Tag: E190 (Page 4 of 5)

Pratt & Whitney Delivers GT PW1900G Engines for Embraer

February 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. (UTX), and Embraer celebrated delivery of the GTF™ PW1900G production engines for the E195-E2 aircraft at Embraer’s E2 final assembly line in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil. The E195-E2 is expected to enter into service in the second half of 2019 with Azul Brazilian Airlines.

“We are excited to receive the GTF production engines for the initial serial production of the E195-E2, as we know firsthand the advantages that these engines provide to our customers and the environment,” said Fernando Antonio Oliveira, Embraer’s E2 Program Director.

Embraer’s E190-E2 aircraft, which is also powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW1900G engine, entered service in April 2018 with Widerøe, followed by Air Astana in December 2018.

“Delivering the first production engines for the E195-E2 is an important milestone for the program,” said Graham Webb, vice president of Commercial Engine Programs at Pratt & Whitney. “We look forward to continuing to work together to support Embraer’s second GTF-powered E2 aircraft model.”

In addition to being selected as the exclusive propulsion system for the E2 commercial aircraft, Pratt & Whitney’s APS2600E auxiliary power unit (APU) is the sole-sourced APU for the E2 family. The APS2600E APU gives airlines greater flexibility, by increasing the altitude ceiling for ETOPS and other operations, and providing a significant increase in electrical power delivery to meet the needs of today’s airlines.

The E195-E2 aircraft has more than 24% reduction in fuel burn per seat than the previous-generation E195, with NOx emissions 50% below the ICAO CAEP/6 regulation and 19dB to 20dB of ICAO Chapter 4 cumulative noise margin.

About Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines, and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit its website at www.utc.com, or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in levels of demand in the aerospace industry, in levels of air travel, and in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production support, performance and realization of the anticipated benefits of advanced technologies (including our expected returns under customer contracts); as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Embraer Signs Contract to Support Air Astana E2 Jet Fleet

February 13, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, February 13th, 2019 – Embraer and Air Astana, a flag carrier of Kazakhstan, have reached a multiyear agreement on a Flight Hour Pool Program to support the component needs for the airline’s new E2 fleet, Embraer’s second generation of the E-Jets family of commercial aircraft.

The E2’s entry into service marks the beginning of Air Astana’s fleet renewal. Currently the airline operates a fleet of nine E190s aircraft, the first of which was delivered in 2011, when the airline joined Embraer Pool Program. Now, with the extension of the pool program for the new E190-E2s, Air Astana have extended their trust in our strong partnership.

Air Astana took delivery of its first E190-E2 jet in December 2018 and flies the new aircraft on domestic and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) routes. The airline will receive four additional E190-E2s in 2019, with the last of the five aircraft, all of which are leased by AerCap, being delivered in the final quarter of 2019.

The Pool Agreement for the airline’s E190-E2 fleet will cover unlimited access and full repair coverage for more than 325 components with almost a third of them exclusively placed at airline’s main base to ensure high fleet availability.

“We are proud that Air Astana has chosen to place its trust in us to support its new E2 fleet, further reinforcing Embraer’s commitment to customers in the region with TechCare portfolio of solutions. It is a strong endorsement for the program and Embraer services, proving customers loyalty to the state of the art support of the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) with a competitive value,” said Johann Bordais, President and CEO of Embraer Services & Support.

“The support of the OEM is a natural fit for Air Astana as we transition into our new fleet of Embraer’s second generation of E-Jets. This was fundamental in our decision to join the program, which will allow us to upkeep our daily operations as it offers cost effective and practical solutions, guaranteeing efficiency and competitive results,” said Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana.

Embraer’s Flight Hour Pool Program, which currently supports more than 40 airlines worldwide, is designed to allow airlines to minimize their upfront investment on expensive repairable inventories and resources and to take advantage of Embraer’s technical expertise and its vast component repair service provider network. The results are significant savings on repair and inventory carrying costs, reduction in required warehousing space, and the elimination of resources required for repair management, while ultimately providing guaranteed performance levels.

The E190-E2 is the first of three new aircraft types that will make up the Embraer E2 family of aircraft developed to succeed the first-generation of E-Jets. Embraer Services & Support has implemented the E2 Pool Program to support operators from the very first day of delivery. Widerøe, the largest regional airline in Scandinavia and launch customer for the E190-E2, received its first E2 aircraft on April 2018. Currently, 100% of the delivered E2 E-Jets are supported by the program.

This Pool Program is part of a suite of services that Embraer offers to support the worldwide growing fleet of Embraer aircraft through TechCare, the new Embraer platform that assembles the entire portfolio of products and solutions to deliver the best experience of services and support.

Embraer Signs Contract to Support Germany’s WDL Aviation E190s fleet

February 8, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, February 7th, 2019 – Embraer and WDL Aviation GmbH, a German charter and ACMI airline headquartered at Cologne Bonn Airport and part of the Zeitfracht logistics group, have signed an agreement on a Flight Hour Pool Program to support the airline’s recently leased fleet of four used E190s.

WDL, which becomes a new Embraer E-Jet family customer in 2019, leased the aircraft to replace their current fleet. They will start flying the E190s from March 2019.

The Pool Agreement, which will be in effect during the duration of the lease, covers access to a large stock of components at Embraer’s distribution center in Paris (France), full repair coverage and a selected list of essential components, parts and services to support the start of aircraft operations.

WDL Aviation is a leading provider of ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) services in Europe. With the Pool Program, part of the TechCare suite of services that Embraer offers to support the growing fleet of Embraer aircraft worldwide, WDL will have the flexibility to access the parts and support the fleet quickly.

“It’s great to welcome WDL Aviation and provide efficient services and support solutions to their Embraer fleet. Our mission is to keep our customer happy every day and to also ensure the satisfaction of their end customers. This makes our portfolio the most competitive, setting the market’s highest standards”, said Johann Bordais, President & CEO, Embraer Services & Support.

“Support directly from the OEM is a huge advantage and we are looking forward to working with Embraer. This partnership fits naturally with the company’s growth strategy as it leverages increased competitiveness providing repairable solutions through reduced lead times and costs, guaranteeing our daily operations and customer satisfaction”, said Walter Böhnke, managing director of WDL Aviation.

This Pool Program is part of a suite of services that Embraer offers or has under development to support the worldwide growing fleet of Embraer aircraft through TechCare, the new Embraer platform that assembles the entire portfolio of products and solutions to deliver the best experience of services and support.

Embraer Signs Agreement With Air Kiribati For Up to 4 E190-E2

December 19, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Singapore, December 19, 2018 – Embraer has announced the signing of a contract with the Government of Kiribati, in partnership with their national airline, Air Kiribati, for two firm orders for the E190-E2 E-Jets and two purchase rights for the same model. With all purchase rights being exercised, the contract has a value of USD 243 million, based on current list prices. The order will be included in Embraer’s 2018 fourth-quarter backlog.

Scheduled for a 2019 delivery, the E190-E2 will enable the flag carrier for the Republic of Kiribati, located in the central Pacific, to fly longer domestic and international routes than it currently does with its turboprop fleet. Air Kiribati will be the launch operator for the E190-E2 in the Asia Pacific region (excluding China). This order comes after a three-week Asia Pacific tour of the ‘Shark’ livery E190-E2 in October, which included a stop in Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati. Spanning four time zones and comprised of more than 30 islands, Kiribati is the only country in the world to be in all four hemispheres.

“We warmly welcome Air Kiribati to the Embraer family and we will work closely with the airline as they transition to the E190-E2 through our extensive entry-into-service package and world-class support team in the region,” said Cesar Pereira, Asia Pacific Vice President, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “Flying in the Pacific, over large bodies of water, requires outstanding range, performance and ample cargo capacity. Air Kiribati’s selection of the E190-E2 is yet another validation of the world’s most efficient single-aisle jet design, which exceeds these requirements and will enable the airline to enhance its flight frequency and to boost its network.”

“We were impressed with what we saw when the E190-E2 visited Kiribati in October,” said Hon. Willie Tokataake, Minister for Information, Communication, Transport and Tourism Development of the Kiribati Government. “Given its impressive range, lower fuel consumption and maintenance costs and dual class configuration that brings comfort to our passengers compared to its peers, the E190-E2’s capabilities empower us to enhance connectivity within our country and beyond, taking our nation to its next phase of growth.”

With a maximum range of up to 2,850 nautical miles, the E190-E2 can operate over the vast expanse of Kiribati, including from Tarawa directly to Kiritimati (Christmas) Island, one of the most challenging routes in the Pacific. The current domestic connection from Tarawa to Kiritimati includes an international stopover in Fiji.

The E190-E2 is part of Embraer’s new generation E-Jets E2 family of aircraft, which can seat between 70 to 150 passengers. The E190-E2 specifically, can seat up to 114 passengers, and is the first member of the E-Jets E2 family of aircraft to enter into service in April 2018.

Embraer has been present in the region since the first Bandeirante was delivered in 1978 in Australia and has been providing comprehensive support and services through the years to aircraft based in Australia and in the Pacific region.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jets with 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 almost 1,800 orders and 1,500 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft.

Story and image from http://www.embraer.com

JetBlue Announces Third Quarter 2018 Results

October 23, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Released : 10/23/2018

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) today reported its results for the third quarter 2018:

Reported diluted earnings per share of $0.16, inclusive of $112 million in one-time costs related to the E190 fleet transition and the recently-signed pilot contract. Excluding these costs, adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.43⁽¹⁾. This compares to JetBlue’s third quarter 2017 diluted earnings per share of $0.55.
GAAP pre-tax income of $68 million. Excluding the one-time costs, adjusted pre-tax income of $180 million⁽¹⁾, a decrease of 39.5% from the third quarter of 2017.
Pre-tax margin of 3.4%, inclusive of the one-time costs. Excluding these one-time costs, adjusted pre-tax margin of 9.0%⁽¹⁾, a 7.4 point decrease year over year.

Highlights from the Third Quarter 2018

Third quarter 2018 revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 1.7%, year over year, including 0.4 points of negative impact from severe weather during September.
Operating expenses per available seat mile, excluding fuel (CASM ex-fuel) growth of 3.2%, at the lower end of the updated guidance range of 3.0% to 5.0%. CASM ex-fuel for the third quarter includes a 2.0 point headwind related to recurrent costs of the pilot contract, effective as of August 1^st.

Key Guidance for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018:

Capacity is expected to increase between 7.5% and 9.5% year over year in the fourth quarter 2018. The fourth quarter guidance includes a previously-announced 2.0 point ASM reduction to mitigate the impact of higher fuel prices. For the full year 2018, JetBlue expects capacity to increase between 6.5% and 7.0%.
RASM growth is expected to range between 1.0% and 4.0% for the fourth quarter 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.
CASM ex-fuel is expected to decrease between (3.5)% and (1.5)% for the fourth quarter of 2018. CASM ex-fuel for the fourth quarter includes a 3.0 point headwind related to the pilot contract. For the full year 2018, JetBlue expects year over year CASM ex-fuel to be between 0.75% and 1.75%. The headwind from the pilot contract to CASM ex-fuel for the full year 2018 is expected to be equal to 1.3 points.

For further details see the latest Investor Update and the Third Quarter 2018 Earnings Presentation available via the internet at http://investor.jetblue.com.

JetBlue will conduct a conference call to discuss its quarterly earnings today, October 23, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. A live broadcast of the conference call will also be available via the internet at http://investor.jetblue.com.

(1) Note A provides a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures used in this release and provides the reasons management uses those measures.

Executing our Plan to Reach our EPS Commitments

“I’d like to thank our 22,000 Crewmembers, for all their hard work delivering the JetBlue experience to our Customers. Our financial performance was impacted by fuel prices that increased approximately 37% year over year. We are on track to hit our 2018 CASM ex-fuel guidance, despite pulling capacity in both the third and fourth quarters to adjust to higher fuel prices.

In the short term, we are focused on improving our earnings, particularly in the areas we can control, and have a plan to improve margins in 2019, and again in 2020. We are taking actions to recapture higher fuel costs through price – both with fare increases over recent months and through higher ancillary revenue initiatives. At our Investor Day in early October, we showed how our five building blocks will help us improve our margins and achieve our earnings target between $2.50 and $3.00 per share by 2020,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s Chief Executive Officer.

“Since 2014 we have a track record of executing our plans – and we have a path to continue improving our relative margins, starting in 2019. We have the culture, the brand and the geography we need to be successful,” said Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

Revenue Performance and Outlook

Third quarter RASM increased 1.7%. Excluding the 0.4 point impact from severe weather during September, RASM was above the mid-point of our updated guidance of 1.0% to 3.0%. During the quarter we saw close-in demand trends improve across the network,” said Marty St. George, JetBlue’s EVP Commercial and Planning.

“We continued to grow our capacity on the lower end of our mid to high single digit range. For the fourth quarter, we expect capacity growth between 7.5 and 9.5 percent. Given the 2.9 points of lost capacity from hurricanes in the fourth quarter of 2017, our schedule-to-schedule capacity growth is approximately 6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2018. We expect to see some revenue benefits from the network changes and the ancillary revenue changes launched during the third quarter.”

Cost Performance, Outlook and Balance Sheet

Third quarter CASM ex-fuel was 3.2%, at the low end of the updated guidance of 3.0% to 5.0%, driven by improvements in unit maintenance costs. “We are on track to hit our 2018 plan despite the added pressure from reducing our capacity in the second half. We will continue to find opportunities to mitigate these pressures, in addition to the savings from the Structural Cost Program that build each quarter,” said Steve Priest, JetBlue’s EVP Chief Financial Officer.

“We continue to see sequential improvement in our underlying non fuel costs, and reached an inflection point during the second half this year, as we execute our Structural Cost Program. We are confident we can deliver on our 2019 commitments made at Investor Day, and are on track to achieve our 0-1 CASM CAGR through 2020.”

Capital Allocation and Liquidity

JetBlue ended the quarter with approximately $937 million in unrestricted cash and short term investments, or about 12.6% of trailing twelve month revenue. In addition, JetBlue maintains approximately $625 million in undrawn lines of credit.

In its commitment to maintaining a balanced approach to capital allocation, JetBlue executed an additional $125 million in share repurchases during the quarter.

During the third quarter, JetBlue repaid $54 million in regularly scheduled debt and capital lease obligations, and raised $261 million in net proceeds in secured aircraft debt. JetBlue anticipates paying approximately $45 million in regularly scheduled debt and capital lease obligations in the fourth quarter and approximately $223 million for the full year 2018. JetBlue anticipates maintaining a 30-40% adjusted debt to cap range and liquidity between 10% and 12%.

Fuel Expense and Hedging

The realized fuel price in the quarter was $2.32 per gallon, a 36.6% increase versus third quarter 2017 realized fuel price of $1.69.

JetBlue entered into forward fuel derivative contracts to hedge approximately 7.7% of its fuel consumption during the fourth quarter of 2018. Based on the fuel curve as of October 15^th, JetBlue expects an average price per gallon of fuel of $2.48 in the fourth quarter of 2018.

About JetBlue

JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 40 million customers a year to 103 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 1,000 daily flights. For more information please visit www.jetblue.com.

Notes

(1) Consolidated operating cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel and related taxes, and operating expenses related to other non-airline businesses (CASM Ex-Fuel) is a non-GAAP financial measure that we use to measure our core performance. Note A provides a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures used in this release and provides the reasons management uses those measures.

Image from http://blog.jetblue.com

Embraer Delivers 15 Commercial, 24 Executive Jets In Q3

October 19, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Embraer has released the following press announcement on its website:

São José dos Campos, Brazil, October 19th, 2018 – During the third quarter of 2018 (3Q18), Embraer (NYSE: ERJ; BM&FBOVESPA: EMBR3) delivered 15 jets to the commercial aviation market and 24 business jets, being 17 light jets and 7 large jets. On September 30, Embraer’s firm order backlog totaled USD13.6 billion.

Regarding the commercial aviation market, Embraer forecasted in its Market Outlook a demand for 10,550 new aircraft with up to 150 seats worldwide over the next 20 years,. The in-service fleet is set to increase to 16,000 aircraft, up from the 9,000 aircraft currently in operation. Market growth will drive 65% of this demand, while the remaining 35% of the projected demand will be to replace ageing aircraft.

Embraer and Helvetic Airways signed a contract for a firm order of 12 E190-E2 jets during 3Q18. The agreement was announced at the Farnborough Airshow in July as a Letter of Intent. The contract also includes purchase rights for another 12 E190-E2 aircraft, with the possibility of conversion to the E195-E2 model, raising the order potential for up to 24 aircraft. Deliveries should occur between the end of 2019 and 2021. Also in Farnborough, United Airlines made a firm order for 25 E175 jets in a 70-seat configuration. Deliveries will begin in the second quarter of 2019.

In 3Q18, Embraer also signed a contract with an undisclosed customer for up to five E195-E2s, being three firm orders and two purchase rights. This agreement was previously announced as a Letter of Intent (LoI) during the Farnborough Airshow. In addition, the Company continues to work on finalizing its recent LoI signed at the Farnborough Airshow for 100 E175 aircraft for Republic Airways, with the expectation that a significant portion of these jets should enter the Company’s backlog by the end of 2018.

A total of 134 jets were removed from Embraer’s backlog in 3Q18. The majority of these planes belong to an order placed by Skywest for 100 E175-E2s, and were removed largely due to IFRS accounting changes. Given current timing uncertainty of the scope clause changes in the U.S. market to allow the heavier E175-E2 to be flown by regional airlines under capacity purchase agreements (CPAs) for mainline airlines, Embraer has proactively adopted best practices to align with the latest IFRS principles and remove the order from backlog given its conditionality terms. Skywest remains committed with the E175-E2 order and its terms are unchanged. The other 34 jets that were removed from the Company’s backlog in 3Q18 are related to cancellations, including an order for 24 E190 jets that were cancelled by JetBlue following its recent fleet renewal decision.

In the business jets segment, Embraer first exhibited the Phenom 100EV, Phenom 300E and Legacy 650E aircraft with full interior at Labace, the largest Latin American executive aviation fair which took place in São Paulo in August. Embraer also delivered its first Phenom 300E in Asia Pacific.

Embraer Services & Support signed relevant agreements in Europe and Africa during the quarter. LOT Polish Airlines, the national carrier of Poland and leading airline in Central Europe, signed an extension of its pool agreement to support LOT’s fleet of 34 Embraer E-Jets. Kenya Airways also joined a service program whereby Embraer will take over the planning and replenishment of a sizeable portion of Kenya Airways’ spare parts stock covering the 15 Embraer E190 aircraft operated by the airline. Sahara Africa Aviation also signed a multi-year Pool Program Agreement for spare parts and support covering more than 500 components for their two recently acquired Embraer ERJ 145 jets.

Story and image from http://www.embraer.com

Helvetic Airways Firms Up Order for 12 Embraer E190-E2 jets

September 26, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Zurich, Swiss, September 26th, 2018 – Embraer and Helvetic Airways have signed a contract for a firm order of 12 E190-E2 jets. This agreement was announced as a Letter of Intent (LoI) at the recent Farnborough Air Show, in July. The firm order has a value of USD 730 million, based on current list prices, and will be included in Embraer’s 2018 third-quarter backlog. The contract also includes purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2, with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order up to 24 E-Jets E2s. With all the purchase rights being exercised, the deal has a list price of USD 1.5 billion.

The announcement was made by the two companies during the Zurich debut of the E190-E2, the world’s most efficient and quietest single-aisle aircraft, as part of its tour of Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The first 12 E190-E2 aircraft will begin replacing Helvetic’s five Fokker 100s and seven E190s, starting in late 2019 and completing in autumn 2021. The purchase options for a further 12 aircraft (E190-E2 or E195-E2) will enable Helvetic Airways to grow according to market opportunities.

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 1,400 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft.

Image from https://embraer.com/global/en

Embraer Pitches New E2 Regional Jet for Alaska Air

August 28, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Alaska Air Group would be an ideal buyer and operator of Embraer’s new E2 regional jet, the Brazilian jet maker’s top airplane salesman said.

Embraer Commercial Aircraft’s vice president of marketing, rodrigo Silva e Souza, made the remarks as he spoke to reporters at Embraer’s facility at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Click the link below for the full story!

Embraer Pitches New E2 Regional Jet

Aeromexico Crash Is “Miracle In Durango”

August 1, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Dozens of people were injured when a packed Aeromexico-operated Embraer jet crashed right after takeoff in Mexico’s state of Durango on Tuesday, but authorities said most were not seriously hurt and there were no fatalities.

The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 103 people including two infants and four crew members on board, when it crashed at about 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), authorities said. Passengers and crew jumped to safety before the plane was engulfed in flames.

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Aeromexico “Miracle In Durango”

JetBlue Places Order For 60 Airbus A220’s

July 10, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Airbus SE scored a key victory on Tuesday, with U.S. airline JetBlue announcing it would buy 60 of its A220-300 narrowbody jets, the first major order for the planemaker’s newly rebranded programme as its battle with rival Boeing Co intensifies.

Earlier on Tuesday, Airbus unveiled the new A220 name for the 110-seat to 130-seat model jets, previously called the CSeries under Canadian firm Bombardier, at a ceremony at the planemaker’s Toulouse facilities in France.

Airbus has taken majority control of the loss-making Montreal-based aircraft programme, with Bombardier and Quebec as minority partners. The deal closed on July 1.

“We feel the 220 is the perfect fit for our network, strategy and customer experience, and most importantly, for our owners,” JetBlue Chief Financial Officer Steve Priest said in a phone interview. “It really is the ideal aircraft to carry the momentum of our structured cost programme well into the next decade.”

The A220 will replace JetBlue’s existing fleet of 60 Embraer E190 aircraft, with those jets retiring beginning in 2020.

The A220’s triumph over Brazil’s Embraer SA sets the stage for a fierce competition between Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing Co in the narrowbody market. Both major planemakers have recently taken stakes in smaller rivals’ jet programs.

Boeing last week announced a tentative deal for a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft arm of Embraer under a new $4.75 billion (£3.57 billion) joint venture.

“It’s a very smart decision on JetBlue’s part because the A220 is an extremely flexible airplane,” Atmosphere Research Group fleet analyst Henry Harteveldt said, adding that it was a “completely new airplane” with a fuel efficiency that would allow JetBlue to carry “20 to 30 more passengers for free.”

The jets will be powered by Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan (GTF) PW1500G engines. Pratt & Whitney is owned by Connecticut-based United Technologies Corp.

JetBlue declined to outline the financial details of the deal.

The carrier said the new aircraft will be assembled at Airbus’ Mobile, Alabama, facility.

(Reporting by Alana Wise in New York and Tim Hepher in Toulouse, France; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Photo from:

https://www.airbus.com/

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