SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA) has signed a firm order with United Airlines (UAL.N) for twenty-five 70-seat E175 jets, the Brazilian planemaker said on Monday, providing a boost to the company shortly after JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O) opted to replace its fleet of Embraer jets with ones made by Airbus SE (AIR.PA).
Under the contract, worth $1.1 billion at current market value, Embraer is set to deliver the jets in the second quarter of 2019, Embraer said in a statement.
Earlier in July, JetBlue announced it would buy 60 A220-300 narrowbody jets from Airbus, sending down shares in Embraer. The A220 will replace JetBlue’s existing fleet of 60 Embraer E190 aircraft, with those jets retiring beginning in 2020.
That came shortly after Embraer and Boeing Co (BA.N) struck a deal creating a new $4.75 billion joint venture, effectively reshaping the global passenger jet industry.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
