Embraer delivered the first EMBRAER 190 jet to China’s CDB Leasing Co., Ltd. (CLC), today, at the Company’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The aircraft will be operated by China Southern Air Holding Xinjiang Company, a branch of China Southern Airlines, which is the largest airline in China and the third in the world, in terms of traffic volume. As announced earlier this year, CLC has ordered a total of 30 EMBRAER 190s, including 20 firm orders and ten options, all of which for China Southern Airlines.

The aircraft will fly in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Xinjiang’s civil aviation industry has made significant progress in recent years and is now one of China’s most developed regions, in terms of regional route networks. As the Chinese Central Government furthers economic development in western China, the rapid development of the Xinjiang regional economy requires its air transport industry to enter a new phase. Based on the current plan, another six EMBRAER190s will be delivered by the end of this year, all of which will be put into service in this region. These aircraft will assist the operator to build a hub and spoke network with convenient, high-frequency schedules, which will help accelerate the establishment of Xinjiang’s Urumqi as a hub airport in western China.

“This deal with CLC starts an important partnership for Embraer, and will help to further expand our E-Jets fleet in the region. We are also delighted to welcome China Southern Airlines as a new E-Jets operator,” said Paulo César de Souza e Silva, Embraer President, Commercial Aviation. “The EMBRAER 190 has achieved worldwide success with outstanding economics, performance and comfort. We are fully confident that the aircraft will be an essential tool for China Southern Airlines’ market expansion.”

“We are very glad to take delivery of our first EMBRAER 190. The introduction of these aircraft will further consolidate our company’s partnership with Embraer and China Southern Airlines. The jet’s reliable performance has been proven by worldwide operators. We believe that the EMBRAER 190 will contribute to the market development of China Southern Airlines and the development of China’s regional aviation,” said Yu Shunming, President of CDB Leasing.

The initiative to introduce the EMBRAER 190 not only demonstrates China Southern Airlines’ response to the State’s call to assist Xinjiang in facilitating its civil aviation and economic development, but also raises the company’s profile by reinforcing its presence in northwestern China. The aircraft’s range capability meets the needs for developing air transport in Xinjiang, a region with unique geographical characteristics. It is an ideal tool to help operators expand the air transport network and increase the market share in neighboring countries.

The EMBRAER 190 went into operation in the Chinese market in 2008. Today, around 40 of these jets are in service in the country. The aircraft is not in the same league as conventional regional jets, since it has a wider range of markets and business model applications. Its range (4,450 kilometers or 2,400 nautical miles) gives the airplane tremendous versatility to operate on city pairs with over 5.5 hours of nonstop flight time. The airlines can use the jet in parallel with larger mainline aircraft to manage changes in seasonal and time-of-day passenger demand to optimize its fleet capacity, to right size fleets, to develop new routes with lower risk or to replace older aircraft. As the third of four members of Embraer’s E-Jets family, the EMBRAER 190 can seat up to 114 passengers in a passenger-friendly, four-abreast (2×2) layout. The E-Jets family has registered over 1,000 firm orders from 60 airlines in 40 countries, with more than 750 aircraft in operation, worldwide.

Embraer press release