E190 Reliability "A Few Points Less" Than A320 Fleet

JetBlue's recent introduction of the Embraer 190 airliner to its fleet hasn't been without a few problems, airline CEO David Neelman told analysts at a conference last week.

"We have had some operational issues with the airplane," Neelman said, according to Reuters, adding the plane's introduction "certainly hasn't been up to what we thought we could do."

There are several factors that are causing the trouble. JetBlue crews -- long used to working on the airline's fleet of Airbus A320s -- are still coming up to speed on the quirks of the Embraer jet, for one.

Neelman also stated Embraer has been delivering the planes about two weeks behind schedule. While that still meets the terms of JetBlue's contract with the Brazilian manufacturer, it isn't fast enough to meet what Neelman called the "aggressive" schedule the airline set for putting the E-Jets into service.

"We're playing a little bit of catch-up right now," Neelman added, stating the need to get the E190 certified for low-visibility flying had also slowed progress on more widespread use of the 100-seat airliner.

Currently, JetBlue only flies the E190 on routes between JFK International and Boston -- although the airline hopes to add Austin, TX and Richmond, VA to the mix early this year.

The snags encountered with the E190 coincide with the carrier's ongoing problems with late flights. JetBlue reported a 63.6 percent on-time arrival performance for December, according to figures cited by Reuters.

That's not all the E190's fault, though. Neelman also blamed the problems partly on construction near JetBlue's hub at JFK International Airport.

The E190 has reliability rate "a few percentage points less" than JetBlue's A320s in terms of glitches which delayed flights, according to Neelman.

As was reported by Aero-News, JetBlue is the launch customer for the E190, and is currently the only airline in the world operating the E190. Air Canada and Panama's Copa Airlines are also expected to begin flying the E190 shortly.

FMI: www.jetblue.com, www.embraer.com