Virgin Australia has ordered eight Embraer E190-E2s, with deliveries set to begin in the second half of next year.
Jayne Hrdlicka, the outgoing chief executive of Virgin Australia Group, said on 12 August that she expects the small narrowbody jets to enter service around October 2025.
The E190-E2s will be based in Perth and operated by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, and are set to become ”the first new aircraft in the [Western Australia] charter market this century”, Hrdlicka says.
The Embraer jets will be used “predominantly” but not exclusively for charter flights.
”The order will see the E190-E2 – the world’s most fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft with the lowest noise emissions – complement the airline’s larger narrowbodies and replace its long-serving Fokker fleet,” Embraer says.
Cirium fleets data show that Virgin Australia Regional Airlines operates several 100-seat Fokker 100s, all of which are more than 30 years old.
The deal further strengthens Embraer’s E2 market in the Asia-Pacific region, as low-cost carrier Scoot currently growing its fleet of E190-E2s based in Singapore.
Embraer will add Virgin Australia’s order to its third-quarter backlog.
As of 30 June, the Brazilian airframer boasted a backlog worth a total of $21.1 billion.
