E-Jets have been helping airlines to replace older, inefficient aircraft, and to develop new markets with lower operating costs, greater efficiency, and outstanding passenger comfort

From its first flight in 2002, E-Jets from the Brazilian stable of Embraer have ruled the skies. Distinctively different, E-Jets have captured the imagination of the airline community, reflected by its impressive sales. As of October 2010, over 680 E-Jets are operational across the world and having accumulated 4.4 million flight hours, Embraer is expected to deliver 1,100 units by 2016. That’s phenomenal.

It indeed is. A lot of thought, hard work and passion have gone into the creation of E-Jets. The fact that Embraer met with 40-odd prospective airlines to find out what they needed in the next-generation 70- to 120-seat airplane family, is indicative of the manufacturer’s intent—of giving what the customer wants. The airlines had sought enhanced passenger comfort.

After enormous research and investment, Embraer came up with the new aircraft aptly named E-Jets as it encompassed a whole lot of striking features and all to do with the alphabet ‘E’—efficiency, economics, ergonomics, engineering, environment and extended range. The very essence of all this was Embraer’s E-philosophy of “embracing the rise of the empowered passenger”. E-Jets has been helping airlines to right size low load factor narrow-body routes, to replace older, inefficient aircraft, and to develop new markets with lower operating costs, greater efficiency, and outstanding passenger comfort.

“Tap the gap” approach

Embraer announced to the world that E-Jets was not a stretched version from smaller planes or shrunken from larger platforms. It was a clean design approach. The Embraer 170/190 family of E-Jets consists of four commercial jets with 70 to 122 seats. The four jets “tap the gap”, as the airline puts it, between larger mainline aircraft and smaller regional jets. The absence of over wing exits gives airlines maximum configuration flexibility.

The E-Jets have a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.82, can fly at 41,000 feet and have ranges of up to 2,400 nautical miles (4,448 km). The high degree of commonality among the four aircraft—Embraer 170; Embraer 175; Embraer 190 and Embraer 195—results in exceptional savings for carriers, in terms of crew training and costs of spare parts and maintenance.