US Airways Orders 170 Regional Aircraft

US Airways Group Inc., which recently emerged from bankruptcy protection, kick-started the expansion of its regional jet fleet Monday by splitting a $4.3-billion order for at least 170 regional jets between Canada’s Bombardier Inc. and Brazil’s Embraer.

The deal, which also includes options to purchase an additional 380 aircraft, is part of US Airways’ post-Chapter 11 strategy to expand its network by using smaller regional jets to develop short- and medium-range routes, US Airways Chief Executive David Siegel said.

Arlington, Va.-based US Airways, the nation’s seventh-largest air carrier, emerged from bankruptcy protection at the end of March. Regional jets are a key underpinning of its campaign to re-engineer itself and fly the right-sized planes into the right markets, one industry source said.

The jets are cheaper to operate than bigger aircraft and can pull in profit in small markets that cannot fill large planes. Many major U.S. airlines have said they plan to increase use of smaller jets to help turn their huge financial losses into profits.

US Airways plans to boost its regional jet fleet, which now has 84 planes, to as many as 465 aircraft, and will phase out its turboprop airplanes.

The airline, which cut its jet fleet by one-third as it restructured, had said previously that it planned to order 50 50-seat regional jets and 50 70-seat regional jets from either maker, with options to buy an additional 100 of each.

The regional jet orders come as the airline industry faces a downturn that has forced some of the leading air carriers to delay deliveries for large planes because there is not enough demand to fill seats.

But low-cost airline JetBlue Airways Corp., which has reported profit despite the slump, ordered 65 large planes from European maker Airbus in April, with options for 50 more.

US Airways’ Siegel has experience in the regional jet business, including a stint at Continental Airlines’ regional carrier, ExpressJet Holdings Inc.