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By the time Embraer's jets - the ERJ-145 and ERJ-135 - were being received well, the transformation of this Brazilian aerospace manufacturer from a flailing enterprise to a competitor to Bombardier had been described as "a saga from agony to glory". In a news piece published in The New York Times in 2000, Embraer was described as a "scrappy, audacious and canny survivor". It was during this time when Embraer was being lauded with such epithets that it was developing jets that would, in almost a decade after its launch, clock ten million flight hours - the Embraer E jets.Photo: 4300streetcar | Wikimedia Commons
Entering the 70-120-seater market
In our previous article on the history of the Embraer Jets, we discussed how the manufacturer entered the 30-50 seat market competing with Bombardier: ERJ 145 having 50-seat capacity, while the variants ERJ 135 and the ERJ 140 have 37 and 44 seats, respectively.
In 1999, Embraer, which had identified a gap between capacity and demand for this range of planes that would serve the 70- to 120-seat market, started developing an aircraft that would serve this purpose.
In February 2002, the 70 to 78-seat Embraer 170 completed its first flight, taking off from São José dos Campos. In the following two years, Embraer completed the maiden flights of its 78- to 86-seat Embraer 175 as well as its 98- to 106-seat Embraer 190. In December 2004, the 108- to 118-seat Embraer 195 accomplished its first successful flight.Photo: Acroterion | Wikimedia Commons
Why Embraer Entered the 70- to 120-seat Market
Several reasons motivated Embraer to manufacture 70 to 120-seat planes. Firstly, in the absence of a true 70-120 seat aircraft category, airlines often had no choice but to fly jets that were too large or too small for mid-density markets.
The other reason behind Embraer's pursuit of the manufacture of a 70-120 seater plane was the fact that the rise of low-cost carriers reshaped aircraft demand in favor of smaller and more fuel-efficient designs. Snippets of research published by the University of Virginia highlight this:
"In 2002, 61% of flights in the United States departed the airport with loads appropriate for 70- to 110-seat aircraft….. the downturn in the airline industry that began with September 11, 2001, along with the resulting price wars, had highlighted the fact that the majors required a high-load factor to compete effectively against LCCs. Furthermore, the increased volatility of passenger demand created a greater need for flexibility among airlines."
Even though major carriers were deliberating the use of smaller planes for short-to intermediate range flights, restructuring fleets was difficult. And this was largely down to scope clauses, which had been embedded in major airline labor agreements, restricting the size of aircraft operated by affiliated regional carriers.
According to the University of Virginia, the intent of the clauses was "to protect the salaries of the major airlines' highly paid union members that were often twice the salaries of their counterparts in the regional affiliate".
Financial pressure on major U.S. airlines prompted some unions to relax scope clause limits that had restricted regional affiliates to 50-seat aircraft, enabling the introduction of jets with more than 70 seats. At the same time, over one-third of aircraft in the 61-120 seat category exceed 20 years of age. This meant that over the course of the decade, 690 aircraft were replaced within the next decade. Embraer could, and did, capitalize on this with its E-Jets.Photo: Matti Blume | Wikimedia Commons
Embraer Develops the E-Jets
Around 1997, Embraer was looking to develop an aircraft larger than the ERJ-145, the ERJ-170/190, whose development costs were estimated to be $450 million. The ERJ-170/190 would have an entirely new design. Embraer wanted to have a four-abreast concept and necessitated a new cabin cross-section. In 1999, the company announced that the project would be developed in 42 months. Following a $4.9 billion order from Swiss regional carrier Crossair, development of the ERJ-170 was underway.
Here are a few snippets of the history of the development of the ERJ 170:
March 1999: Embraer expanded its early engagement with airlines by growing the Airline Advisory Board from its initial group, beginning a process of continuous feedback from launch customers and prospective operators to guide cockpit design, systems integration, and operational requirements.
February 2000: The joint definition phase of the ERJ-170 program concluded. By this point, roughly 600 engineers were involved in preliminary design work at São José dos Campos, with about half drawn from Embraer and the remainder representing 16 international risk-sharing partners from seven countries.
September 2000: The ERJ-170 entered the critical design phase. This stage included close collaboration with Crossair and marked the transition from conceptual development to finalized engineering definitions.
July 2000: Manufacturing activity began with the cutting of the first metal parts for the aircraft, signaling the start of physical production.
September 2000: Assembly of major components commenced approximately two months after the first metal cutting, as initial aircraft sections began to take shape.
July 2001: Final assembly officially started with the joining of the fuselage sections, including the center fuselage and nose section, produced locally in Brazil.
August 2001: After painting, the completed fuselage was mated with the main wing, which had been assembled at Embraer's facilities.
September 2001: Installation of the final major structural assemblies was completed, including the empennage supplied by Gamesa and the engine pylons manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, preparing the aircraft for engine installation.
Mid-October 2001: Aircraft systems were scheduled to be powered on for the first time, allowing initial functional tests to be carried out ahead of the aircraft's formal rollout.
On October 23, 2001, Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer ERJ-170/190 programme director, was quoted to have said that the assembly of "the first aircraft has gone extremely well":
"We have had all the structural parts mating very well and so have spent less time in final assembly. This is thanks to the design tools we're using, the virtual reality centre as well as having the partner suppliers sit together. We've been able to keep our schedule in part because of that."
Photo: MarcelX42 | Wikimedia CommonsTo support the manufacture of the ERJ-170 series, Embraer constructed a new 16,000 square meter production facility, which contained seven assembly stations and was designed to build as many as eight aircraft per month.
Embraer also advanced two stretched variants of the ERJ-170, and planned a fourth model. The ERJ-190-200 shared " 89% commonality with the ERJ-170 in terms of line-replaceable units." The 106- to 110-seat variant was designed around the higher-thrust CF34-10E engine. Here's how the ERJ 170 and ERJ 190 compare:
Specification Embraer ERJ-170 Embraer ERJ-190Crew 2 pilots 2 pilotsTypical Passengers 80 114Length 98 ft 1 in 118 ft 9 inWingspan 85 ft 4 in 94 ft 2 inHeight 31 ft 7 in 34 ft 7 inMaximum Takeoff Weight 85,098 lb 110,892 lbOperating Weight 44,423 lb 61,906 lbMax Payload 21,480 lb 28,700 lbRange 2,100 nm (3,889 km) 2,400 nm (4,445 km)Service Ceiling 41,000 ft 41,000 ftCruise Speed 470 kts 470 ktsTakeoff Distance 3,776 ft 4,157 ftLanding Distance 4,000 ft 4,081 ftEngines 2 × GE CF34-8E turbofans 2 × GE CF34-10E turbofansPhoto: PierreSelim | Wikimedia CommonsThe E170 made its debut in 2002, and interest from airlines led Embraer to develop a lengthened derivative of the E170, designated the E175. Momentum accelerated in June 2003 when U.S. low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways placed a landmark order for 100 E190s, with options for an additional 100. Valued at $3 billion, the deal could double to $6 billion if all options were exercised.
The E170 achieved certification from global aviation authorities in 2004 and entered commercial service on March 17 of that year, when LOT Polish Airlines operated the first revenue flight between Warsaw and Vienna. By then, launch customer Crossair had ceased operations and reemerged as Swiss International Air Lines.Photo: Acroterion | Wikimedia Commons
The E170 and E175 formed the baseline platform, while the larger E190 and E195 were developed as stretched variants featuring:
Enlarged wings
Higher-thrust engines
Strengthened landing gear to support increased capacity