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Embraer 195 enters service
By Patrick Hoeveler
The team is complete: with delivery of the first Embraer 195 to Flybe on 1 September in São José dos Campos, all four members of the E-Jet family are now in service. The E-195, which is 2.41m longer than the Embraer 190, took off on its maiden flight on 7 December 2004 and received Brazilian certification on 30 June 2006. With their biggest aircraft to date, the Brazilians are extending their product line upwards. The 195 can carry up to 122 passengers. Flybe, which describes itself as a “regional low-cost airline”, will operate the type in a single class configurations for 118 passengers.
As if to test it out, the handover ceremony was attended by 118 football players to symbolise the “good team” of Flybe and Embraer. The CEO and Chairman of the British airline, Jim French, views his new aircraft as the perfect team player: “The Embraer 195 will blend perfectly with our Q400 turboprops. The combination is ideal for our business model.” This business model has in fact been completely revamped, the airline having transformed itself from the traditional regional carrier, British European Airways, to the low-fare airline Flybe in 2002. To reduce costs, the BAe 146-200's and 146-300's which have previously flown alongside the Bombardier Q400 are to be retired by 2008.
This is where the Embraer 195 comes in, as French explains. “It is the right size and offers lower risk than a 150- to 180-seater which can only be filled by offering seats at ridiculous prices.” Flybe has ordered 14 aircraft, which will be operated through equipment (GECAS) and financial leasing. They are to be delivered at the rate of one every two months. The first E-195 will be based in Birmingham and, together with the next two jets, will initially replace three leased Boeing 737-300's.
What tipped the scales in Embraer's favour was above all the operating costs of its new jet which, according to Flybe Chief Operating Officer Andrew Strong, were 25% lower than those of the BAe 146. The fuel bill for the E-195 is 20 percent lower, although, due to its greater take-off weight compared with the BAe 146, its landing charges will be somewhat higher. Passenger utilisation of 65 percent is all that is required for the airline to break even. Altogether the Embraers will fly for between 8 and 10 hours per day.
Moreover, initial experience from scheduled operations with the somewhat smaller E-190 suggests that fuel consumption could actually be 3 percent lower than predicted. According to the manufacturer, the same will apply to the 195, resulting in total savings per aircraft flying 3,000 flying hours a year for 20 years of one million dollars, assuming a constant kerosene price of $2 per gallon.
Bob Horton, Flybe General Manager Jets, is full of praise for the 195. “The fly-by-wire flight controls and the automated systems offer many advantages and reduce workload. On the BAe 146 the pilot has to do everything himself. Flying the Embraer 195 on the other hand is a lot more relaxing even though the pilot always knows exactly what is going on. Situation awareness is excellent, as is the ergonomics. This is a major improvement for air safety, especially in densely packed airspace.” Moreover, the Flybe aircraft are to be equipped with a simple head-up guidance system. This visual system comes into its own when visual conditions are poor.
“Conversion training from the BAe 146 is quite straightforward,” says Horton. In the case of Flybe, this will be provided by Swiss Aviation Training in Zurich and will comprise three weeks theory and two weeks simulated training. “All in all, the 195 flies like a heavy aircraft. Its handling is comparable to the BAe 146.”
Quite apart from flying operations, the British airline has additional plans for the jet. Its own engineering department at company headquarters in Exeter is already an official maintenance centre for the Q400 and BAe 146. It was recently also approved for work on the ERJ-145 family, adding another string to its bow in the form of third-party orders. The E-jets are to follow next year.
On the other hand, Embraer's expansion activities will concentrate on business jets. There are no plans at present for a stretched version of the 195, which might compete with a possible Bombardier's C series. According to Antonio Campelo, E-Jets programme manager, a stretch would be technically possible, but it is a matter of whether there is a convincing business case. “We don't feel strong enough to compete with Airbus and Boeing.”
The present Embraer 195 is not actually so far removed from the smallest jets of the “big two”: the A318 carries 107 to 136 passengers, while the Boeing 737-600 can carry between 110 and 132 passengers. The E-195 is of course less heavy: it weighs about ten tonnes less than the A318 and is eight tonnes lighter than the 737-600. One thing all three types have in common is that none of them is as yet exactly a big seller. With an order backlog of over 250 units, including the latest major order for 50 planes from China, the Embraer E-190 is the most in demand. In view of this, perhaps Boeing will consider developing an aircraft with 90 to 100 seats when it comes to a 737 successor. The industry giant would then be poaching on the territory of the Brazilians. But experience suggests that supposedly small opponents often prove to be the trickiest.
From FLUG REVUE 11/2006
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