Republic Airlines (Indianapolis International) along with Embraer (EMB, São José dos Campos Professor Urbano Ernesto Stumpf) and flybe. (2002) (Exeter) have announced a complicated three-way agreement which will see Republic leasing the majority of its Dash 8-400 fleet to the UK carrier beginning in 2016.
Under the terms of the agreement, Flybe. has agreed with Embraer to cancel twenty of its twenty-four EMB-175s currently sitting on its firm order backlog. In line with Flybe.'s current fleet planning needs, the Brazilian manufacturer has agreed to defer delivery of Flybe.'s remaining four aircraft until 2018.
To date, Flybe. has taken delivery of only 11 airframes and last year, moved to reschedule deliveries of the remaining 24 to a four-year period beginning October 2015.
In a separate agreement, Republic will purchase fifty E175s from Embraer for use under its new revised Shuttle America (Fort Wayne International) E-Jet capacity purchase agreement (”CPA”) with United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare). The first new aircraft is expected in July 2015, with deliveries set to continue through August 2017. Shuttle America and United also agreed to extend the CPA's term duration concerning thirty-eight E170 aircraft, with new expiration dates ranging from September of 2019 through to December 2022.
Republic also reached an agreement with United to amend its Q400 CPA allowing for a wind-down schedule beginning in January 2015 and ending in September 2016.
Republic, which operates thirty-two Dash 8-400s, will lease 24 of the turboprops to Flybe. with deliveries commencing in March 2015 and spread over a two year period. The remaining Q400 aircraft will be sold, leased or returned to the lessor after removing them from United Express service.
