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The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of narrow-body medium-range twin-engine jet airliners produced by Brazilian aerospace conglomerate Embraer. Launched at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series has been a commercial success primarily for its safety and efficiency. The aircraft is used by mainline and regional airlines around the world. As of 30 September 2015, there is a backlog of 263 firm orders for the E-Jets, 433 options and 1158 units delivered.
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Design and development
The Embraer E-Jets line is composed of two main commercial families and a business jet variant. The smaller E170 and E175 make up the base model aircraft. The E190 and E195 are stretched versions, with different engines and larger wing, horizontal stabilizer and landing gear structures. The 170 and 175 share 95% commonality, as do the 190 and 195. The two families share near 89% commonality, with identical fuselage cross-sections and avionics, featuring the Honeywell Primus Epic Electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) suite. The E-jets also have winglets to improve efficiency.
All E-Jets use four-abreast seating (2+2) and have a "double-bubble" design, which Embraer developed for its commercial passenger jets, that provides stand-up headroom. The E190/195 series of aircraft have capacities similar to the initial versions of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737, which have always been considered mainline airliners. The E-Jets have turbofan engines designed to reduce noise, which allows them to operate in airports that have strict noise restrictions, such as London City Airport.
Embraer first disclosed that it was studying a new 70-seat aircraft, which it called the EMB 170, in 1997, concurrently with announcing the development of its ERJ 135. The EMB 170 was to feature a new wing and larger-diameter fuselage mated to the nose and cockpit of the ERJ 145. In February 1999, Embraer announced it had abandoned the derivative approach in favour of an all-new design.
The E-jet family was formally launched at the Paris Air Show on 14th June 1999 as ERJ-170 and ERJ-190, designations later changed to EMBRAER 170 and EMBRAER 190. Launch customers for the aircraft were the French airline Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne with ten orders and five options for the E170; and the Swiss airline Crossair with an order for 30 E170s and 30 E190s. Production of parts to build the prototype and test airframes began in July 2000. The first prototype (PP-XJE) rolled out on October 29th, 2001 at São José dos Campos, Brazil. Its first flight occurred on February 19th, 2002, marking the beginning of a multi-year flight test campaign. Full production began in 2002, at a new factory built by Embraer at its São José dos Campos base. After several delays in the certification process, the E170 received type certification from the aviation authorities of Brazil, Europe and the United States in February 2004.
E-Jets Second Generation
In November 2011, Embraer announced that it would develop revamped versions of the E-Jets family with improved engines, rather than an all-new aircraft. The new variants are to be powered by new more efficient engines with larger diameter fans, and include slightly taller landing gear, and possibly a new aluminum or carbon fiber-based wing. The new E-Jet variants are to be better-positioned to compete with the Bombardier CSeries. The new variants are to enter service in 2018.
GE, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce were possible engine suppliers for Embraer E-Jet family. However, there is Aviadvigatel as a possible Russian option . Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofan engine was selected in January 2013 for the new E-Jets versions. The Honeywell Primus Epic 2 was selected as the avionics package.
In February 2012, Embraer announced it was studying the development of a new variant with 130 seating capacity. The study was expected to be completed by the end of 2012.
Operational history
The first E170s were delivered in the second week of March 2004 to LOT Polish Airlines, followed by US Airways subsidiary MidAtlantic Airways and Alitalia (launch customer Crossair had in the meantime ceased to exist after its takeover of Swissair; and fellow launch customer Régional Compagnie Aérienne deferred its order, not receiving its first E-jet—an E190LR—until 2006.) LOT operated the first commercial flight of an E-jet on 17 March 2004, from Warsaw to Vienna. The largest single order for any type of E-Jets has come from JetBlue, which ordered 100 Embraer 190s in 2003 and took its first delivery in 2005.
The 400th E-jet was delivered in 2008, to Republic Airlines in the U.S. On 6 November of that year, JetBlue set the record for the longest flight of the E-190 family when one of its aircraft made a non-stop flight from Anchorage, Alaska (Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport) to Buffalo, New York (Buffalo Niagara International Airport), a total of 2,694 nmi (4,989 km). This was an empty aircraft on a non-revenue flight. The aircraft eventually returned to JFK after a two-month-long charter service with Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. In September 2009, the 600th E-jet built was delivered to LOT Polish Airlines. Kenya Airways received its 12th Ejet from Embraer which was also the 900th Ejet ever produced on October 10, 2012.
On 13 September 2013, a ceremony was held at the Embraer factory in São José dos Campos to mark the delivery of the 1,000th E-jet family aircraft, an E175, to Republic Airlines. The E175 was delivered in an American Eagle colour scheme with a special "1,000th E-Jet" decal above the cabin windows.
E170 and E175
The E170/E175 models in the 80-seat range are the smaller in the EJet family. They are powered with General Electric CF34-8E engines of 14,200 pounds (62.28 kN) thrust each. The E170 and E175 directly compete with the Bombardier CRJ-700 and Bombardier CRJ-900, respectively, and loosely compete with the turboprop Bombardier Q400. They also seek to replace the market segment occupied by earlier competing designs such as the BAe 146 and Fokker 70.
The Embraer 170 was the first version produced. The prototype 170-001, registration PP-XJE, was rolled out on 29 October 2001, with first flight 119 days later on 19 February 2002. The aircraft was displayed to the public in May 2002 at the Regional Airline Association convention. After a positive response from the airline community, Embraer launched the E175. First flight of the stretched E175 was on June 2003. The launch U.S. customer for the E170 was US Airways, after FAA certification, the aircraft entered into revenue service on April 4, 2004 operated by the MidAtlantic division of US Airways, Inc. The first E175 was delivered to Air Canada and entered service in July 2005. The 170-001 prototype performed its last flight on April 11, 2012. Its destiny was disassembly in the US for spare parts.
E190 and E195
The E190/195 models are a larger stretch of the E170/175 models fitted with a new, larger wing, a larger horizontal stabilizer and a new engine, the GE CF34-10E, rated at 18,500 lb (82.30 kN). These aircraft compete with the Bombardier CRJ-1000 and CS100, the Boeing 717-200 and 737-600, and the Airbus A318. It can carry up to 100 passengers in a two-class configuration or up to 124 in single-class high density configuration.
The first flight of the E190 was on March 12, 2004 (PP-XMA), with the first flight of the E195 (PP-XMJ) on December 7 of the same year. The launch customer of the E190 was New York-based low-cost carrier JetBlue with 100 orders options in 2003 and took its first delivery in 2005. British low-cost carrier Flybe was the first operator of the E195, had 14 orders and 12 options, and started E195 operations on 22 September 2006.
Air Canada operates 45 E190 aircraft fitted with 9 business-class and 88 economy-class seats as part of its primary fleet. JetBlue and American Airlines also operate the E190 as part of their own fleet.
Embraer Lineage 1000
On 2 May 2006, Embraer announced plans for the business jet variant of the E190, type name ERJ190-100 ECJ. It has the same structure as the E190, but with an extended range of up to 4,200 nmi, and luxury seating for up to 19. It was certified by the USA Federal Aviation Administration on 7 January 2009. The first two production aircraft were delivered in December 2008.
E195X
Embraer considered producing an aircraft which was known as the E195X, a stretched version of the E195. It would have seated approximately 130 passengers. The E195X was apparently a response to an American Airlines request for an aircraft to replace its McDonnell Douglas MD-80s. Embraer abandoned plans for the 195X in May 2010, following concerns that its range would be too short.
Operators
As of December 2015, the Embraer fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Orders and deliveries
List of Embraer's E-Jet family deliveries and orders:
Source: Embraer's order book on December 31, 2016.
Accidents and incidents
Specifications
Sources: Embraer Ejet