Grand China Express Is Mainland Launch Customer

In a ceremony held last Tuesday at Embraer headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil, the planemaker delivered the first E-190 jet to China’s Grand China Express. The airline is controlled by the Hainan Airlines Group, and is the launch customer of this E-Jets family model in China.

The aircraft delivered to Grand China Express is configured to comfortably accommodate 106 passengers in a single-class layout. The company also has an additional 49 firm orders for the same aircraft to be delivered over the coming years.

"It is always a pleasure to welcome another airline to join the growing group of more than 30 E-Jets operators," said Mauro Kern, Embraer Executive Vice President, Airline Market. "In this specific case, we’re especially excited because it is our first Embraer 190 delivery in mainland China and we’re entering that market with the right partner – Grand China Express: an ambitious, fast-growing airline based in Tianjin, the third largest Chinese city."

"Grand China Express has been operating eight ERJ 145 jets, since the first delivery in September 2007, which paved the way for further cooperation between the two companies," said Yu Wenyong, President of Grand China Express. "We are very pleased to take delivery of the first Embraer 190, which will fly for the first time in the skies of mainland China. You gave life to the bird; we will make it soar in the unbounded sky."

In October 2007, Grand China Express received the 1000th jet of the ERJ 145 family, manufactured in Harbin, China, by Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry Co. Ltd. (HEAI), a joint venture between Embraer and AVIC II. The Chinese airline has a total of 50 firm orders for the ERJ 145 jet.

FMI: www.Embraer.com, www.hnair.com/hnairweben/