The Embraer E190-E2 jet with a shark livery completed its five-month global demonstration tour. With a kickoff at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK, in July of this year, the E190-E2 jet tour visited 39 countries, presenting the airplane to 120 airlines in 68 cities. The E190-E2 jet traveled more than 125,000 nautical miles (231,000 km), the equivalent of nearly six laps around the Earth, in more than 350 hours of demonstration flights.
In addition to its Farnborough debut, the jet was on display at the 12th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, in Zhuhai, and at the ALTA Leaders Forum, in Panama, having visited airlines in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China and Asia Pacific.
During the tour, the E190-E2 landed at airports with several operational challenges, such as short runways, as in London City, and high altitudes, as in Tibet and Nepal. In addition, the aircraft visited remote places of the planet, such as Kiribati, in Oceania.
“The main objective was to demonstrate to airlines the features that make the E190-E2 a unique airplane in its category,” said Rodrigo Silva e Souza, Marketing VP, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “The tour has given the airlines a firsthand look at what the E190-E2 can offer in terms of operational performance, while keeping the same amount of space in the passenger cabin that made the first generation of E-Jets so popular. It is also important to highlight that the tour was uninterrupted, with a flawless operation and a 100% schedule reliability.”
The E190-E2 is the first of three new E-Jets E2s that Embraer is developing to succeed its first-generation E-Jets. Compared to the first-generation E190, the E190-E2 burns 17.3% less fuel and nearly 10% less than its direct competitor. This makes it the most efficient single-aisle aircraft on the market. The E190-E2 brings more flexibility with maximum range of up to 3,293 miles (5,300 km), about 621 miles (1,000 km) more than the first-generation E190.
The E190-E2 also generates significant savings for airlines in terms of maintenance costs, with a reduction of up to 25%. It has the longest maintenance intervals with 10,000 flight hours for basic checks and no calendar limit in typical E-Jets utilization. This means an additional 15 days of aircraft utilization over a period of ten years.
Pilots of the first-generation E-Jets require only two-and-a-half days of training without the need for a full flight simulator in order to fly the E2, which decreases the training burden and saves both time and money for the airlines. The E2 cockpit features advanced Honeywell Primus Epic 2 integrated avionics. Combined with the closed-loop fly-by-wire controls, the systems work together to improve aircraft performance, decrease pilot workload and enhance flight safety.
From the passenger’s perspective, the E2 cabin features a comfortable two-by-two layout. The absence of a middle seat enables passengers to have an enjoyable flight experience with more legroom and additional luggage storage space.
