Airplanes24.net

20 May 2014

Bombardier Aerospace today unveiled the first of 30 enhanced CRJ900 NextGen aircraft ordered by American Airlines Group Inc. in December 2013. The purchase agreement also included options on an additional 40 CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. The aircraft was unveiled to American Airlines employees and the media during a celebratory event today at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and will be showcased tomorrow in Dayton, Ohio, to team members at American Airlines Group’s ’ wholly owned subsidiary, PSA Airlines, Inc. PSA Airlines will operate the 30 CRJ900 NextGen aircraft under the American Eagle brand.

American Airlines is the first customer to benefit from the latest enhancements to the CRJ900 NextGen regional jet, which provides up to 5.5 per cent fuel burn reduction over earlier-generation CRJ900 aircraft.

“The new Bombardier CRJ900 NextGen airliner will optimize our fleet to fly the right size aircraft to the appropriate markets and lower operating costs by replacing older aircraft,” said Kenji Hashimoto, Senior Vice President – Regional Carriers, American Airlines. “With an impressive interior that allows us the flexibility to offer First Class, Main Cabin, as well as additional Main Cabin Extra seats, we are delighted to showcase our first CRJ900 NextGen aircraft in Dallas/Fort Worth and Dayton and look forward to introducing it to our customers later this year.”

“In addition to offering American Airlines significant fuel cost savings per aircraft, as well as outstanding operational flexibility, the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft will provide customers with an improved experience that includes bright cabins resulting from large windows and LED lighting as well as large overhead bins,” said Ray Jones, Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Asset Management, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “Together with the fuel burn enhancements and upgraded cabin amenities, we are firmly cementing the CRJ NextGen family of aircraft as the benchmark in regional aviation.”

The CRJ900 NextGen aircraft’s advanced technologies include a conic-shaped exhaust nozzle that improves exhaust flow and reduces fuel consumption; various weight-saving initiatives; and a modern six-screen glass cockpit featuring the Rockwell Collins Pro Line IV integrated avionics suite, whose robust open architecture delivers reliable performance with growth capability to meet future communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management requirements.

As of March 31, 2014, Bombardier had recorded firm orders for 1,817 CRJ Series aircraft, including 343 CRJ900 and CRJ900 NextGen aircraft. Worldwide, CRJ Series aircraft are in service with more than 60 airlines and more than 30 customers operate corporate variants of the aircraft. The aircraft are operating in over 50 countries on six continents, and on average, a CRJ aircraft takes off every 10 seconds somewhere in the world. CRJ Series aircraft have transported more than 1.4 billion passengers and have logged more than 39 million flight hours and over 32 million takeoffs and landings.