Summary
- SkyWest will operate 19 CRJ550s for Delta Connection from Salt Lake City to regional hubs.
- The CRJ550 is lighter, has fewer seats, and allows for lower operating costs.
- Four routes from Salt Lake City—Cedar City, Elko, Yellowstone, and Butte—will initially be served.
Utah-based regional airline SkyWest Airlines is set to commence new scheduled commercial flights for Delta Air Lines’ regional subsidiary Delta Connection within the next few months with the Bombardier CRJ550 regional jet. The carrier will become only the second commercial operator of the CRJ550, following GoJet Airlines, which currently performs flights under the United Express branding.
The aircraft the airline will use for these new Delta Connection flights will be former CRJ700 series jets, which are set to be converted into a lighter model over the summer by the manufacturer. The new CRJ550 variant will be significantly lighter than the previous aircraft and will offer fewer seats to ensure that the plane still meets the restrictions under the scope clause.
Photo: Digital Media Pro | Shutterstock
The airline has indicated that its new flights will all use the CRJ550, which will be based out of Delta Connection’s major hub at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and connect to different regional destinations. SkyWest Airlines will deploy 19 newly converted CRJ550 jets equipped with 50 seats in a two-class configuration.
A new kind of aircraft
Earlier this year, the leadership team at SkyWest Airlines indicated that a group of 19 CRJ700 aircraft would be transitioned to serving as CRJ550 models to comply with new scope clauses. These agreements, made between major airlines and pilots’ unions, provide strict specifications as to what kind of aircraft can be operated by regional airlines or those that operate for the regional subsidiaries of major carriers.
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SkyWest Airlines To Operate 19 Bombardier CRJ550s For Delta Air Lines
The unique aircraft modification was first pioneered by United Airlines in 2019.
The CRJ550 is lighter than the CRJ700 by about 10,000 pounds, allowing it to meet some of the most stringent operating restrictions. Furthermore, aircraft with 50 or fewer seats require only one flight attendant. As the CRJ550 has a capacity of exactly 50, the plane can offer significantly lower operating costs with lower staffing levels.
Photo: Bombardier
According to an analysis from Ch-Aviation, as this group of 19 CRJ700 aircraft was approaching the end of contracted service with American Airlines’ subsidiary American Eagle, SkyWest saw it as an ideal time to convert the aircraft to the new CRJ550 variant. In a statement, the carrier had the following words to share regarding the new plane’s role:
“The two-class CRJ550 replaces flying that was previously single-class to align with the Delta Connection experience customers have come to expect from Delta.”
Deployment on four routes
Simple Flying reported on the four Salt Lake City-based routes on which the CRJ550 would be deployed earlier this week. They are as follows:
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Butte’s Bert Mooney Airport (BTM) in Montana
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Cedar City Regional Airport (CDC) in Utah
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Elko Regional Airport (EKO) in Nevada
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Yellowstone Airport (WYS) in Gallatin County, Montana
The connection to Cedar City is set to operate 5 times weekly, while the other three are to be performed daily. As a result, SkyWest Airlines will fly a total of 26 weekly services with the new two-class CRJ550 regional jet.
