Embraer and Republic Airways announced a contract for 47 E175s. Republic is the largest E-Jet operator in the world, so its selection is no surprise. The agreement includes options for an additional 47 aircraft, providing a potential for 94 E175s, which could yield a total value of $4 billion at list prices.
The new aircraft will be operated by Republic Airlines under the American Eagle brand. The deal is subject to court approval which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2013. Having just approved the 787 deal, we expect the court to approve this deal also. The E175 will feature a dual-class layout, seating 76 and the first delivery is scheduled for mid-2013.
Interestingly this is the first order for the “enhanced” E-Jet. Embraer is doing a series of enhancements to the current E-Jets, including new wingtips, systems optimization and aerodynamic refinements that will lower fuel burn by up to 5%s.
Note significantly larger wingtips compared to current E-Jets. The next image shows what the current version looks like.
The winglets look a lot like the ones in the newly released cseries pictures…
An extremely important order for Embraer filling up the line until 2018.