Brazil's Embraer, the world's third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, has just won 10 new orders from Japan Airlines and another 30 from Germany's Lufthansa. The purchases are worth as much as US$ 3.2 billion. The deals were announced at the Paris Air Show.
Embraer has signed a contract with Lufthansa, Europe's second largest air carrier, for 30 firm orders of the Embraer 190 jet, with the option to take any member of the E-Jets family. The contract value of the E-Jets firm orders is over one billion dollars, at list price, based on January 2007 economic conditions and could come to US$ 2.76 billion, if all options and purchase rights are exercised to acquire Embraer 190 jets.
The existing firm orders for 15 Embraer 170 and 15 Embraer 190 jets placed by SWISS have been cancelled.
The first Lufthansa Embraer 190 is scheduled for delivery in January 2009. This reflects the airline's plan to modernize its fleet of regional aircraft.
"Lufthansa is synonymous with excellence in all dimensions – technical, passenger service and financial results. Furthermore, the airline has placed a strong emphasis on the environment and fuel efficiency," said Mauro Kern, Embraer Executive Vice President, Airline Market.
"Thanks to state-of-the-art technologies, a wide passenger cabin and sound economics, the E-Jets family meets Lufthansa's expectations. Today's announcement from such a renowned airline marks a great achievement for Embraer and the E-Jets family."
Lufthansa's Embraer 190 jet will be configured with 100 seats in a dual- class layout with a moveable partition. The aircraft's range of 2,400 nautical miles (4,448 kilometers) enables it to fly from Berlin to any city in the European Union, as well as to several destinations in the Middle East, Northern Africa and Eastern Europe.
The new aircraft will become part of the modern and efficient regional fleet that Lufthansa deploys on its European routes and for feeder flights. Operating an attractive and competitive regional fleet will enable Lufthansa to maintain growth, grasp opportunities and create new perspectives for its employees.
JAL
The Brazilian aircraft maker has also signed with Japan Airlines (JAL) to deliver ten Embraer 170 jets, with options to acquire another five aircraft, as part of the Japanese airline's restructuring plan and rightsizing strategy.
The contract value, if all options are exercised, could come to US$ 435 million, at list price, based on January 2007 economic conditions.
The aircraft will be fitted with a single-class interior and the first delivery is scheduled in 2008. The Embraer 170 E-Jet will fly for J-AIR, a wholly-owned JAL subsidiary, serving the airline's regional network routes throughout Japan.
"The introduction of the Embraer 170 will enable the JAL Group to promote optimal aircraft size, depending on the scale of demand of each domestic route, develop business operations more efficiently, and increase convenience to customers," said Haruka Nishimatsu, JAL Group CEO.
"We are deeply honored by JAL's choice of the Embraer 170. As one of the world's largest and most traditional flag carriers, JAL is a world reference for high quality service and top reliability," said Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer President and CEO. "The airline's well-known emphasis on excellence represents an important endorsement of Embraer's E-Jets in the stringent Asian market."
Certification
The Embraer 170 commercial jet has just been granted steep approach certification by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The Embraer 170 is the first E-Jets family aircraft to achieve this operating capability, which represents the final step towards flying into/out of London City Airport (LCY). The Embraer 190 will be the second E-Jet to incorporate the same functionality, and its certification is on schedule for December 2008.
The steep approach procedure was developed especially for operating at LCY because its instrument landing requires a glide slope of 5.5 degrees, as opposed to the standard 3.0 degrees. The certification was achieved after a successful development campaign that also included dedicated flights into that airport.
"The capability for operating at London City Airport is something that we have promised to the market from the very beginning of the Embraer 170 design," said Mauro Kern, Embraer's Executive Vice President, Airline Market.
"It was a big challenge overcome by our development team. European airlines can now count on an important tool to fly to/from the high yield LCY market."
The Embraer 170 will perform the steep approach using a software solution developed on the existing fly-by-wire system, which means improved flying qualities and control and reduced pilot workload, with less weight and maintenance cost.
The range of the aircraft (over 750 nautical miles, or 1,389 km) covers all current routes operated from LCY and gives more flexibility to airlines to add new destinations in a high yield market.
The operation of the Embraer 170 at LCY has long been awaited by the airport and the airlines, because the jet fleet operating there is almost 15 years old and now has a replacement alternative in a state-of-the-art aircraft that offers reliability, performance, comfort and adequate economics.
