Atlantic Southeast Airlines accepted its first Bombardier CRJ700 during ceremonies that marked not only the Atlanta-based airline’s baptism as a 70-seat jet operator but the delivery of the Canadian manufacturer’s 600th CRJ–a 40-seat version that entered revenue service with ASA on January 31. Although post-September 11 financing delays forced Delta Connection and ASA to postpone the event from December to late January, the Atlanta-based airline’s first CRJ700 will enter service on schedule, when it begins flying from Hartsfield International Airport to six eastern and midwestern cities on April 7.
Bombardier’s 600th CRJ increased the size of the ASA jet fleet to 68 airplanes, nine of which fly in a 40-seat configuration. This latest 40-seat jet began serving Augusta, Ga.; Columbus, Miss.; Evansville, Ind.; and White Plains, N.Y., from Atlanta, flying a single daily round trip between each city pair in place of a repositioned 50-seat CRJ200. ASA’s first CRJ700 will also replace a 50-seater, when on April 7 it begins rotating between Augusta; Huntsville, Ala.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Toledo, Ohio; Sarasota, Fla.; and Tallahassee, Fla. On May 1 ASA plans to introduce a second 70-seat jet on routes from Atlanta to Daytona Beach, Fla.; Islip, N.Y.; and Mobile, Ala.
