On June 17, 2021, Qantas announced that it would expand its three-year deal with Alliance Airlines in order to add more Embraer E190 aircraft to its fleet. The move comes as the carrier aims to boost domestic travel and add more routes in response to growing demand.
Four additional Embraer E190 aircraft, having a layout of 94 seats and a five-hour range, would be deployed on regional routes as part of a deal with Alliance Airlines. An agreement was signed to provide the national carrier with the extra capacity of Alliance’s recently acquired 14 Embraer jets, depending on market conditions. The expanded agreement will see the airline increase its options under this deal from 14 jet aircraft to a total of 18.
“Expanding our long-standing relationship with Alliance gives us access to a different aircraft type without spending any capital. The E190 is perfect for connecting capital cities and regional centres. Its size, range and economics have already let us start seven new routes that wouldn’t have worked with our existing fleet,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.
Additional Embraer E190s would help the Australian airline grow its planned domestic capacity to 107% of pre-COVID-19 levels in the fiscal year of 2022. Additionally, the newly activated E190s would free up Qantas Boeing 737 aircraft to be deployed across other domestic routes.
Currently, Qantas has a total of 133 aircraft in its fleet, as per Planespotters.net data. The largest part of the airline’s fleet consists of Boeing 737 aircraft family and Airbus A330 aircraft.