Skywest Airlines is to buy 20 new Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias after United Airlines awarded the carrier a contract to provide United Express regional services in the US Pacific North-west, replacing WestAir.
Skywest will also acquire seven used Brasilias because it requires a total of 27 additional aircraft for its new United Express services - 17 at San Francisco and ten at Portland and Seattle. Pacific north-west services will begin on 23 April, and Skywest will replace Mesa Air Group carrier WestAir at San Francisco on 1 June.
The airline's Brasilia fleet will grow to 77 aircraft, and to support this expansion, SkyWest has taken over WestAir's maintenance centre in Fresno, California.
Source: Flight International
