadian manufacturer’s residual value guarantee (RVG) agreements on 76 CRJ200 aircraft owned by SkyWest Airlines and American Airlines. Bombardier will pay SkyWest $90m by January 2017 in exchange for the release. “Both the required sale of each aircraft and the cost to SkyWest of returning the aircraft to mid-time condition were points of risk and uncertainty for SkyWest that this termination agreement eliminates,” SkyWest said. Additionally, SkyWest announced it will remove its Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft from ExpressJet service over the next year, as the company transitions from 50-seat aircraft to primarily dual-class aircraft. ExpressJet and American Airlines have agreed to place 12 dual-class CRJ700s into service under a multi-year term, reversing a previously announced early lease return arrangement for the aircraft, the announcement said.<br/>