SWISSAIR HAS confirmed that it is to buy 12 Avro International RJ100s for delivery to its Crossair subsidiary. Options on a further 12 aircraft have also been taken.
The deal, which was approved on 29 March by the Swissair board, could be worth up to $600 million. Swissair is transferring all its sub-100-seat routes to Crossair and rationalising regional jets in its fleet to a single type. Ten Fokker 100s, operated by Swissair, are being taken by Avro, as part of the deal. Crossair already operates RJ85s and British Aerospace 146-300s (Flight International, 8-14 March).
Deliveries will start in September. Avro has five RJ100s under construction at its Woodford, Manchester factory. Two are believed to be for Crossair, with the remainder earmarked for Colombian RJ100 operator Sociedad Aeronautica de Medellin Consolidada (SAM).
Avro says that it does not yet have a contract with SAM. It is sufficiently confident that a deal will be struck, however, to be flying the Colombian flag over the aircraft in the assembly hall.
Source: Flight International
