Paul Lewis/WASHINGTON DC
American Trans Air (AmTran) has purchased nine Saab 340Bs from American Eagle to re-equip its subsidiary feeder Chicago Express in the run-up to a larger decision on acquiring between 30 and 34 new narrowbody jets to replace its fleet of Boeing 727s.
Chicago Express has taken delivery of the first turboprop only a day after a final deal brokered by Saab was struck with American Eagle. Bombardier had made a counter offer of ex-Comair Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias, which it is trying to dispose of in return for selling new Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets. The remaining 340s, most of which have already been parked, will follow at a rate of one a month through to August.
The aircraft will replace a similar number of Jetstream 31s which are being returned to different lessors with one month's notice. The Chicago Midway-based carrier has options to take an unspecified number of additional aircraft. American Eagle had already begun to market the next 10 of its 106 remaining Saab aircraft, which are being replaced by new Embraer RJ-135 jets (Flight International, October 20-26).
ATA in the meantime is moving ahead with an evaluation of the 130-160-seat Boeing 737-700 and -800 and competing Airbus A319 and A320 as replacements for its 24 727-200Advs, all of which have now been hushkitted.
The carrier, which operates a mixture of scheduled and charter services from Indianapolis and Chicago Midway, is expected to decide within a few months and is looking to take delivery of its first new aircraft from around the middle of next year.
The airline, which is expanding its Boeing 757-200 fleet to 13 aircraft, is studying the 757-300 as a candidate to replace its 19 Lockheed L1011-50/100/500 TriStars, which it operates mainly to destinations on the US West Coast and Hawaii.
Source: Flight International
