Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer is hoping the hype surrounding its newly launched E-Jet E2 will translate into a string of orders for the regional jet, which has so far secured just seven publicly identified customers.
Norway’s Widerøe took delivery of the first E2 this month in what amounted to a remarkably smooth entry to service, with the aircraft arriving on-schedule and with better-than-promised performance indicators. Embraer says the re-engined, re-winged E190 now offers a 17.3% improvement in fuel burn over its predecessor, versus an original target of 16%.
However, orders for the second generation of the E-Jet family – which occupies a niche between sub-80-seat regional aircraft and 150-plus-seat narrow-bodies – have been thinner than hoped.
Only four airlines are known to have placed firm orders for the E2. SkyWest Airlines is the biggest customer, pledging to buy 100 units of the 88-seat E175. Widerøe and China's Hainan Airlines have signed for three and two units, respectively, of the 114-seat E190. And Brazil’s Azul has bought 30 E195s, which seat 144 passengers. Firm commitments for another 85 E2s have been placed by three leasing companies, along with ten orders by an undisclosed customer.
Plans for Air Costa to become the Asian launch customer were dashed in February, when the Indian carrier grounded flights indefinitely – taking with it a firm order for 50 units.
With no major sales announced for almost three years, Embraer is desperate for another high-profile customer to give momentum to the E2 program. Canada’s Bombardier is under similar pressure with its CSeries program, which is also suffering from a relatively weak orderbook.
For both manufacturers, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines are now considered prime targets.
JetBlue is weighing up its options for long-term replacements for its 60 first-generation E190s, having indicated that it wants to up-gauge the fleet in pursuit of improved operating economics. That puts the E195 E2 and the 130-160-seat CS300 firmly in the running, while leaving the door open for a switch to the smallest variants of the Airbus A320 family of narrow-bodies.
United has also been playing the manufacturers against one other, explicitly stating that the E2, CSeries, 737 Max 7 and A319neo are all under review. The airline recently signed for 20 second-hand A319s to meet its short-term needs.
Elsewhere, KLM Cityhopper, an existing E-Jet operator, has made positive noises about the E2 but only while downplaying the urgency of any prospective order. Its Embraers have an average age of just 5.7 years.
Two central Asian airlines – Kazakhstan’s Air Astana and Tajikistan’s Somon Air – are meanwhile gearing up to deploy the E2, albeit without striking direct purchase agreements with Embraer. Leasing company AerCap will place the first of five E190 E2s with Air Astana later this year, while Somon Air has said it aims to lease or purchase four units.
AerCap is also due to place three E190 E2s and two E195 E2s with Turkey’s Borajet Airlines.
