In absolute figures, the Airbus A220 family accumulated more than twice as many orders as Embraer’s E2 jets in 2021. There were 64 orders in total, 50 for the A220-300 variant and 14 for the smaller A220-100 – the Brazilian company would have closed only one sale, to Porter Airlines, with 30 aircraft – the disclosure of the 4th quarter results has not yet taken place.
However, Embraer would not have canceled orders while Airbus lost 26 planes ordered last year. As a result, net orders were 38 aircraft, 27% more than the E2.
Airbus announced more deals than Embraer in this regard. David Neeleman’s Breeze Airways expanded its order by 20 A220-300s while Air Lease Corporation closed a purchase of 25 of the same model.
The newcomer ITA Airways includes seven A220-100s in its first order with the European manufacturer. Finally, the Nigerian Ibom Air ordered 10 aircraft, seven for the A220-100 and three for the A220-300.
Big order
The order for 30 E195-E2 jets by Porter Airlines, a Canadian regional airline, was quite significant as it dropped an old letter of intent when the A220 was Bombardier’s CSeries.
Despite this, the scenario was worrying for Embraer last year, which still got more commercial jet orders thanks to the first-generation E175, an aircraft that continues to have consistent demand in the US.
In terms of backlog, Airbus is well ahead. There are 668 firm orders for the A220 against 205 for the E2. In addition, the former CSeries jet family started 2022 with an order from lessor Azorra and is expected to confirm an order from Qantas this year.
While Airbus and Boeing have already released their figures for last year, Embraer will only reveal the final balance for 2021 on March 24. Only then will it be known if there has been any evolution in the order backlog that has not yet been disclosed.
Deliveries of E2 jets, on the other hand, would have been much more modest than in 2020. According to Planespotters records, only four E195-E2s were delivered in the last quarter, three for KLM Cityhopper and one for Air Peace. Airbus delivered 16 A220 jets in the same period of time.
Although praised for their comfort and efficiency, the E2 family aircraft have not been able to transform these virtues into new business for Embraer.
The E195-E2 model flies on six airlines in addition to having orders from three leasing companies and Porter. The E190-E2 is operated by four companies, while one is yet to receive the first jet (Congo Air), not to mention a small order from Air Castle lessor.
There is also the E175-E2, an aircraft that fits into a niche with virtually no competitors (besides the E175), but which still has no customers because it does not fit the scope clause of the US regionals.
