The first of three E190-E2s that will be operated by Madagascar Airlines will be an aircraft manufactured almost two years ago that should have been delivered to Congo Airways.
The information was revealed by a member of the Malagasy government and corresponds with data from Planespotters, which assigns the aircraft serial number 19020016.
The jet flew for the first time on October 22, 2021 and was initially associated with the Chinese carrier Fuzhou Airlines, then Astana Airlines and finally Congo Airways.
l’Embraer E 190-E2 de Congo Airways, fabriqué sur commande, avance versée, personnel formé puis Silence radio.
L’avion aurait finalement été vendu à Air Madagascar et arrive en septembre 2023 aux couleurs de Madagascar, rebaptisé A.Rajoelina à la place de E. Tshisekedi.@BZahinda pic.twitter.com/uIe7LVULxB— Abel Augustin Amundala 🌍 (@abelamundala) July 21, 2023
The E190-E2 even received livery from Congo’s state carrier and flew with the provisional registration PR-ERQ. However, Embraer ended up withdrawing the airline’s orders from its backlog in the second quarter of last year.
Congo Airways originally ordered two E175 jets in 2019 but changed the contract by replacing the model with the larger E190-E2. In 2021, it exercised the option to purchase two aircraft, opting for the E195-E2.
The PR-ERQ aircraft returned to fly in Brazil in June, possibly in preparation for delivery in September.
The three E190-E2s that will be delivered to Madagascar Airlines belong to Azorra Aviation, a US leasing company. The E2 family already flies on the African continent with Air Peace, from Nigeria.
