Embraer will reveal a cabin mock-up of the first of its new E-Jet E2 family at Farnborough, as it presses ahead with development of its trio of re-engined regional jets.
The four-abreast interior incorporates a number of changes, including larger overhead bins with room for one standard-size carry-on bag per passenger.
Its concept, which will be on show in the static display, also includes a “staggered” business-class seat layout.
The Brazilian manufacturer says it has not made a final decision on the staggered seating but, speaking on a conference call to journalists on 24 June, Paulo Cesar Silva, executive vice president of commercial aviation, said airlines that have seen it have given positive feeback.
“Our customers are liking it very much,” he says.
Embraer concluded the joint definition phase for the E190-E2 at the end of May by conducting the preliminary design review and completing windtunnel tests. The next step will be the critical design review when the product’s maturity will be validated, enabling the production of prototypes to begin.
The E190-E2 is due to enter service in the first half of 2018, with the larger E195-E2 to follow in the first half of 2019, and the smaller E175-E2, which has a new wing, in 2020. Embraer launched the Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan-powered aircraft at the Paris air show last year with 150 orders from SkyWest and ILFC.
Embraer says it has also finished the concept studies of the E175-E2, which will be powered by the P&W PW1700G as opposed to the PW1900G in the larger variants. Silva says 2013 was “one of our best years ever”, with 349 firm orders, including the 150 for the E2, giving Embraer a backlog of around 400 jets.
The airframer is pitching the E190-E2 and E195-E2 as “complementary” to Airbus or Boeing narrowbodies, allowing airlines “to right-size” on routes that are not dense enough for a larger single-aisle aircraft, particularly services that are being developed. It expects the E175-E2 to fill a more conventional regional aircraft feeder role.
Silva admits that Asia remains Embraer’s “biggest challenge” as many airlines are still not receptive to the idea of using a regional jet on thin routes. “There are a lot of routes that are not dense enough for a larger narrowbody, but we still have a long way to go [to convince Asian carriers], so shame on us,” he says.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
