CommuteAir (C5, Cleveland Hopkins) is already in the market for more E170 or E175 regional jets for its nascent charter operations, Vice-President (Flight Operations) David Fitzgerald told Aviation Week.
"The initial response to the announcement of aircraft certification and availability for charter has been very strong, and the indications are that demand will exceed the capabilities of a single aircraft," he said.
The airline, hitherto focused on providing regional capacity to mainline carriers, was certified to operate a single E170 on charter flights in early August, following lengthy regulatory scrutiny. The 15.5-year-old N780NC (msn 17000280) is currently based out of Houston Intercontinental. CommuteAir is seeing demand for the 76-seater from sports teams, corporations, and schools, a niche Fitzgerald said is poorly served in this size segment within the US charter market.
The carrier recently signed a deal with STM Charters to broker its E170 to the collegiate sports teams and has "limited" availability of the aircraft for the remainder of 2024.
Fitzgerald said that with the first E170 on its newly updated certificate of public convenience and necessity, the airline will "facilitate future growth opportunities."
CommuteAir bought its only E170 from lessor Nordic Aviation Capital.
The airline's fleet also includes seventy-four E145s. CommuteAir owns all of them and operates them on behalf of United Airlines under the United Express brand. The FAA classified both the E145s and the E170 as Group II aircraft, which eased the certification process. Larger Embraer regional jets, starting from the E190, fall under Group III categorisation.
