COLONIE — United Airlines said it plans to end its code-share relationship with ExpressJet and shift all of its United Express flights that use Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets to CommutAir, which has its maintenance base at the Albany International Airport.
CommutAir operates a fleet of 40 of the 50-seat aircraft and has about 150 people at Albany, although some of those may have been furloughed during the pandemic, which has reduced flying. Many of CommutAir's jets have been temporarily parked at Albany.
"We have been communicating for several months that we expect to be a smaller airline in response to the unprecedented impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our business," United spokesman Charles Hobart told the Times Union Friday. "In February, we took our first step to simplify our partner landscape and consolidate our E145 flying.
"Yesterday took additional steps to further simplify our operation and right size our capacity for the future," Hobart added. "We continue to evaluate further opportunities to improve the United Express product.
"Beginning later this year we will consolidate all of our E145 operations into CommutAir, which will then become United’s sole operator of this aircraft type. This transition will take a number of months," Hobart said. "We expect CommutAir will be positioned to meet demand in the current operating environment."
CommutAir, which started flying 31 years ago Saturday, has its roots in northern New York state.
While the carrier's predecessors -- Air North, Brockway Air, Clinton Aero -- stretch back as much as five decades, it was on Aug. 1, 1989 that Commutair first flew, when a 19-seat Beechcraft took off from the Plattsburgh airport.
CommutAir, which early on flew as a Continental Express partner, joined United when the Chicago-based airline merged with Continental.
"The professional men and women at CommutAir pride themselves in providing reliable service to United and its customers through our core4 values of being safe, caring, dependable and efficient," a CommutAir spokeswoman said when asked to comment. "We look forward to our continued partnership with United."
ExpressJet told Reuters it would "explore all options" but that it expected to continue to operate through the rest of this year.
The airline industry has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, as a combination of fears of contagion, and the closing of most international borders to American citizens, has reduced demand by 80 percent or more.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier online version of this story incorrectly identified one of the carriers in the headline.
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