Embraer’s E195-E2 regional jet will visit Australia as part of a two-month demonstration tour that will take in countries in the Asia Pacific.
The Australian leg of the E195-E2’s demonstration tour was due to take place later in July, with the aircraft expected to be in Brisbane and Sydney.
Meanwhile, the first stop for the recently certified aircraft was Xiamen in China, where the E195-E2 painted in the distinctive “TechLion” livery arrived on July 8.
E195-E2 profit hunter in Xiamen Gaoqi Airport pic.twitter.com/oH3cEJedaC
— 牛哥AIR (@xmwjs) July 8, 2019
“We are delighted to start the global demo tour of the E195-E2, the biggest aircraft ever developed by Embraer, with our Chinese customers,” Embraer Commercial Aviation chief executive John Slattery said in a statement on Monday.
“Airlines will love the E2’s exceptional economics and efficiency, greater operational flexibility and unmatched passenger comfort.
“As the most efficient single-aisle jet in the market, the E195-E2 is the ideal aircraft for growing regional business and complementing existing low-cost and mainline fleets.”
Embraer Commercial Aviation vice president of sales and marketing for China Guo Qing said the demonstration aircraft would feature the manufacturer’s exclusive staggered seating layout in business class, as well as give customers the opportunity to have a close look at the advanced technology and e-enabled systems on board the aircraft.
The E195-E2 jet, the largest commercial aircraft produced by the Brazilian company, received its type certificate from Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April 2019.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1900 engines, the aircraft was designed to carry up to 146 passengers in one class and had a range of 2,600 nautical miles (4,820km).
It also features a new wing, new landing gear and is fully fly-by-wire. By comparison, the first-generation E195 carried up to 124 passengers and had a 2,300nm range.
Further, Embraer said the E195-E2 had the longest maintenance intervals in the single-aisle jet category of 10,000 flight hours for basic checks. That represented an additional 15 days of aircraft utilisation over a period of 10 years.
The E195-E2 was also able to serve more markets from limited airfields.
Range circles from Embraer showed the E195-E2 configured with 120 passengers would be able to fly between Sydney and Bali (2,495nm) or Sydney and Apia (2,336nm), based on certain assumptions.
Launch customer Azul was expected to receive the first of six E195-E2s it has on order in the second half of calendar 2019. Meanwhile, Canary Islands carrier Binter Canarias was also scheduled to pick up the first of three E195-E2 aircraft it has ordered later in 2019.
The E2 family of aircraft comprised three models – the base model E190-E2 which was certified in March 2018, the larger E195-E2 and the smaller E175-E2.
The program was launched in 2013 to advance the earlier range of E170, E175, E190 and E195 jets.
Embraer’s 2019-2038 market outlook published on June 18 forecast demand for 10,550 new aircraft with up to 150 seats over the next 20 years, driven by increased connectivity for mid-size cities and long-thin routes.
Some 55 per cent of the expected demand would be for growth, while 45 per cent would be for replacing ageing aircraft.
Asia Pacific is forecast to take the biggest market share in this segment with 28 per cent, behind North America at 27 per cent.
Embraer had received 112 firm orders for the E195-E2 alongside 32 options at March 31 2019, according to figures from the manufacturer’s website.
VIDEO: A look at the E195-E2’s first flight in 2017 from the Embraer YouTube channel.
