Brazilian Airline Increases Firm Orders To 41 Aircraft

Embraer has signed an additional contract with Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras for the sale of five more Embraer 195 jets. The total value of the deal, at list price, is $211 million, under January 2010 economic conditions. This order is already included in Embraer's firm order backlog for the second quarter of 2010 as "Undisclosed customer". The five Embraer 195 jets will be delivered yet this year, and by December, Azul will have 26 E-Jets in its exclusively Embraer fleet.

Embraer 195 File Photo

After adding in the 36 aircraft ordered in March 2008 (five Embraer 190s and 31 Embraer 195s), Azul now has a total of 41 firm orders for Embraer jets, as well as options for another 20 aircraft and purchase rights for 20 more.

Azul took delivery of its first Embraer aircraft in December 2008. It began operations a few days later, out of Viracopos Airport (VCP), in the city of Campinas, outstate Sao Paulo, to Porto Alegre and Salvador. The airline currently serves 21 cities in Brazil and continues to expand the number of destinations. It has carried more than three million passengers in about a year and a half of operation. Investments also include the acquisition of a flight simulator that is already in use to train the company's pilots.

The new Embraer 195 jets for Azul will be configured identically to those that were previously ordered, accommodating 118 passengers in a single class. With a range of 2,300 nautical miles, the jet is able to fly nonstop on any route between Brazilian capital cities, for more flexible operations and lower costs.

FMI: www.embraer.com