IN THIS ISSUE LONDON CITY UPDATE JAPAN GETS RIGHT

Issue I • June 2009
IN THIS ISSUE
LONDON CITY UPDATE
JAPAN GETS RIGHT SIZED
ERJ 145s FOR UKRAINE
A CROWNING ACH
HIEVEMENT
It was yet another E-Jets program milestone
when I saw a regal-looking EMBRAER 190
bearing registration PP-XMA, the Empress
of London City, touch down on Runway 28
at the airport for which the special livery
aircraft was named. The March 28th arrival
signaled the start of an eight-day series
of test flights required by the UK CAA as
part of the certification process for steep
approach operations at one of Europe’s
more challenging airports.
The trial flights demonstrated the E190’s
capability to land on the 4,327 ft (1,319
m) runway in a range of meteorological
conditions. Because of the high concentration of air traffic during peak business days,
flights were conducted during off-peak
periods and on weekends. A total of 40 take
offs and landings were completed. Embraer
engineers and CAA officials are in the
final phase of reviewing the test data and
certification is expected by the end of this
year. The E190’s sister aircraft, the E170,
received its steep approach certification in
June 2007.
BA CityFlyer will take delivery of the first
of six E170s in September and five E190s
will follow next year. The airline will fly its
E-Jets exclusively between LCY and points
in England, Scotland, Ireland and continental
Europe.
As someone who has been involved with
the development and marketing of the
E-Jets product line for nearly ten years, I
consider having two members of the E-Jets
family certified for LCY operations to be the
program’s jewel in the crown.
June 2009
Luiz Chiessi
Vice President, Market Intelligence
JAL
MAKES A MOVE
TO THE RIGHT
J-AIR E-JETS HELP RIGHT SIZE
JAPAN’S LEADING AIRLINE
As the airline industry continues to confront the realities of economic recession
and the financial crisis, the need to right size fleets and better match capacity
to demand has never been more critical. In Asia, Japan Airlines recognized the
need for smaller aircraft and took delivery of its first 76-seat EMBRAER 170s and
is operating them with J-AIR, a subsidiary owned 100% by the JAL Group.
“Over the past few years, the JAL Group saw a need to down size the airline’s
fleet to accommodate the new realities of market demand and competition,”
according to Satoshi Yamanishi, managing director of J-AIR. In that time, the
regional arm of Japan Airlines has built an impressive domestic network of 14
cities and workforce of 359 employees. “We saw a need for aircraft between 50
and 100 seats so we introduced the E170 to fill that gap to help with our right
sizing initiative.”
The first E170 arrived at J-AIR’s Nagoya base last November and immediately
began an intensive series of training flights to qualify pilots under Japan Civil
Aviation Bureau regulations. Cabin attendants and maintenance staff had access
to the E170 when it was not flying so that they could supplement their ground
training programs. J-AIR also uses Embraer’s E-Jet simulator in Singapore. After
the second E170 arrived in January, the airline started scheduled revenue flights
on February 1. As of this month, there are now three E170s in the J-AIR fleet.
Teams of fleet planners and technical staff at Japan Airlines evaluated the options
for jet aircraft to fill the capacity gap between 50 and 100 seats. “We placed a lot
of emphasis on cabin comfort to ensure the new aircraft would offer standards
consistent with our larger narrow body fleet,” says Mr. Yamanishi. “In particular,
we valued the E170’s wide cabin feel and passenger boarding bridge capability.
This makes it easier to operate at larger airports and minimizes the need for
special ground service equipment.”
In the first four months of service, J-AIR’s two E-Jets carried more than 50,000
passengers on 1,264 flights with only six delays and three cancellations. The
airline ensures that high level of reliability with a stock of spares at its Nagoya
maintenance facility and accesses additional spares from Embraer’s Singapore
warehouse. The E170 fleet is scheduled such that every airplane overnights in
Nagoya which simplifies maintenance activities.
Daily utilization is currently about seven hours per aircraft and is a function of the
short distance sectors on which the E170s are deployed. J-AIR operates its E-Jets
from Komaki Airfield which is 17 kilometers north of downtown Nagoya, one third
of the distance passengers must travel to the larger Chubu International Airport
south of the city. Block time from Nagoya Komaki to Fukuoka is 80 minutes and
to Matsuyama is one hour. “Seventy-six seats is the right capacity and it fills the
gap nicely,” says Mr. Yamanishi. “As we get more experience with the E170s, we
will take greater advantage of their tremendous versatility. It’s the right airplane
coming at the right time for us.”
Visit www.JAL.com to see where J-AIR flies in Japan.
4
June 2009
5
While
the North American and European demand for
small capacity regional jets has peaked, there are some
areas of the world that are showing a growing interest in
smaller-capacity aircraft. From its hub in Dnipropetrovsk,
Ukraine, Dniproavia has discovered the potential of 50-seat
jets.
In order to attract higher fare passengers, the airline
configures its ERJs with 49 seats in two classes. A curtain
divides the cabin into premium and economy sections.
Although the seats are the same throughout the aircraft,
business class passengers receive superior on board service
in the forward rows of the cabin.
In the last ten years, the aviation industry in Russia and the
CIS has seen 53% of its commercial airlines merge or cease
flying and many airports become obsolete. In Russia alone,
traffic flow on domestic routes has fallen by nearly 50%
with many feeder services simply vanishing. Yet carriers like
Dniproavia see a unique opportunity to renew their fleets
despite the impact of the global financial crisis.
Rail service links most regional centers but journeys can
often take a half-day or overnight. The majority of the
airline’s flights has block times of 90 minutes and covers
the expanse of the Ukraine. Since business travellers prefer
same-day trips, all seven of the ERJ markets from Borispol
airport are served with prime weekday morning and evening
departures. The airline also operates seasonal charter flights,
often to Rhodes and Nice. The ERJs are not limited to shorthaul sectors. Scheduled services between Dnepropetrovsk
and Vienna, Yerevan, Moscow Domodedovo are about two
hours flying time. The focus of the fleet, however, is on
maintaining the high-frequency schedule within Ukraine.
The airline has been carefully building its network with
eleven ERJ 145s and believes it is the right size airplane to
complement its fleet of B737s. The Ukraine is home to 47
million people, the second most populous of the CIS member
states. The broad geography of the Ukraine makes air links
essential for the efficient transport of people and goods.
Dniproavia’s ERJ 145 deployment strategy is similar to the
proven formula of regional airlines in the USA and Europe:
frequency and well-timed flights scheduled to accommodate
business travellers.
6
Mark Dunnachie, Managing Director of ECC Leasing,
Embraer’s Dublin-based company that manages and
remarkets Embraer’s pre-owned aircraft portfolio, sees
strong potential for ERJs in Russia and the CIS. “Since 75%
of domestic flights serve Moscow, there is an enormous gap
in the regional point-to-point market. The Russian
government recognized the need to replace the
country’s ageing fleet when it issued a temporary
waiver of the 20% import tax for aircraft of 50
seats or less.” By the end of next year, half of the
entire fleet of Russian airliners with fewer than 120
seats will have reached its age limit and will be
withdrawn from service.
Dniproavia’s own technicians perform line
maintenance at outstations. LOT Polish Airlines,
a long time ERJ 145 operator, conducts heavy
maintenance for Dniproavia at Warsaw. Dunnachie
adds “we recently launched our Lifetime Programme,
a nose-to-tail support service designed specifically
for pre-owned Embraer aircraft. We’re committed
to helping Dniproavia become the flagship ERJ 145
operator in the region.”
Learn more about Dniproavia at dniproavia.com
and ECC Leasing at www.eccleasing.com
June 2009
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WHO IS FLYING E-JETS?
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LOT Polish Airlines
Alitalia Express
Cirrus Airlines
Air Canada
United Express
Finnair
Delta Connection
US Airways
US Airways Express
JetBlue Airways
Copa Airlines
Paramount Airways
TAME
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Flybe
Air France/Régional
Royal Jordanian
Air Caraïbes
SATENA
Aero República
Mandarin Airlines
EgyptAir Express
Kenya Airways
In Service
Issue 1 Vol. 2 • June 2009
Published by Embraer’s Market Intelligence Division
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Publisher & Editor
Byron Bohlman
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Art Direction
Naomi Covacs
Agencia Ginga
Northwest Airlink
Airnorth
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Aeromexico Connect
nas air
Baboo Airlines
Tianjin Airlines
Montenegro Airlines
Kunpeng Airlines
TACA
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J-AIR
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NIKI
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TRIP
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El Salvador
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