Embraer sells ten E170 jets to Japan Airlines, with options for five

New Delhi: Embraer has signed an agreement with Japan Airlines (JAL) for the delivery of ten Embraer 170 jets, with options for the purchase of another five. A release from Embraer says that the Japanese airline is making the purchase as part of its restructuring plan.

According to Embraer, the contract value, if all options are exercised, could come to $435 million at list price, based on January 2007 economic conditions.

The aircraft will be fitted with a single-class interior, with first delivery scheduled for sometime in 2008. The Embraer 170 E-Jet will fly for J-AIR, a wholly owned JAL subsidiary, which serves the airline's regional network throughout Japan.

J-AIR is a regional Japanese airline, based in Nagoya (Komaki) airport and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines International. J-AIR operates 60 flights per day on 15 routes serving Nagoya, Sapporo, Osaka (Itami), Fukuoka and other major cities in Japan.

For the fiscal 2006 (ending March 31, 2007), J-AIR carried nearly 663,000 passengers.

"The introduction of the Embraer 170 will enable the JAL Group to promote optimal aircraft size, depending on the scale of demand of each domestic route, develop business operations more efficiently, and increase convenience to customers," said Haruka Nishimatsu, JAL Group CEO.

"We are deeply honored by JAL's choice of the Embraer 170. As one of the world's largest and most traditional flag carriers, JAL is a world reference for high quality service and top reliability," said Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer president and CEO. "The airline's well known emphasis on excellence represents an important endorsement of Embraer's E-Jets in the stringent Asian market."

The JAL Group is Asia's biggest airline in terms of the number of passengers carried. In 2006, some 58 million passengers flew with JAL and its seven subsidiary airlines. The JAL Group airlines serve 216 airports in 35 countries and territories, including 61 airports in Japan. The network extends over 234 international passenger, 37 international cargo, and 160 domestic routes. Altogether, the eight airlines of the JAL Group make up to 1,200 flights a day on domestic and international routes.

E 170
The Embraer 170/190 E-Jets family comprises of four commercial jets with seating capacities ranging from 70 to 122 seats. The aircraft features advanced engineering design, outstanding performance, high operating economics, and a spacious cabin.

The E-Jets can fly at a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.82 and 41,000 ft altitude (12,497 m), with a range of up to 2,400 nautical miles (4,448 km). The four aircraft share a high degree of commonality.

Another key feature, according to Embraer, is the fly-by-wire technology used in the flight control systems of the aircraft, which is similar to that deployed on larger commercial jets and advanced military aircraft.

The Embraer 170/190 family of jets provides superior comfort with its double-bubble fuselage design that includes two main passenger entrances and two service doors that minimize aircraft turn-around time.

On March 31, 2007, the E-Jets family order book had logged 630 firm orders and 558 options, totaling 1,188 aircraft to 32 customers in 22 countries.