Options For 40 Additional RJs Bring Value Of The Agreement To $2.9 Billion

United Airlines and Embraer have signed an agreement for the sale of 30 Embraer 175 jets, with options for an additional 40 of the same model, taking the firm order and options to a total of up to 70 aircraft. If all options are exercised, the combined order has an estimated value of $2.9 billion at current list prices. United will purchase the aircraft with deliveries in 2014 and 2015, and the aircraft will be operated by a United Express partner to be announced later.

"At United, we are focused on modernizing our fleet, and we look forward to introducing the E175 to our United Express service. Compared to the 50-seat aircraft we are replacing, these aircraft provide a superior customer experience and are more fuel efficient," said Jim Compton, United's vice chairman and chief revenue officer.

The partnership between Embraer and United, which is the product of the 2010 merger of United Airlines and Continental Airlines, started with the sale of  EMB 120 Brasilia turboprops to Continental Airlines in the 1980s. Subsequently, Continental was also the ERJ 145 jet launch customer, eventually acquiring 275 jets, the largest ERJ fleet in the world. Currently, 38 E170s are flying with United's regional partners under the United Express brand.

"With this order for the new enhanced E175 jet, we ... reinforce and extend our long-standing partnership with United Airlines, which was the ERJ 145 launch customer back in 1996, known at that time as Continental Airlines," said Paulo Cesar Silva, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. "This order from United, one of the world's leading airlines, validates our investment strategy in the E-Jets, where we offer an optimized product with all of the additional benefits of a proven and mature platform. The E175 has proven itself to be the best product for the U.S. regional market for the next decade and beyond."

The Embraer 175 is the first 76-seat regional jet aircraft in the United Express fleet. As United inducts the new aircraft into the United Express fleet, the company will remove some of the older 50-seat regional jets in the fleet. The E175s will consume 10 percent less fuel per seat and will have less CO2 emissions per seat than the 50-seat aircraft they replace.

(Image provided by Embraer)

FMI: www.embraer.com