Insight: Understanding JetBlue’s A220 selection over the E2

It has been several years since the airline made its selection.  The selection leaked the day before the summer air show at 2018 Farnborough and shocked Embraer.  Senior Embraer officials believed they had a deal. Airbus

pulled its then-new card and trumped Embraer’s offer. Airbus subsequently played that card, the A220/A321 combo, several times and typically wins.  It is a strong hand. It is crucial to understand JetBlue’s A220 selection over the E2.

Back to JetBlue and its choice.  Embraer sold 60 E190s to JetBlue, and despite some teething issues, the aircraft performed well.  The E2 promised over 17% better economics.  The E2 showed over 1% better fuel burn than projected during its flight test program.  The E190-E2 also offers 600NM more range from hot and high airports like Denver and up to 1,000NM more from London. A crucial data point, one would have thought, for JetBlue was the promise that the E190-E2 offered 10,000 hours between basic checks.  

All told, the E2’s improvements are substantial for an E190 customer.  No new crew training is needed.  A “plug and play” situation, right?  The top brass at Embraer had every reason to be confident.  That Airbus won the order had more to do with JetBlue’s then-existing A320neo order being upgraded to the A321neo.