JetBlue Airways has received the most publicity about new Embraer 190 services, primarily because of its admittedly overambitious and ultimately unsuccessful plan to begin operating the brand-new aircraft 14 hours a day immediately, writes Carole Shifrin.
Two other carriers also have been integrating new 190s into their fleets, with just the usual glitches but no major problems, sources say.
JetBlue, the 190 launch customer, has scaled back planned 190 flying by 30% to insure “integrity of the schedule”, JetBlue’s chief executive David Neeleman told last month’s JP Morgan Airline Conference. The carrier also received certification of the 190’s head-up display guidance system that will aid low-visibility operations.
JetBlue remains convinced the single-class 100-seater will live up to expectations, and maybe exceed them. So far, Neeleman says, the 190’s “fuel burn per block hour is coming in lower than projected” and “RASM performance is better than projected in virtually every market we’re flying in.”
The 190s have been used to start new JetBlue routes linking airports previously unserved or served only by small regional jets or turboprops, such as Boston-Austin, Boston-New York JFK, Austin-New York JFK, Boston-Nassau and Boston-Washington Dulles. The 190 also supplements Airbus A320s on routes from New York and Boston.
Neeleman says JetBlue is seeing more connections on its system, with about 30% of travellers between New York and Boston connecting to other places the carrier flies. In the near future, JetBlue will begin new 190 services between JFK and Bermuda and Richmond, Virginia, and from Boston to Richmond.
Air Canada flies 190s to USA
Air Canada, which operates the 190 with nine seats in “executive class” and 84 in “hospitality class”, had six in service as of 27 February. It put the first of 15 on order into service in December on a new route between Ottawa and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It plans to use 190s primarily in key Canada-USA transborder markets, and already placed it on routes from Toronto to Boston, Newark, New York LaGuardia and Chicago, and Ottawa to Orlando, supplementing other aircraft services.
The aircraft also is flying routes from Toronto to Kelowna, British Columbia, and St Johns, Newfoundland.
In mid-February, Air Canada put the 190 on a new route between Calgary and New York JFK, and also began nonstop 190 service between Montreal and Edmonton, previously served with one-stop service using Airbus A320-family aircraft.
Air Canada has firm orders for 45 190s, and plans to use them to begin new routes, to add frequencies on existing routes, and to introduce two-class service on routes previously served with one-class aircraft. The 190s, along with 15 two-class 175s in service, are equipped with in-seat audio and video on demand and in-seat power within reach of every passenger, features that will be incorporated in all Air Canada’s aircraft under a refurbishment beginning this spring.
Copa begins network expansion
Copa Airlines has begun using 190s on routes it previously operated with Boeing 737s: from its Panama City “hub of the Americas” to Managua, Nicaragua; San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Barranquilla, Colombia; and also from Managua to Guatemala City, Guatemala. It also started new service from Panama City to San Andres Island, Colombia.
In coming months, Copa will use 190s to begin service to three new destinations as part of its planned regional expansion. In June, 190s configured to seat 10 in business class and 84 in economy will be used for new routes from Panama City to Manaus, Brazil, and Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, and in July, for a new route to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from Panama City.
Jorge Garcia Icaza, Copa’s commercial vice-president, says the three new cities currently have no flights to Panama or connections to the region. Copa chief executive Pedro Heilbron adds that the aircraft is perfectly sized for its new missions. “The Embraer is a major component of our successful strategy of profitably and efficiently connecting the region’s mid-size markets, which are not attractive for point-to-point service,” he says. Overall, Copa has firm orders for 12 190s.
Source: Airline Business
