SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil -- Embraer delivered the first Embraer 195 jet, this Thursday, to Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras, which will be the first Brazilian airline to operate the E-Jets. The contract is for 36 firm orders: 31 Embraer 195s and five Embraer 190s. The deal was announced in March of this year, and also includes options for another 20 aircraft and purchase rights for another 20.
"It is with great pleasure that we make our first delivery to Azul Linhas Aereas," says Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer President & CEO. "I am certain that seeing our Embraer 195 in the colors of Azul is a source of special pride for all of Embraer's employees, as we add our first Brazilian E-Jet operator to the 51 customers we have in 35 countries, on five continents."
Azul begins operations out of Viracopos Airport, in the city of Campinas, in outstate Sao Paulo, to Porto Alegre and Salvador. The airline company received its Authorization Certificate as an Air Transportation Company (Certificado de Homologacao de Empresa de Transporte Aereo - CHETA) from Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (Agencia Nacional de Aviacao Civil - ANAC) and has already announced the first routes it intends to operate in Brazil.
"Azul is very proud to offer Brazilian passengers the best airplane in the world in its category. And best of all: this exceptional aircraft was designed and built in Brazil and, now, it will be operated by a Brazilian company. I know this is the best jet for the domestic market. The Embraer 195 will bring unbeatable safety records to our customers and crew members, besides an exceptional level of comfort," says David Neeleman, Chairman of Azul Linhas Aereas Brasileiras. "The Embraer 190 and 195 in our fleet will also operate at extreme savings. And what's more, our E-Jets will be the 'greenest' jets in operation in Brazil, with very low noise and emissions rates. We, at Azul, are all very happy about the delivery of our first Embraer 195. With jets like this one, we will write a new page in the history of Brazilian commercial aviation."
The Embraer 195 is the biggest and newest of the four members of the E-Jets family, and began commercial operation in Sept. 2006. On Sept. 30, 2008, the Embraer 170/190 family of E-Jets had logged 865 firm orders and 813 options, which are significant marks for a commercial aviation program in such a short time. The family of E-Jets, with nearly 500 units of the aircraft already delivered, has surpassed 2,2 million flight hours and carried over 100 million passengers.
