Embraer is a Brazilian aerospace company, and while they produce a wide range of aircraft (commercial, executive, agricultural, and military), when people refer to "Embraer aircraft" in a commercial passenger context, they are usually thinking of their highly successful E-Jet family or the smaller ERJ family. These aircraft specialize in the regional jet market, bridging the gap between smaller turboprops and larger mainline narrow-body jets.
Let's focus on the E-Jet family as it's their most prominent commercial offering:
The Embraer E-Jets (comprising the E170, E175, E190, and E195, and their updated E2 generation like the E175-E2, E190-E2, E195-E2) are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine regional jet airliners. They are designed to offer mainline jet comfort and performance in the 70- to 150-seat market, allowing airlines to efficiently serve routes that don't warrant larger aircraft.
Here are their main characteristics (focusing on the first-generation E-Jets, which are most common):
- Type: Narrow-body, twin-engine regional jet airliner.
- Family: E-Jets (E170, E175, E190, E195) and second-generation E-Jets E2 (E175-E2, E190-E2, E195-E2).
- Capacity:
- E170: Typically around 70-80 passengers.
- E175: Typically around 76-88 passengers.
- E190: Typically around 96-114 passengers.
- E195: Typically around 100-124 passengers.
- Range: Designed for short-to-medium range flights, serving regional routes, domestic networks, and increasingly, some longer thin routes, often flying well over 2,000 nautical miles.
- First Flight: The E170 first flew in February 2002, with subsequent models following. The E2 generation began flying in 2016.
- Distinguishing Features: A key design philosophy is the "double-bubble" fuselage which provides a more spacious cabin with no middle seats in a typical 2+2 abreast configuration (for the E170/175) or 2+2/2+1 (for the E190/195), larger overhead bins, and generous window placement, giving passengers a "mainline feel." They feature modern avionics, efficient turbofan engines (GE CF34 for E-Jets, Pratt & Whitney PW1000G for E2-Jets), and an emphasis on operational commonality across the family.
- Usage: Extremely popular with regional airlines and major carriers globally to feed hubs, serve smaller markets, or open up new point-to-point routes that are not viable with larger aircraft.
The E-Jet family has been instrumental in defining the modern regional jet market, offering airlines flexibility and profitability while providing a comfortable experience for passengers.
