During the Embraer press conference marking the delivery of the first E195-E2 to Azul Linhas Aereas, airline chairman and founder David Neeleman revealed a very curious information. Partner of several other companies, Neeleman is preparing the debut of a new low-cost airline in the U.S., provisionally called “Moxy”.
In 2018, the businessman announced the order of 60 Airbus A220-300 jets that will be the basis of the new company, but will not be delivered until 2021. But Neeleman wants to debut next year and for that he is studying using the E195-E1 that Azul will take out of service in the coming months.
According to him, about 30 aircraft could be sent to the U.S. to create a sufficient air network until the A220 is delivered. But for that, Neeleman still needs to get the FAA´s Air Operator Certificate.
Moxy has been described by the executive as an air transport start-up. In the new airline, passengers will be able to customize their onboard experience by defining seat size, meals, connectivity and price thanks to the adoption of a unique technology.
Although considered a low-cost, Neeleman says it will “not be austere”, but its customers will hardly have contact with employees of the company that is betting on large-scale automation to reduce costs to a level never seen before.
The question remains whether the first-generation E195, which uses much more fuel than the A220 and the new E195-E2, will be able to close this equation by 2020.
