The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) certified the Embraer E195-E2, less than a year after certifying the smaller E190-E2.
According to Embraer’s announcement, the CAAC issued the final Type Certificate (TC) for the E195-E2 on August 23, 2023. Following the certification of the E190-E2 during the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2022, both actively developed E2 family aircraft are now able to fly in the country.
Embraer suspended the development of the E175-E2 in February 2022, delaying the entry-into-service (EIS) date of the regional jet until 2027. At the time, the Brazilian manufacturer cited United States (US) scope clause agreements as the reason for the delay, with the pilot unions in the country limiting the maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of regional aircraft that are flown by regional affiliates of the major carriers.
Still, Arjan Meijer, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Embraer Commercial Aviation said that the company is “excited” to have the two E2 family aircraft certified in China, which will pave “the way for sales in the Chinese market”.
“There are significant opportunities for the E2 in China, which offers complementary capacity to China’s indigenous ARJ21 and C919 aircraft,” Meijer continued, adding that the combination of the three aircraft “provide flexible, efficient, and eco-friendly options for Chinese airlines”.
The manufacturer noted that its 20-year market outlook, published in June 2023, said that the Asia-Pacific market, which includes China, is expected to grow strongly, with demand, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) growing by 4.4% annually.
“With both the Chinese and Brazilian governments reiterating their support for Embraer’s activities in China during Brazilian President Lula’s State visit to China, I’m very optimistic about the opportunities in China,” said Guo Qing, the managing director and vice president Commercial Aviation at Embraer China.
According to ch-aviation.com data, Embraer has so far delivered 18 E190-E2 and 65 E195-E2 aircraft globally, with the only Asian operator being Air Astana. The Kazakhstani carrier has five Embraer E190-E2 currently active in its fleet.