Brazilian airframer Embraer has again paused its E175-E2 programme after acknowledging on several occasions that development of the next-generation regional jet has been effectively shelved.
Embraer on 25 February disclosed to shareholders that its board of directors had approved “an additional four-year pause” in the jet’s development programme.
Though the E175 is one of Embraer’s best-selling commercial aircraft, the E175-E2’s pathway to market has long been hindered by the scope-clause limits in the US regional market and maximum take-off weight for 76-seat aircraft, imposed by the pilots’ unions of major US carriers.
The decision to push back the aircaft’s timeline for service-entry is the latest in a series of delays. Embraer in February 2022 announced a three-year pause and said the regional jet would not reach the market until 2027. In addition to the scope clause, Embraer cited the E175’s continued popularity among global regional carriers for the programme’s lack of momentum.
Embraer says that it intends to re-start development of the E175-E2 following the four-year period that will end in February 2029, “which will result in a re-programming of the aircraft’s entry into service”.
In June, Embraer executives called the E Jet family the most successful narrowbody programme ever behind the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, boasting more than 2,200 orders. The twinjets are in service in 90 countries.
While Embraer had seen E170 and E175 sales lag in the USA due to the pilot shortage affecting regional carriers, demand was boosted by American Airlines’ massive order for 90 E175s and options for a further 43 of the type.
“We see more and more customers looking to complement the larger narrowbodies,” said Rodrigo Silva e Souza, Embraer’s vice-president of marketing. “We’ve never seen such a strong demand for this size aircraft as we are seeing today.”
Francisco Gomes-Neto, Embraer’s chief executive, said at the same media event in Sao Paulo that the E175-E2 project would remain indefinitely paused until the airframer sees signs of potential changes to scope clause limits.
