12/23/2008 08h50
Embraer sells 11 jets to British
Gazeta Mercantil - 12/23/2008
Embraer and British Airways announced a contract for the negotiation of 11 commercial jets. They are six 170 jets and five 190SR ones, which will fly in the routes of the BA CityFlyer, a British Airways subsidiary. The value of the contract is of US$ 376.5 million, at list price, in the economic conditions of January/2008, and it may reach US$ 489 million, if all options are confirmed. The Embraer airplanes will operate in international and domestic routes departing from the London City Airport, in London, England. The deal is part of a modernization process of the regional fleet of the company and it also includes options for three other 190SR jets. The first Embraer 170 for BA CityFlyer, which will have 76 seats, has its delivery expected for the second half of 2009. The 190SR, on its turn, which is a larger version, will have capacity for up to 98 passengers. Both of them will be configured for only one class of passengers. "It is a privilege to have our E-jets chosen as a backbone of the modernization of BA CityFlyer fleet in operations departing from the London City Airport, where the runway is very short and the noise restrictions are extremely hard", said the Executive Vice-President of Embraer for the commercial aviation market, Mauro Kern. The 170 Brazilian jets received the certificate of vertical approach to operate in the London City Airport in June/2007. This approach is performed by a software developed inside the fly-by-wire system. It improves the quality of the flight and control, besides reducing the pilot workload, providing lower maintenance costs. The 190SR jet model is going through a series of engineering evaluation tests with the purpose of receiving the certificate of vertical approach until the end of 2009. "We are very excited with the new fleet of efficient planes in terms of fuel consumption, which, besides making us reach our environmental goals, will offer to the passengers a product with more room and comfort", said the general-director of the British operator, Peter Simpson. In order to provide support to the new fleet of planes of Embraer in the next decade, British Airways also executed the Embraer Pool program, which offers operating stock control and reduces the cost of the initial investment in spare parts and infrastructure.
