RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Thursday, September 12th, Embraer delivered the first unit of the E195-E2 jet, the largest commercial aircraft designed and built in Brazil.
The model is the second release of the E2 jet range, a venture of the future Boeing Brasil Commercial in the aircraft market for up to 150 passengers – the smaller E190-E2 was launched in 2018.
The airline inaugurating service with the E195-E2 will be Azul, which has ordered 51 units to renew its fleet. Today, Azul is flying first generation E190 and E195 aircraft, the only major Brazilian airline to operate Embraer jets. The goal is to replace all E1 jets with the E2 by 2022, said the founder of Azul, David Neeleman.
The first route operated by the E195-E2 will be Campinas-Brasília. According to Azul’s CEO, John Rodgerson, the company expects to open six to eight new routes per year as a result of the E2. One of them will be from Campinas to Natal. Rodgerson further said that as of January all aircraft delivered to Azul will include wi-fi on board.
The new plane’s challenge will be to demonstrate the savings it offers to boost sales. Azul will operate the E195-E2 in a single-class configuration with 136 seats – the model holds up to 146 passengers, almost 20 more than the first-generation model.
Concurrently, the cost per seat, a crucial calculation for companies, fell 25.4 percent over its predecessor, according to Embraer. Maintenance costs are 20 percent lower, also according to the manufacturer.
Moreover, flight range has increased, reaching 4,917 kilometers. Of the US$1.75 billion (R$7.1 billion) invested in the E2 program, 25 percent was earmarked for the development of the new wings. When compared to the first generation, 75 percent of the E2 systems are new.
However, to date, orders have not taken off. Among the 124 steady orders for the new model, Azul is the only large customer. Other orders have come from small companies in Spain, Nigeria, and leasing companies.
Another major potential customer, Dutch KLM, has not yet finalized the deal announced in June for the purchase of up to thirty-five E195-E2 aircraft, 15 firm orders and 20 options (which may or may not be made into firm purchases).
In addition, a long-time customer, American JetBlue, controlled by Neeleman, exchanged the E195-E2 for the Airbus A220, the result of the European manufacturer’s partnership with the Canadian Bombardier, Embraer’s main rival.
Azul itself, founded by Neeleman in 2008 along the lines of JetBlue, gradually expanded its fleet to Airbus and now operates the A320neo – which takes approximately 30 more passengers than the E195-E2 – on routes previously served by Embraer.
By taking over Embraer’s commercial jet portfolio, Boeing Brasil Commercial – which is 80 percent controlled by Boeing and 20 percent by Embraer – seeks to gain ground in the competition with Airbus in a market that, according to Embraer’s estimate, should have a demand for 10,500 aircraft over the next 20 years.
Embraer Aviação Commercial’s CEO, John Slattery, said that the E2 is still a 100 percent Embraer aircraft, with no Boeing teams participating until the antitrust authorities approve the agreement, which he expects to be in place by the end of this year.
Source: Agência Folhapress