Virgin Australia announced on Tuesday the order of eight Embraer E190-E2 jets as part of the renewal of the Fokker 100 fleet. The first deliveries are scheduled for October 2025.
The aircraft will be based in Perth, in southwestern Australia, and will be operated by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines – VARA.
Jayne Hrdlicka, president of the Virgin Australia Group, stated that the E2s will have a 30% emission reduction compared to the Fokker 100 that the group operates. The new planes will be operated for charter flights.
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“When the first new E190-E2 enters service from October 2025, it will become the first brand new aircraft in the WA charter market this century,” she said.
Former Embraer customer
Embraer’s relationship with Virgin Australia dates back to 2006, when the precursor Virgin Blue ordered three E170s and 11 E190s, with 6 options, with deliveries announced in 2008 (E170) and 2011 (E190).
Virgin Australia is the third new E2 customer so far in 2024. Embraer sold ten E190-E2s and ten E195-E2s to the state-owned Mexicana de Aviación while the Polish LOT leased three E195-E2s from Azorra.
This is also the second time that the new family of regional jets will be registered in the Australian market. There is an E190-E2 registered in the country, the VH-IKJ, in the name of Pionair, but which is mentioned by Embraer as an aircraft delivered to Air Kiribati.
