Embraer made an important announcement at the Zhuhai Airshow, China’s largest aerospace event. The Brazilian planemaker revealed that CAAC, the Chinese civil aviation authority, has certified the E190-E2 jet, which is capable of carrying up to 114 passengers.
The milestone comes nearly five years after the E190-E2 was certified in the US and Europe and paves the way for Embraer to regain orders in the Chinese market.
The company also said that the E195-E2, a version for up to 146 passengers and participating in the air show, should be approved in China soon.
“The E190-E2 and E195-E2, seating up to 114 and 146 passengers respectively, offers complementary capacity to China’s indigenous ARJ21 and C919 aircraft. The E2 will not only provide the best in class economics and emission reductions for airlines, but also help to accelerate implementation of China’s Essential Air Service program to connect more secondary and tertiary cities,” said Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation.
With an ambitious program of producing local commercial aircraft, China has extended the approval of Western aircraft. Embraer’s rival, the Airbus A220, for example, has so far not been certified in the country, although it has been in service since 2016.
The authorization to fly in China is an important step for Embraer to expand sales of the E2 family, which is made up of three types, the successful E195-E2, the E190-E2 and the E175-E2, which is currently under development. suspended.
As of September, the E-Jets E2 had 274 firm orders, but only 20 were for the E190-E2. The aircraft still has the difficult task of competing with the ARJ21-700, a 90-seat regional jet produced by state-owned COMAC.
Although it is technically inferior and has not yet reached a high production rate, the ARJ21 has in its favor the huge orders placed by the Chinese government, which have already guaranteed the manufacture of at least 600 aircraft for the country’s airlines.
