Amid the retirement of American Airlines's CRJ-200s during the pandemic, American Airlines will reintroduce the 50-seater city hopper to its regional fleet mix. The airline announced a new agreement with regional carrier Air Wisconsin, basing up to 60 CRJ-200s mostly at its Chicago O'Hare hub. In exchange, Air Wisconsin will terminate services with United Express where it services United's hubs in Chicago O'Hare and Washington-Dulles.

In an 8-K filing, Air Wisconsin disclosed that operations under American's regional brand, American Eagle, would commence in March 2023, with 40 CRJ-200s gradually entering the fleet mix until October 2023. Based on minimum block hour utilization, Air Wisconsin can add a further 20 CRJ200s into operations with American Eagle. Moreover, the agreement between American Airlines and Air Wisconsin allows for the addition of CRJ-700 flying for Air Wisconsin.

Any regional flying will supplement existing operations with American Eagle, where mainline U.S. carriers have struggled with staff shortages. In a memo to staff, American Airlines Chief Financial Officer, Derek Kerr, noted that "American has been - and will continue to be - aggressive in leading the industry in tackling this challenge, but it will take some time before this issue is resolved." He adds, "Air Wisconsin and its 1,100 team members will be a fantastic addition to the American Eagle family."

In the past year, mainline U.S. carriers were forced to drop a handful of regional destinations amid staffing shortages. Specifically, American Airlines was forced to cut flying to Dubuque, Iowa and Toledo, Ohio from Chicago due to staffing issues with regional carrier Envoy. These two routes, among others eliminated, can now be reinstated with Air Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, United Express will be faced with a dilemma as the airline reallocates resources to compensate for the loss of Air Wisconsin. Over the past year, United Airlines was forced to suspend more than 20 regional routes and ground 100 aircraft due to staff shortages, coupled with unfavorable economics due to rising fuel costs. 

Overall, the impact will be primarily felt at Chicago O'Hare and Washington-Dulles, where most Air Wisconsin flying is concentrated. Specifically, at O'Hare, single-class regional jets like the CRJ200 is set to represent four percent of flying by 2026 under United Next.

Furthermore, with Air Wisconsin's departure, United Airlines is gearing up for its United Next fleet plan where the airline plans to add larger narrowbodies and retire at least 200 regional aircraft. The removal of Air Wisconsin from United's regional fleet mix represents the first step in eliminating 200 regional aircraft. 

As American Airlines restores CRJ200 flying, Delta Airlines is slated to retire its CRJ200 fleet by 2023.