New startup airline California Pacific Airlines’ first Embraer 170 entered the paint shop in Kansas City this week for final exterior painting.
Delivery of this aircraft is expected either at the end of June or early July 2012. It will be the first of two aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2012 and will be followed during 2013 by three additional Embraer 170 aircraft on order.
The airline is in the final stages of being certified for operation by the FAA. In February, it announced meeting the requirements for the first phase of certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airline, based in Carlsbad, intends to draw flyers that would normally travel to Lindbergh Field in San Diego. It plans to begin flights in the fall of 2012. It will operate routes to Las Vegas, Sacramento, San Jose, Oakland and Phoenix, with a future route to Cabo San Lucas to be added as additional capacity comes on stream.
The aircraft is question has been confirmed through FAA records as being ERJ‑170‑100LR, MSN 17000006, and is currently registered as N176EC.with Embraer.
This aircraft was previously operated by Cirrus Airlines of Germany and also had been originally intended for delivery to Macedonian Airlines, but the order was cancelled before delivery to the airline, though the aircraft did appear in that airline’s livery. After service with Cirrus, this aircraft was stored before being picked up by California Pacific Airlines as their first aircraft.
