Embraer E-190

Venezuelan carrier Conviasa has placed an order for six Embraer E-190 aircraft, worth $271.2m, as part of plans to refurbish the airline fleet.

The order includes an option for additional 14 E-190 jets, which if exercised would bring the total value of the contract to $904m.

Announced in January, the deal was not finalised as it was awaiting confirmation of a loan from Brazil’s National Bank for Economic and Social Development.

Conviasa president César Martínez Ruiz said the airline considered the E190 jet to be a fundamental part of the process of renovating its fleet.

"These airplanes will allow us to increase connections on both domestic and international routes," Ruiz added.

"These airplanes will allow us to increase connections on both domestic and international routes."

Scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year, the Conviasa’s E-190 jets would be configured with 104 seats, in a single-class layout.

Part of the new four-member Embraer E-Jets line of commercial aircraft, the E-190 is powered by General Electric CF34-10E engines and has a range of 4,450km (2,400nm), which allows the jet to offer more than 5.5 hours of nonstop flight time.

According to Embraer, the jet allows the airlines to deploy it in parallel with larger mainline aircraft as per the variations in seasonal and time-of-day passenger demand, as well as enhance the airline’s fleet capacity and develop new routes with reduced risk of replacing the older aircraft.

Embraer has received more than 1,000 firm orders for E-Jets from 60 airlines in 40 countries.

Currently, Conviasa operates domestic flights to 14 locations and nine internationally.

Image: There are nearly 750 operational E-190 aircraft globally. Photo: courtesy of Embraer SA.