Embraer and CIT Aerospace Sign an Agreement for up to 30 E-Jets

Nov. 7, 2011
Leading U.S. leasing company includes the EMBRAER 190/195 in its portfolio.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, November 7, 2011 – Embraer and CIT Group Inc., a global leader in transportation finance, have signed an agreement for the sale of up to 30 EMBRAER 190 and/or EMBRAER 195 jets, with ten firm orders. Deliveries are scheduled through 2015.

“Embraer is very pleased to have such an important lessor as CIT Aerospace joining the E-Jets program,” said Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, Embraer President, Commercial Aviation. “After more than 1,000 firm orders, spread over 60 operators in 40 countries, this investment by CIT is further confirmation that the E-Jets have achieved a high level of attractiveness for the top-tier investor community.”

CIT owns or finances a fleet of approximately 300 commercial aircraft. According to Jeffrey Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT: “We are pleased to announce our first direct order with Embraer for the E190/E195 aircraft, which will enable CIT Aerospace to offer an even more diverse set of products to its customers. This order allows CIT Aerospace to continue to maintain one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the industry and will help us meet our customers’ increased demand for this size of aircraft.”

The E190 and the E195 are the two bigger models of the four-member E-Jets family of brand-new commercial jets that entered service, respectively in August 2005 and July 2006. The jets can be configured in one or two classes, seating from 98 to 122 passengers in a comfortable four-abreast (2-2), no-middle-seat configuration, and can fly up to 2,400 nautical miles (4,450 kilometers) nonstop.

About CIT and CIT Aerospace


Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT), www.cit.com, is a bank holding company with more than USD 34 billion in finance and leasing assets. It provides financing and leasing capital to more than 1 million small business and middle market clients and their customers in over 30 industries. CIT maintains leadership positions in small business and middle market lending, factoring, retail finance, aerospace, equipment and rail leasing, and global vendor finance.

CIT Aerospace provides financing solutions to a broad spectrum of the global aerospace value chain, ranging from operators of commercial and business aircraft to manufacturers and suppliers in the aerospace and defense industries, as well as financial institutions.

About the Embraer Family of E-Jets

The Embraer family of E-Jets consists of four commercial jets with 70 to 122 seats, featuring advanced engineering design, efficient performance, outstanding operating economics, low emissions levels and a spacious cabin without middle seats (2x2).

The E-Jets have a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.82, can fly at 41,000 feet (12,500 meters) and have ranges of up to 2,400 nautical miles (4,450 kilometers). The high degree of commonality among the four aircraft – EMBRAER 170, EMBRAER 175, EMBRAER 190 and EMBRAER 195 – results in exceptional savings for carriers, in terms of crew training and the cost of spare parts and maintenance. Another key feature of the E-Jets is the state-of-the-art, fly-by-wire technology, which increases operating safety, while reducing pilot workload and fuel consumption.

The double-bubble fuselage design provides superior comfort and includes two main passenger entrances and two service doors, thus minimizing aircraft turn-around time. The E-Jets offer much more space for passengers, in a single or dual-class layout, than other aircraft with similar seating capacities. For more details, visit www.EmbraerCommercialJets.com.

The E-Jets have achieved outstanding success, with over 1,000 firm orders from 60 companies in 40 countries. More than 800 E-Jets have been delivered and have, collectively, accumulated 6 million flight hours and transported 250 million passengers, worldwide. This proven family is helping airlines to right size low load factor narrow-body routes, to replace older, inefficient aircraft, and to develop new markets with lower operating costs, greater efficiency, and outstanding passenger comfort. To better understand the benefits of these aircraft, when substituting older jets, visit www.eforefficiency.com.