Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer announced it has signed a contract with Brazil's airline Trip Linhas Aéreas, this Friday, June 20, for the sale of five Embraer 175 jets. The deal also includes options for ten more, plus purchase rights for another 15.
The total value of the firm orders, at list price, is US$ 167.5 million, and could go over US$ 1 billion if all of the options and purchase rights are confirmed for the Embraer 175.
"We are proud to have Trip Linhas Aéreas as the newest operator of our E-Jets family in Brazil," said Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer President and CEO.
"Trip is one of the largest regional airlines in South America, and we are certain that the Embraer 175 will contribute to both enhance its growth process and consolidate Brazil's regional air transportation network."
Trip's Embraer 175 jets will be configured in a single class, offering seats to 86 passengers. The delivery of the first airplane is expected for 2009.
"The Embraer 175 was chosen by Trip after a thorough technical-economic evaluation," said José Mário Caprioli, founder and President of Trip Linhas Aéreas. "The model presented advantages in the three basic aspects of our analysis: best relationship between operating cost and passenger comfort, performance on short runways, and seating capacity.
"This last factor was decisive for us, since we are a regional airline and, for that reason, we need a fleet of aircraft with fewer seats in order to serve our markets and maintain our operations. We are proud of the fact that the jet is made in Brazil and that we can collaborate in integrating the Brazilian commercial aviation system."
The Embraer 175 is the second of the four members of Embraer's E-Jets family and entered service in July 2005. On March 31, 2008, there were 835 firm orders for the Embraer 170/190 E-Jets plus 840 options from more than 45 customers in 28 countries, and the model had surpassed 1.4 million flight hours.
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