The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has granted its Type Certificate to the Embraer E195-E2, the largest member of the E-Jets family.
«We’re excited to now have both the E190-E2 and E195-E2 certified by CAAC, paving the way for sales in the Chinese market,” said Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation
“Our team in China is actively working with potential customers and making good progress,” he continued, noting that they see «significant opportunities» for the model in that country, offering complementary capacity to Chinese products such as the ARJ21 and C919.
Guo Qing, Managing Director and VP of Commercial Aviation, Embraer China, mentioned that China is » is moving closer to carbon neutrality» and that «the E195-E2 is the most environmentally efficient aircraft in its class. With a maximum of 146 seats, E195-E2 is the right size to profitably complement larger narrowbodies on lower density routes, connecting regional airports and offering travelers living in secondary and tertiary cities with one-stop access to routes worldwide.»
The executive emphasized the importance of the support that Embraer received for its activities in China following the recent visit of Brazilian President Lula Da Silva to the country.
Embraer landed in China in September 2000 when Sichuan Airlines received its first ERJ-145. In May 2008, it was the turn of the E-Jet family to debut with an E190 for Tianjin Airlines. Currently, there are 85 E-jets in the fleets of Tianjin Airlines, Hebei Airlines, Beibu Gulf Airlines, and Colorful Guizhou Airlines.
Embraer’s latest Market Outlook for Asia Pacific, published last June, revealed that RPK in the region will grow by 4.4% annually over the next 20 years. China continues its post-pandemic recovery, with a total of 224.8 million passengers mobilized between January and May 2023, a figure 135% higher than that of 2022. In April, the domestic market surpassed the 2019 volume.
During the Paris Air Show 2023, Embraer signed a letter of intent with Lanzhou Aviation Industry Development Group to convert 20 E190s and E195s to freighters, also considering establishing a conversion line in Lanzhou to support and accelerate the introduction of this type of freighter into the Chinese market.
The E195-E2 entered service in 2019 with Azul. Depending on the configuration, it can carry between 120 and 146 passengers with fuel consumption per seat up to 25% lower than previous generation aircraft.
Embraer highlighted that last June, the E195-E2 was successfully tested in an operation with 100% SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuels), proving that this family can fly with blends of up to that proportion without compromising safety or performance.