PenAir (Anchorage Ted Stevens) has taken delivery of its first of five Saab 2000s on lease from Jetstream Aviation Capital. N682PA (cn 30) will enter service, along with a second Saab 2000, in late December 2015. The remaining aircraft will be delivered between now and June 2016.
Penair CEO Danny Seybert earlier this year said the aircraft would initially be deployed on the carrier's Anchorage-Dutch Harbor route that Penair operates on behalf of Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma International). As such, the introduction of the Saab (Sweden) (SCT, Linköping Saab) twinprop marks the first time a US air carrier has used the type for Part 121 scheduled passenger operations.
PenAir also operates two Saab 340(F)s and fourteen Saab 340Bs on flights throughout Alaska.