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KiwiRail Supports Prisoner Reintegration with Railway Jobs

A Northland programme to help prisoners rejoin society by building their skills and confidence through rail work is an exciting new initiative which will benefit the community, KiwiRail Group Chief Executive Greg Miller says.

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced $640,000 funding for KiwiRail’s “Second-Steppers” programme, which will provide training and support for the reintegration of 20 prisoners back into Northland’s community.

“Government investment to revitalise Northland’s rail line is already supporting local businesses and creating jobs in Northland. This additional funding means KiwiRail will be able to give something more back to the community,” Mr Miller says.

“Everyone knows how difficult it can be for prisoners to successfully reintegrate into the community. Giving them steady work, mentoring and manaaki tānga will enable them to learn new skills and assist with rebuilding their dignity.

“To start with, five carefully selected and vetted prisoners from Northland Region Corrections Facility, near Kaikohe, will be carrying out ‘release to work’ for us for six months. They’ll each go through a special course that provides a combination of health and safety, track maintenance, and personal development training. They’ll also be learning in an environment that offers Kaitohutohu (mentors) who can help support the growth of each participant.

“We’ve been building our workforce in Northland, and we want to bring on more local staff. This programme is designed to help up-skill the prisoners, with the intention to offer them full time work at the end.

“KiwiRail has a strong Māori network, and we want to inspire our next leaders and strengthen whakawhanaungatanga (relationships) with the communities around our rail operations.

“Rail will help to transform Northland and supporting prisoners to rejoin and contribute to society is a small but important part of that effort.”

KiwiRail expects the first group of five prisoners to begin work at our Whangarei Rail Depot in late September/early October. In total, 20 prisoners are expected to go through the Second-Steppers programme over the next two years.

KiwiRail is working with Corrections in selecting prisoners for the programme. There is a thorough pre-approval process and a number of factors are taken into account when assessing a prisoner’s suitability, including the prisoner’s security classification, their release and parole eligibility dates, their behaviour and potential impact on victims. Prisoners will be subject to electronic monitoring while on our sites and while travelling to and from Northland Region Corrections Facility each day.

Binter Airlines Receives Its First Embraer E195-E2 Jet

São José dos Campos, November 21, 2019 – Binter of Spain celebrates the incorporation of the first E195-E2 jet into its fleet at a ceremony held today at Embraer’s main facility in São José dos Campos. The airline is the first European customer to receive the biggest of the three members of the E-Jets E2 family of commercial aircraft. Binter has placed firm orders for five E195-E2s.

“We’re extremely proud to deliver the first E195-E2 in Europe to such an accomplished regional airline. Binter will showcase the very best of the airplane as it expands its network to more cities,” said John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

“Today´s event is very special for all of us, who are part of Binter. This Embraer E195-E2 aircraft is an important step in the history of our company that will become as well a jet operator. This new milestone, which coincides with the celebration of the 30th anniversary of Binter, adds more advances to the ones that we have made in recent years, and that help to pursue our main objective: the improvement of the connecting of the Canary Islands, both inter-island and with external destinations,” said Binter’s President, Pedro Agustín del Castillo.

The acquisition of the E195-E2s is part of Binter’s overall fleet modernization initiative. Each aircraft is configured with 132 seats in single class. The new aircraft will be deployed across a route network that includes eight cities in the Canary Islands, nine cities in Africa and two in Portugal. Last year, Binter carried 3.6 million passengers.

In April, the E195-E2 received its Type Certificate from three regulatory authorities: ANAC, the Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil); the FAA (U.S. Federal Aviation Administration) and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency).

Flight tests confirmed that the aircraft is better than its original specification. Fuel consumption is 1.4% lower than expected – that’s 25.4% less fuel per seat compared to the current-generation E195. Maintenance costs are 20% lower. The E195-E2 is the most environmentally-friendly aircraft in its class, having the lowest levels of external noise and emissions. The cumulative margin to ICAO Stage IV noise limit ranges from 19 to 20 EPNdB, 4.0 EPNdB better than its direct competitor.

Like the E190-E2, the E195-E2 has the longest maintenance intervals in the single-aisle jet category with 10,000 flight hours for basic checks and no calendar limit for typical E-Jet operations. This means an additional 15 days of aircraft utilization over a period of ten years compared to current generation E-Jets.

The E195-E2 features new ultra-high bypass ratio engines, a completely new wing, full fly-by-wire controls and new landing gear. Compared to the first-generation E195, 75% of aircraft systems are new. The E195-E2 has 3 additional seat rows. The cabin can be configured with 120 seats in two classes, or up to 146-seats in a single class layout.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers from all over the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 75 customers from 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline carriers.

Air Peace Signs a Firm Order for Three additional E195-E2 Jets

Dubai, UAE, November 17th, 2019 – Embraer announced today, at the Dubai Air Show, that Air Peace, Nigeria and West Africa’s largest airline, has signed a contract for three additional E195-E2s, confirming purchase rights from the original contract, signed in April this year. These new E195-E2s will be included in Embraer’s 2019 fourth-quarter backlog and have a value of USD 212.6 million, based on Embraer’s current list prices.

Set to be the first E-Jets E2 operator in Africa, Air Peace’s firm order, announced in April this year, is now for 13 E195-E2s with 17 purchase rights for the same model. The first delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2020.

“The E195-E2 is the perfect aircraft to expand our operations in Africa and this new order is a further confirmation of our ‘no-city-left-behind initiative which we shall continue to execute”, said Air Peace Chairman/CEO, Mr. Allen Onyema. He added, “We are receiving impressive data about the aircraft’s economics now that is in revenue service, and this was a driver to place this new firm order with Embraer. We look forward to receiving our first aircraft, which will enhance connectivity in Nigeria and the African region, while feeding long-haul flights from our Lagos hub.”

“Air Peace will love the aircraft’s efficiency and the passenger will experience an unparalleled level of comfort, especially in first class – Air Peace is the launch customer for Embraer’s new premium staggered seating option”, said Raul Villaron, Vice President Sales, Africa and Middle East, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “We look forward to supporting Air Peace’s growing E2s fleet and to deepening our fruitful partnership.”

Air Peace subsidiary, Air Peace Hopper, started operating six ERJ145 jets last year on short thin routes. That experience with Embraer’s products and services, including the pool programme, and the undeniable economic benefits of right-sizing aircraft for the mission, was a key factor in selecting the E2.

Air Peace’s E195-E2s will be configured in a comfortable dual class arrangement with 124 seats. Air Peace operates more than 20 local, regional, and international routes and has strategic plans to expand those routes.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats. The Company has 100 customers from all over the world operating the ERJ and E-Jet families of aircraft. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft.

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