Including the transaction announced today, Bombardier has recorded orders for 1,695 CRJ Series aircraft, and as of October 31, 2009, 1,569 of these had been delivered. More than 60 operators in 38 countries operate CRJ Series aircraft. Bombardier is a world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, from commercial aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment, systems and services, Bombardier Inc. is a global corporation headquartered in Canada. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2009, were $19.7 billion US, and its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD).  

American Eagle Airlines is a brand name used by American Eagle Airlines, Inc. (formerly Simmons Airlines), based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Executive Airlines based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the operation of passenger air service as regional affiliates of American Airlines. All three airlines are wholly-owned subsidiaries of AMR Corp. American Airlines also has unrelated airlines under contract to provide regional service under the American Connection brand. Operating over 1,500 flights a day, serving 160 cities across the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, American Eagle is considered to be the world's largest regional airline system.  

The American Eagle brand is an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance, and has code sharing agreements with Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Continental Airlines on California routes. The name was also used between April 1980 and April 1981 by an unrelated air charter service that suspended operations and filed bankruptcy before flying any scheduled operations.  

American Eagle began as a collection of unrelated regional carriers with contracts to carry the American Eagle brand name. The first American Eagle flight was operated by Metroflight Airlines on November 1, 1984 from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Other carriers that have flown in Eagle livery include Executive Airlines, Command Airways, Air Virginia, Simmons Airlines, Wings West Airlines, Metroflight Airlines and Chaparral Airlines. 

Until 1987 these third-party carriers flew under contract with American Airlines to provide regional feed to its hubs. During 1987 and 1988 AMR Corp. acquired its regional carriers, starting with Simmons Airlines. By mid-1991 AMR had consolidated the number of carriers to four. The May 15, 1998 merger of Wings West and Flagship into Simmons (and the name change of Simmons to American Eagle) reduced the number of carriers flying as American Eagle under separate operating certificates to two: American Eagle Airlines, Inc. and Executive Airlines Inc.