Royal Air Maroc's aircraft will join a fleet of approximately 70 E-Jets already in operation within Africa and the Middle East with Egyptair Express, Kenya Airways, LAM Mozambique, Oman Air, Petro Air, Royal Jordanian, Royal Omani Police, Saudi Arabia Airlines, and Saudi Aramco.
FARNBOROUGH, UK – Royal Air Maroc, the national carrier of Morocco, has decided to introduce the E190 as part of a fleet upgrade to open new routes and to increase the number of short and medium-haul frequencies from its Casablanca International Airport hub in Morocco. The airline has signed a lease agreement for four E-Jets with Aldus Aviation, the Irish specialist E-Jet lessor. The first E190 is expected to be delivered during the second semester of 2014.
Royal Air Maroc’s E190s will be configured with 96 seats, 12 business class seats and 84 economy class seats, in a dual class layout and will be deployed on European and West African routes from the national carrier’s base of Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco.
“Morocco’s geographical strategic position offers excellent potential for developing air links with Europe and Africa. With the E190, Royal Air Maroc will have the capability and flexibility to further develop its network with an ideal combination of frequency and seat capacity,” said John Slattery, Chief Commercial Officer, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “We welcome Royal Air Maroc to our family of E190 operators, all of whom have seen the potential of this proven and efficient platform to bolster their networks and complement their narrowbody jet operations.”
Royal Air Maroc’s aircraft will join a fleet of approximately 70 E-Jets already in operation within Africa and the Middle East with Egyptair Express, Kenya Airways, LAM Mozambique, Oman Air, Petro Air, Royal Jordanian, Royal Omani Police, Saudi Arabia Airlines, and Saudi Aramco.
“While testing the aircraft on wet lease during the summer 2013 we became convinced that the E190’s reliability and low operating costs will help Royal Air Maroc open new routes and increase frequencies to Europe and African cities,” said Mr. Driss Benhima, CEO of Royal Air Maroc. “The aircraft perfectly matches our needs in terms of size and range without any compromise on comfort or baggage capacity.”
“We are delighted to welcome Royal Air Maroc as a new client,” said Mr. Phil Bolger, Chairman of Aldus. “These are four aircraft from our 20 E-Jets order and we’re looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with this flagship African carrier.”
Fuji Dream Airlines to add up to six E175 jets to its all-Embraer fleet
Embraer S.A. has also signed an agreement with Japan’s Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA) for a firm order of three E175s with options for an additional three aircraft of the same model. This brings the total potential order to six E175s, with an estimated value of USD 258.6 million based on 2014 list prices, if all options are exercised. This order was already included in Embraer’s 2014 second quarter backlog as an “undisclosed” customer. The announcement was made today at the 2014 edition of the Farnborough International Airshow. Three E170s and five E175s are currently in operation with Fuji Dream Airlines.
“Embraer’s E-Jets tick all the right boxes that have been crucial to the success of Fuji Dream Airlines – efficiency, performance, exceptional economics and solid customer support that is second to none,” said Yohei Suzuki, the CEO and Chairman of Fuji Dream Airlines. “These technologically-advanced jets have proven themselves over the years and we are confident of its capability to help us profitably expand our network and enhance our frequency. The additions to our fleet will provide our customers greater flexibility and choices, as well as the superior comfort they have enjoyed on the E-Jets.”
The newly-ordered E175s will be configured in a single-class layout with 84 seats and will be equipped with the Autoland system to perform CAT III approach and landing in limited visual conditions. The new E175s will also feature recent aerodynamic enhancements introduced by Embraer, such as a new wingtip and other technical improvements that reduce fuel burn.
“The order for these E-Jets follows FDA’s prudent philosophy of managing capacity as the airline adds new cities and frequencies,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “With the technical improvements we have made to the E175s, FDA will realize new economic benefits that will help it continue to grow in Japan’s highly competitive domestic market.”
In addition to these orders, FDA and Embraer have also signed an extension of the Pool Program to cover its fleet of E170s and E175s, including these new orders. The program covers the advance exchange and repair management for more than 300 important parts of the aircraft.
Created in 2007, FDA started operations with two E170s. Over the last five years, its all-Embraer fleet has quadrupled. FDA’s fleet is instantly recognizable by its brightly coloured aircraft, some of which are painted green, pink, yellow and purple.
With aircraft based in Nagoya and Shizuoka, FDA links twelve secondary cities in Japan where demand is growing, such as Fukuoka, Sapporo and Hanamaki. Operating almost 50 flights each day, the airline has carried over 2.4 million passengers to date. FDA is part of the Suzuyo Group, which owns a full-flight simulator to provide pilot and fleet engineering training for its staff.
Embraer: Brazil’s Azul signs LOI for up to 50 E195-E2 jets
Embraer S.A. announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras S.A. for 30 firm orders for the E195-E2 jets. The firm order is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year, when the aircraft will be added to the Company’s backlog.
Besides the firm order, the LOI includes additional 20 purchase rights for the same model, bringing the total potential order to up to 50 E195-E2 jets. The contract for the E-Jets E2 has an estimated value of USD 3.1 billion, at list prices, if all purchase rights are converted to firm orders. As the first airline to order the E195-E2, Azul becomes the launch operator for this aircraft.
“With the E-Jets family as the backbone of it’s fleet, Azul has brought affordable air travel to an entirely new segment of the population in Brazil,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “With this order today, all of us at Embraer are proud to know that the Brazilian market will continue to be served long into the future with our latest products. We thank Azul for their commitment and partnership which has culminated in this very important milestone that we celebrate today.”
Currently, the Brazilian airline has a total of 82 E-Jets in service and another 11 on order. It operates the largest fleet of E195s in the world.
“Our partnership with Embraer has been fundamental to Azul’s success from the very beginning. Since 2008 the E-Jets have enabled Azul’s exponential growth, resulting in the creation of an entirely new market for domestic air travel. In addition, by selecting airplanes designed and developed in our home country, Azul significantly contributes to thousands of highly skilled jobs in Brazil”, says David Neeleman, CEO. “The E2 will be the most advanced model in its category, allowing us to reduce operating costs, further increase capacity and deliver an even higher level of service to our customers”.
The first delivery of an E-Jets E2 (the E190-E2) is planned for the first semester of 2018. The E195-E2 is slated to enter service in 2019 and the E175-E2 in 2020. The E-Jets E2 program reinforces Embraer’s commitment to continuously invest in the company’s line of commercial jets and to maintain leadership in the 70 to 130-seat aircraft segment. Embraer’s E-Jets E2s have state-of-the-art geared turbofan engines. Combined with new aerodynamically-advanced wings, full fly-by-wire flight controls and improvements to other systems, the E2s will deliver significant reductions in fuel burn, maintenance costs, emissions and external noise.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
