CRJ900 NextGen aircraft American Eagle

American Airlines has signed a firm purchase agreement with Bombardier Aerospace to buy 30 CRJ900 NextGen aircraft, with an option for an additional 40 jets.

The firm contract is valued at approximately $1.42bn, based on the list price for the CRJ900 NextGen airliner.

If the options are exercised, the deal value could increase to approximately $3.38bn.

The CRJ900 NextGen jet is claimed to offer 4% improvement in fuel burn with the ‘NextGen’ package and a further reduction of up to 1.5% due to improvements to its powerplant and ongoing weight reduction initiatives, representing a 5.5% lower fuel consumption over the earlier version, according to Bombardier.

American Airlines fleet planning vice-president Peter Warlick said: "This order will allow American to lower costs by replacing older aircraft."

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Mike Arcamone said: "Our ongoing commitment to the technological updates of our product offerings is today realised with value enhancements made to the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft.

"The product enhancements to the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft offer fuel cost savings of up to $500,000 per aircraft."

"The product enhancements to the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft offer fuel cost savings of up to $500,000 per aircraft."

The CRJ Series aircraft has to date booked 1,812 orders, including 339 CRJ900 and CRJ900 NextGen aircraft.

Operating in more than 50 countries, the aircraft are in service with some 60 airlines worldwide.

Meanwhile, American Airlines placed a firm order with Brazilian manufacturer Embraer for 60 E175 jets with options for another 90 E175s.

Delivery of the first aircraft is slated for the first quarter of 2015.

With a total of 76 seats, the aircraft will feature 12 First Class, 20 Main Cabin Extra and 44 Main Cabin seats.


Image: A CRJ900 NextGen aircraft in the livery of American Eagle. Photo: courtesy of Bombardier.

Defence Technology