Summary

  • Embraer launched the E-Jet family in 1997 at the Paris Air Show.
  • The E170's maiden flight took place in 2002 with LOT Polish Airlines as the first commercial operator.
  • Plans for the E2 family in 2011 include new engines, wings, avionics, and a larger E195-E2 variant.

The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of single-aisle jets designed and developed by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. The twin-engine narrowbody jets are designed for short-to-medium, mostly regional operations. With a seating capacity of between 66 and 124 passengers, it was first introduced in 1997 during the Paris Air Show. The prototype E-Jet performed its maiden flight on February 19, 2002. Deliveries of the E-170 jet began in March 2004, with LOT Polish Airlines.

Two larger versions, the E-190 and E-195, were introduced in the same year. Embraer introduced a slightly stretched version of the E170 in June 2005, known as the E-175. Today, Emraer E-Jets are some of the most successful single-aisle jets in the 70-120 seat commercial market, with over 80 airlines using the E-Jets. Embraer's E-Jet family aircraft dominate the North American regional market and are loved for their 2-2 seating and oversized windows.

This article delves deeper into the history and variants of the Embraer E-Jets, and salient characterisitics that made the jet popular among operators and passengers.

Embraer launched the E-Jet family at the 1997 Paris Air Show

Embraer launched its E-Jet family of aircraft at the Paris Air Show in the summer of 1997 with two aircraft: the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190. The planes were later renamed to become the Embraer 170 and Embraer 190. The launch customer for the new aircraft was a subsidiary of Air France called Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne and Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg-based Crossair. Régional, as the French company was popularly called, placed an order for ten E170s with an option for a further five while the Swiss airline asked for 30 E170s and 30 E190s.

Alaska Airlines Embraer E-Jet Landing In San Diego
Photo: Tony Andrews Photography | Shutterstock

Production of the planes began in 2000 with the prototype rolling out of Embraer's São José dos Campos factory on October 29, 2001. The aircraft's first flight took place 119 days later, on February 19, 2002. Given the demand from airlines, Embraer went on to create a stretched version of the E170 called the E175.

In June 2003, it became clear that Embraer was onto a winner when American low-cost airline JetBlue Airways ordered 100 E190s with an option for 100 more. The deal for the all-new 100-seat E190s was worth $3 billion for Embraer, and $6 billion if JetBlue exercised its option.

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1,900 Miles+: The World’s 10 Longest Embraer E190 Flights
This look comes 20 years to the day since the E190's first flight.

LOT Polish Airlines flew the first commercial E-Jet

The E170 finally received certification from all the relevant aviation authorities in 2004 and was first flown commercially between Warsaw and Vienna by LOT Polish Airlines on March 17, 2004. During the process of building and getting certification, the launch customer - Crossair - no longer existed. It now operates under the name Swiss International Air Lines. Fellow launch customer Régional deferred its initial order and did not receive its first E-Jet until 2006.

When looking at the E-Jet family of planes, we can see that they all share parts with the E170 and E175, the two smaller variants. The larger E190 and E195 are stretched versions of the same aircraft with larger wings, more powerful engines, and a larger landing gear structure.

JetBlue (Blueprint Livery) Embraer E-190 N304JB
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

The big thing passengers like about the E-Jets is that they all feature 2-2 seating, which means there is never the chance of having to sit in the middle seat. Another feature passengers enjoy are the large windows, which are more significant than those found in a Boeing 787.

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The Longest Embraer E175 Routes In The US
The E175 is the most popular regional aircraft in the US, scheduled to operate more than 45,000 domestic flights this month.

E-Jets second generation

In 2011, Embraer announced that it planned to upgrade its E-Jets with new, improved engines and new technology to help improve fuel efficiency. Now called the E2 family, the planes would also have new wings and improved avionics to help compete against the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. The new E2 family also features a larger 120 to 146 seat variant called the E195-E2 that could allow Embraer to compete with the Airbus A220.

economy-flight-attendant-726-retouched
Photo: Embraer

According to Embraer,

"E-Jets revolutionized regional air travel, and today, accelerate business opportunity for many airline operators. Currently, over 700 E-Jets are in service, setting the benchmark in performance, efficiency and economics."

As for the future of the E-Jet program, Embraer has to compete with its biggest rival airplane, the Airbus A220. Formerly a Bombardier's CSeries family aircraft, Airbus markets the A220 jets as ultra-fuel-efficient and highly reliable for regional markets.

After Boeing walked away from a potential deal to acquire the Brazilian manufacturer, Embraer may find the current regional aircraft market tough to compete with. However, the manufacturer has plenty of loyal customers (commercial airlines and private operators) that will keep the E-Jets going.

What are your thoughts on the Embraer E-Jets, their history, and success? Have you recently flown on an E-Jet? Share your experience in the comments section.