Since its launch in 2018 at the Paris air show, the Embraer E-jet Family made in Brazil has been making its mark in the commercial aviation sector.
Five years after its debut, there are nine operators actively engaging the aircraft. According to ch-aviation.com, the nine airlines are Air Peace, Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras, Helvetic Airways, KLM Cityhopper, Widerøe, Plonair Australia, Air Astana, Binter Canarias, and Porter Airlines.
Air Peace, an airline based in Nigeria with 37 aircraft in its fleet, currently operates 13 aircraft worth US$2.2bn from the Embraer Jet family.
The airline bought six Embraer ERJ-145 in 2017, two more in 2019 and five Embraer E195-E2 in 2021. Airpeace officially inaugurated its first Embraer E195-E2, becoming the first African operator of the type.
“The E195-E2 is the perfect aircraft to expand our domestic and regional operations,” said Allen Onyema, chairman and CEO of Air Peace during the acquisition in 2021.
“We are aware of the aircraft’s impressive economic performance as well as its unique configuration, the major reasons we placed an order for this aircraft. It is also a historic feat as Air Peace will be the first to operate this aircraft model in the whole of Africa.”
“The E195-E2 aircraft will further help us actualise our ambition of connecting not just the whole of Nigeria, but the entire African continent, while feeding long-haul flights from our Lagos hub,” Onyema also said.
“The acquisition will enable us to deliver on our ‘no-city-left-behind’ initiative, which is underpinned by our goal to reduce the air transportation burden of Africans.”
Embraer, since its inception in 1969, has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft and on average, about every 10 seconds, an aircraft it manufactured takes off somewhere in the world, according to the company’s website. The aircraft also transport over 145 million passengers per year.
Similarly, Embraer is the leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats and is the main exporter of high-value-added goods in Brazil. The company maintains industrial units, offices, service and parts distribution centers across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
In light of this, Cesar Pereira, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Embraer Commercial Aviation said, “Handing over beautiful new jets to our customers is a favourite activity for everyone at Embraer.
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Doing so in the current circumstances is a boost for us all as we adapt to the changing environment. This is a fabulous start to the year for everybody at Air Peace and Embraer.”
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ERJ family, Embraer’s first jet-powered regional jet; designed to carry between 66 and 124 passengers, it was larger than any prior aircraft built by the company.
The project’s existence was revealed in early 1997 and was formally introduced at the Paris Air Show two years later.
On 19 February 2002, the prototype E-Jet conducted its maiden flight; later that year, quantity production of the type commenced. In early March 2004, the first E170 deliveries were made to LOT Polish Airlines.
The E-Jet series has been a commercial success primarily due to its ability to efficiently serve lower-demand routes while offering many of the same amenities and features of larger jets. Initial teething issues, including hydraulic and engine-specific ones, were quickly overcome, and Embraer rapidly expanded its product support division for better global coverage.
The E-Jet family is commonly used by both mainline and regional airlines around the world and has become particularly popular with regional airlines in the United States.
It has also served as the basis for the Embraer Lineage 1000 business jet. During the 2010s, Embraer developed a second generation of regional jets, the E-Jet E2 family, derived from the original E-Jet family. However, as of 2023, the E175 remains in production, to fulfill demand from regional airlines in the United States.
On 19 February 2002, the first prototype performed its maiden flight, marking the beginning of a multi-year flight test campaign involving a total of six prototypes.
In May 2002, the aircraft was displayed to the public at the Regional Airline Association convention. During that same year, full-rate production of the E-Jet commenced; this activity was centred around a recently-completed factory built by Embraer at its São José dos Campos base.
