E195-E2 approved to fly in China, but Embraer still has no customers in the country

As expected, Embraer was awarded type certification for the E195-E2, its largest commercial jet, in China. The CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) approved the approval for the aircraft with up to 146 seats to fly in the country.

Last year, the Brazilian planemaker had obtained the same certificate for the E190-E2, an intermediate version of the E2 family. The relevance of the milestone can be measured by the fact that the rival A220, from Airbus, does not yet have Chinese certification.

“We’re excited to now have both the E190-E2 and E195-E2 certified by CAAC, paving the way for sales in the Chinese market,” said Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation.

The issue, however, is that Embraer does not have any orders for the E2 jets in China so far. Chinese airlines have primarily ordered aircraft from Airbus, which maintains an assembly line locally.

Boeing, which suffers from constant friction between the US and Chinese governments, ATR and Embraer have had difficulties approving agreements in the country.

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China, in turn, is investing in the production of its own commercial aircraft. COMAC’s ARJ21-700 regional jet already has more than 100 units in service and deliveries have grown year by year.

In December last year, the same COMAC delivered the first series production C919 to China Eastern Airlines. Similar in size to the A320neo and the 737 MAX, the jet should become the mainstay of Chinese air transport in the coming years.

Embraer is betting on filling the niche between the ARJ21 (90 seats) and the C919 (164 seats) to fit the E190-E2 and E195-E2.

“Our team in China is actively working with potential customers and making good progress. There are significant opportunities for the E2 in China, which offers complementary capacity to China’s indigenous ARJ21 and C919 aircraft,” explained Meijer.

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Even an assembly line in China has been considered by Embraer, if it proves that there is sufficient demand. The company has already produced the ERJ 145 in the country, in partnership with AVIC.

It is now expected that dual certification of the E2s could pave the way for the first orders in several years from Chinese carriers.