Air France Subsidiary Has Firm Orders For 20 Planes

Embraer and Regional, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air France, recently signed a contract for two additional Embraer 170 jets, confirming options originally placed in August 2007.

The value of the transaction, at list price, comes to $63 million. Both aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2009. This deal is already included in Embraer's 2008 first quarter firm order backlog as "undisclosed".

"This is great news for Embraer and a ringing endorsement of the E-Jets by the Air France/KLM Group," said Mauro Kern, Embraer Executive Vice President, Airline Market. "It is especially gratifying to see our largest customer in Europe, once again, place its trust in the E-Jets family, as it further expands its network."

The two new Embraer 170s, configured in a 76-seat single class layout, will join the seven Embraer 170s that Regional has on firm order, the first of which will be delivered this year. The company already operates six Embraer 190s and has another five aircraft on firm order.

Currently, Regional operates a fleet of 48 Embraer aircraft (six Embraer 190s, 28 ERJ 145s, nine ERJ 135s and five EMB 120 Brasilia), making it the manufacturer's largest customer in Europe.

"We are eager to receive our first Embraer 170, this year," said Jean-Yves Grosse, Regional/Air France President and CEO. "The operation of the Embraer 170 and the Embraer 190 in the same fleet will give us more flexibility, enabling us to right-size aircraft to meet route demand and ensure that we offer our passengers optimum comfort."

FMI: www.embraer.com, www.regional.com/english.html