With the presence of Nir Dagan, Arkia Israeli Airlines’ President & CEO, and John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation, Embraer announced today, at the Farnborough Airshow, a Letter of Intent (LoI) from the airline for up to ten E195-E2 jets, consisting of six firm orders and four purchase rights. With purchase rights exercised, the contract has a potential value of USD 650 million, at the current list price.
“The addition of the extremely cost efficient new E195-E2 with superb customer experience will undoubtedly further cement our partnership with Arkia into the future,” said Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.
Arkia will configure all the E195-E2s in a very comfortable single-class layout with 134 seats. The airline currently operates four current generation E-Jets, being two E190s and two E195s. This deal brings the E-Jets E2 backlog to 272 firm orders plus 398 LoIs, options and purchase rights for a total of 670 commitments from airlines and leasing companies.
“With the best economics in the segment, the E195-E2 will be the perfect addition to our fleet,” said Nir Dagan, Arkia Israeli Airlines’ President & CEO. “The E195-E2 range of 2,450 nautical miles enables Arkia to cover all of its European destinations and launch new ones across the continent. In addition to the range, the E2 will maintain the same unparalleled level of comfort in the cabin, which is very popular among our passengers.”
In the past few years, Arkia has increased its regional and international routes structure, while also introducing the E-Jets in order to modernize its turboprop fleet serving the popular resort of Eilat in the Red Sea, all with modern, economic, efficient and comfortable jet aircraft. The E-Jets are the perfect airplane to open new routes and the only commercial jets operating at Dov, the Tel Aviv city airport, which is made possible by their outstanding runway performance, maneuverability on the ground and reduced noise footprint.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jets with up to 130+ seats. The Company has 100 customers all over the world operating the ERJ and E-Jet families of aircraft. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,700 orders and over 1,200 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft by operating across a range of business applications.