Embraer E-Jets

The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of twin-engine regional jets from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. They are narrow-body aircraft with four-abreast seating, designed for short to medium-range routes. The E-Jet was created to work alongside Embraer’s earlier ERJ family, which was the company’s first jet-powered regional plane. These new jets were much bigger than anything Embraer had built before, carrying between 66 and 124 passengers.

The project was first revealed in early 1997 and officially introduced at the 1999 Paris Air Show. The first prototype flew on 19 February 2002, and production started later that year. The first delivery, an E170, went to LOT Polish Airlines on 17 March 2004. Early problems were quickly fixed, and Embraer expanded its product support worldwide. Larger versions, the E190 and E195, entered service later in 2004, followed by the stretched E175 in mid-2005.

The E-Jet family became a commercial success mainly because it could serve lower-demand routes while offering many features found on larger jets. Both mainline and regional airlines around the world use the E-Jet, especially regional carriers in the United States. It also became the basis for the Lineage 1000 business jet.

In the 2010s, Embraer launched the second-generation E-Jet E2 family with more fuel-efficient engines. However, as of 2026, the original E175 is still in production because U.S. regional airlines are limited by scope clauses that prevent them from using the newer E2 models.

**Development**

**Background** In the 1990s, Embraer introduced its first jet-powered regional aircraft, the ERJ family. Demand for the ERJ was strong early on, but the company decided it could not rely on just one aircraft family. It began looking at options for a complementary regional jet, including larger and more advanced designs. In March 1997, Embraer publicly disclosed it was studying a new 70-seat aircraft, initially called the EMB 170, at the same time it announced the ERJ 135. The original plan was to mate a new wing and larger fuselage with the nose and cockpit of the ERJ 145, with a development cost of $450 million.

At the time, Alenia, Aerospatiale, and British Aerospace (through AI(R)) were studying the Airjet 70, based on the ATR 42/72 fuselage, for a 2,200 km range. AI(R) and Embraer were also looking at jointly developing a 70-seat jet, since neither project had launched yet. In February 1999, Embraer abandoned the derivative approach and went with an all-new design. The E-Jet family was formally launched at the Paris Air Show on 14 June 1999, initially called the ERJ-170 and ERJ-190, later renamed Embraer 170 and Embraer 190. Launch customers were French airline Régional (ten E170 orders plus five options) and Swiss airline Crossair (30 E170s and 30 E190s).

Production of components for prototypes and test airframes began in July 2000. Delays came from difficulties with the advanced Honeywell avionics, pushing back the first flight from 2000. The first prototype, PP-XJE, was rolled out on 29 October 2001 in São José dos Campos, Brazil.

**First Flight** The first prototype made its maiden flight on 19 February 2002, starting a multi-year test campaign with six prototypes. In May 2002, the aircraft was shown at the Regional Airline Association convention. Full-rate production began that same year at a new factory Embraer built at its São José dos Campos base. After positive feedback from airlines, Embraer launched the E175, stretching the E170 fuselage by 1.78 meters. The E175 first flew in June 2003. In April 2003, jetBlue ordered 100 Embraer 190s, with deliveries starting two years later. The E170 received type certification from Brazilian, European, and U.S. authorities in February 2004, after several certification delays.

**Production** In 2008, the 400th E-Jet was delivered to Republic Airways in the United States. The 600th went to LOT Polish Airlines in September 2009. On 10 October 2012, the 900th E-Jet was delivered to Kenya Airways. On 13 September 2013, the 1,000th E-Jet—an E175 for American Eagle—was delivered to Republic Airways, marked by a ceremony at the Embraer factory and a special decal above the cabin windows. On 6 December 2017, the 1,400th E-Jet (an E175) was delivered, with a backlog of over 150 firm orders as of 30 September 2017. On 18 December 2018, the 1,500th E-Jet (an E175) went to Horizon Air, an Alaska Air subsidiary. At that point, the fleet had completed 25 million flight hours in 18 million cycles (average 1.4 hours per cycle) with 99.9% dependability. Embraer claimed an 80% market share of North American 76-seaters. On 8 September 2025, the 1,900th E-Jet, an E190-E2, was delivered to Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, featuring a special "1900th E-Jet" decal.

**E-Jets Second Generation** In November 2011, Embraer announced it would develop the second-generation E-Jet E2 family.