SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil - Embraer and Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras SA have reached a final agreement regarding 30 firm orders for the E195-E2 jetliner. The contract also includes an additional 20 purchase rights for the same model, bringing the total potential order to 50 aircraft. The deal represents finalization of a Letter of Intent announced at last year's Farnborough International Airshow.

"In the name of Embraer's 19,000 employees, I want to thank Azul for choosing us once again to be a part in the development of the company, which was born, and has grown with, the E-Jets in the Brazilian market," says Paulo Cesar Silva, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation. "This new contract is a show of confidence in the E-Jets E2 program, which is following in the steps of the commercial success of the current E-Jets generation. For that reason, we continually invest in meeting the demands of the airline companies for an even more efficient generation of aircraft."

The contract has an estimated value of $3.2 billion at current list prices, if all purchase rights are converted to firm orders. The initial delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2020.

"Our partnership with Embraer, since the founding of Azul, has been decisive for consolidating our business plan and our growth in the domestic aviation market. By choosing airplanes built and developed in Brazil, Azul contributes to generating and maintaining jobs, as well as to the development of Brazil's economy," said Azul CEO David Neeleman. "The E2 will be the most advanced airplane in its category, providing a savings on fuel burn more than 20 percent higher than the current model. That will be fundamental for maintaining our competitive fares and for growing in the domestic market."

Azul currently has 82 Embraer E-Jets in service and six E195s on order. It operates the largest fleet of E195s in the world. Overall, the carrier has a fleet of 143 aircraft and more than 10,000 employees. It serves more than 100 destinations with over 900 departures per day.

The E2 backlog has now reached 242 firm orders, plus 348 options and purchase rights. Embraer's E2 models have Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines (the PW1700G on the E175-E2, and the PW1900G on the E190-E2 and E195-E2), new wings, full fly-by-wire flight controls, and various improvements to other systems.

Source: Embraer