ExpressJet
ExpressJet provides services as a United Express carrier. Credit: Piper via Flickr.

North American regional carrier ExpressJet has accelerated its potential phased wind-down plan to 30 September.

In July, the airline announced that it would wind-down by the end of the year and will focus on efforts to preserve its business, operations and staff.

According to the Regional Airline Association (RAA), the carrier will also assess alternative business strategies for next year and beyond.

The airline provides services as a United Express carrier. United’s stake in ExpressJet is said to be 49%. It had a workforce of 2,800 and catered to more than 100 airports in North America.

However, United decided to end its codeshare relationship with ExpressJet on 30 July as part of its plan to consolidate its regional operations. It selected CommutAir as its sole Embraer ERJ-145 operator.

In addition, ExpressJet is required to pay back 30% of the CARES Act Payroll Support Program (PSP) funds.

It received $110m in funding from PSP and is prohibited from implementing any involuntary cuts prior to 30 September, when the relief expires.

It is uncertain whether the PSP programme will be extended or not.

Commenting on the announcement, RAA president and CEO Faye Malarkey said in a statement: “By extending the baseline PSP programme, Congress can put more time on the clock for demand to return, and more time on the clock for airlines to plan and respond to the pandemic’s impact on travel as it continues to evolve.

“In this way, extending the programme does more than delay furloughs, but rather continues to reduce the number of furloughs the industry will ultimately need to make.”

Last month, United Airlines reportedly warned of mass job cuts which could affect as many as 36,000 frontline employees.