FARNBOROUGH, England, 12 July 2012. SkyWest Inc. in St. George, Utah, which operates U.S. regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, agreed in principle Wednesday to acquire 100 Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) aircraft from Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. in Tokyo.
Mitsubishi made the announcement Wednesday at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England. The aircraft manufacturer is scheduled to deliver MRJ regional jet aircraft to SkyWest between 2017 and 2020.
The MRJ, which will come in two versions, will seat 70 to 90 passengers, fly at speeds to 563 miles per hour, with a maximum range of 820 to 1,820 nautical miles. Production is to begin this year, with first flight scheduled for 2013, and first deliveries in 2015. The MRJ aircraft has state-of-the-art aerodynamics and Pratt & Whitney PurePower engine for reduced fuel consumption, noise, and emissions.
MRJ has received 130 aircraft orders so far. In addition to SkyWest, airline orders are 25 (15 firm and 10 options) from All Nippon Airways Co. Ltd.; 100 (50 firm and 50 options) from Trans States Holdings; and five firm orders from ANI Group Holdings.
SkyWest Inc. is the holding company for SkyWest Airlines in St. George, Utah, and ExpressJet Airlines in Atlanta. SkyWest Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers. SkyWest Airlines also operates as US Airways Express, and operates flights for Alaska Airlines. ExpressJet Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection.
SkyWest serves markets in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean with about 4,200 daily departures and a fleet of about 725 regional aircraft.
For more information contact Mitsubishi Aircraft online at www.mrj-japan.com, SkyWest at www.skywest.com, or the Farnborough International Airshow at www.farnborough.com. Also follow Military & Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Intelligence daily Farnborough show coverage online at www.militaryaerospace.com/farnborough-report.
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