PSA Airlines, a wholly owned regional subsidiary of American Airlines Group, announced on Tuesday that it will be adding 14 CRJ-900NG (Next-Generation) aircraft to its fleet. These aircraft will be leased to PSA from American and are expected to be delivered and inducted in phases, the regional carrier said.
The first of the additional aircraft is expected in late October. Each aircraft will be converted to the airline’s 76-seat, dual-class configuration.
A key feature of these new aircraft is high-speed satellite Wi-Fi, which American has been rolling out across its regional fleet. PSA says it has already begun installing upgraded Wi-Fi on its CRJ aircraft.
“PSA is on a well-planned growth trajectory that involves more team members flying more aircraft and customers as we continue to expand and enhance our operation,” said Dion Flannery, PSA Airlines president and CEO, in a news release. “This year, we fully restored staffing, resurrected all our parked aircraft and inducted the last of the seven aircraft as part of a previous agreement. Now, we’re prepared for the next phase of growth with the addition of these 14 NextGen CRJ900s.”
PSA’s current fleet consists of 136 active CRJ-700 and CRJ-900 aircraft along with five jets in storage programs. Last year, the airline added seven more CRJ-900s, which were previously operated by Mesa Airlines per Cirium Fleet Analyzer.
Mesa is planning to phase out its remaining CRJ fleet by March of next year, including 15 operating for United Express and 22 in storage. American ended its contract with Mesa in 2023.
American expects to continually grow its regional portfolio in the coming months. In early 2024, the airline’s finance chief, Devon May, said it expects to add up to 25 fully utilized regional aircraft each quarter throughout 2024.
Regional carriers have seen improvements in aircraft utilization as pandemic-era pilot supply constraints ease. Fellow wholly owned American regional subsidiary Piedmont Airlines said in July that it plans to return “dozens” of 50-seat Embraer E145 jets to revenue service.
