Ethiopian Airlines was close to choosing a new regional jet between the Embraer E2 and Airbus A220 models, but ended up postponing a decision in view of persistent problems with the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.
The turbofan equips both aircraft and is very efficient, however, it suffers from reliability problems. The manufacturer has recalled the units produced, however, the large number of affected engines has forced some airlines to keep their aircraft grounded for long periods.
The engine uses gears to offer lower fuel consumption and is present not only in all A220 and E2 models but also in part of the A320neo family.
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The A320neo and A321neo are the ones that require the most inspections and corrections, but the accumulated work also ends up affecting the regional types.
Order for about 20 jets
For a long time, Ethiopian has been evaluating regional jets for its fleet with the aim of replacing part of its Dash 8 turboprops, of which it operates 30 aircraft.
In an interview with Aviation Week, the carrier’s CEO, Mesfin Tasew Bekele, said that Ethiopian will wait for the problems to be resolved before announcing an order.
According to him, the agreement will be in the ‘double digits’, with about 10 firm orders and 10 purchase options.
Although he did not reveal a specific variant, Bekele suggests that the models would be the A220-100 or the E190-E2, whose capacity is around 110 to 130 seats.
Ethiopian is a customer mainly of Boeing aircraft, with the exception of the widebody A350 and the Dash 8 turboprops, which are no longer manufactured.
