FLEET - US's CommuteAir mulls scheduled ops, United extends

CommuteAir (C5, Cleveland Hopkins) CEO Rick Hoefling told Cleveland.com, a local online news website, that the company is evaluating launching its own scheduled flights, targeting second- and third-tier cities in the United States that have lost direct connectivity in recent years marked by industry consolidation.

"The demand isn’t going away," he said. “We think there’s opportunity in that space."

Short of disclosing any specific routes, Hoefling said that Cleveland Hopkins could become one of the focus cities for the airline's scheduled network. Despite having its origins and corporate headquarters in Ohio, the airline does not currently base any of its aircraft in Cleveland.

Hoefling said there were no specific plans to comment on yet when asked by ch-aviation.

The regional capacity provider currently flies nearly exclusively on behalf of United Airlines, which owns a 40% stake in CommuteAir. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, the airline was deploying fifty-nine E145s under the United Express capacity purchase agreement, primarily out of Washington Dulles and Houston Intercontinental.

The ch-aviation fleets module shows that all up, including currently inactive aircraft, CommuteAir operates seventy-four E145s. All of those regional jets operated by CommuteAir are owned by United. Hoefling said that the deal was recently extended by two more years to 2028. CommuteAir is the only remaining E145 operator for United.

The airline also owns and operates a single E170 available for charters and was planning to grow this fleet last year.

CH Aviation

 

GALLERY - COMMTE AIR / ERJ170LR / N780NC

Duncan Stewart - LAX
 

FLEET - CommuteAir Embraer E170

CommuteAir (C5, Cleveland Hopkins) has taken delivery of its first E170, which it plans to use to grow its passenger charter operations.

N780NC (msn 17000280) was ferried post maintenance at Saltillo to Houston Intercontinental on October 19, 2023, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. It has yet to begin revenue operations.

The 14.6-year-old jet was acquired by the airline earlier this year from Nordic Aviation Capital. It was previously operated by Airnorth (Australia) (TL, Darwin) and will join CommuteAir's existing fleet of seventy-five E145s. The smaller Embraer regional jets operate exclusively on behalf of United Airlines (UA, Chicago O’Hare).

NEW AIRCRAFT - COMMUTEAIR SOLIDIFIES PURCHASE OF ONE E170 AIRCRAFT

CLEVELAND, Ohio – CommuteAir, a leading regional airline and the sole Embraer ERJ145 operator for the United Express network has executed a purchase agreement with Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) for an Embraer E170 aircraft.


“The CommuteAir team is pleased to complete this acquisition of an E170 from NAC as part of our previously announced plan to add the aircraft type to our certificate and pursue independent charter opportunities,” said CEO Rick Hoefling.


The U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued the company a certificate of public convenience and necessity which will enable the airline to operate commercial flights with larger aircraft.Illustration by CommuteAir.

Image: Commute Air

United Airlines to drop either ExpressJet or CommutAir

United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) has told two of its regional capacity providers, ExpressJet Airlines (EV, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) and CommutAir (C5, Cleveland Hopkins), that it will end its capacity purchase agreement with one of them going forward, Reuters has reported citing union letters.

United Airlines holds minority stakes in both airlines (directly in CommutAir and through ManaAir, a joint venture with KAir Enterprises, in ExpressJet), which, in turn, operate exclusively on behalf of United under the United Express brand. As such, the loss of the CPA with United could herald major problems for the carrier in question.

United admitted that as a result of COVID-19, it has had to cut its schedules and costs across the board and anticipates the pandemic will continue to impact its relationships with its regional partners.

CommutAir and ExpressJet cover the same market segment as they both operate E145 regional jets on behalf of United Airlines. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, CommutAir currently operates thirty-eight EMB-145XRs, while ExpressJet Airlines operates fifty EMB-145LRs, fifty-eight XRs, as well as thirteen ERJ 170-200LLs.

According to the union letter, United pointed out that ExpressJet Airlines' costs are currently higher than CommutAir's.

Besides the two E145 specialists, United Express flights are also operated by Air Wisconsin, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airways, and SkyWest Airlines (United States of America). However, none of the other capacity providers operates E145s and none is part-owned by United Airlines.

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