Embraer pitches E2 jet to EX-YU airlines
Embraer has pitched its E195-E2 aircraft to Montenegro Airlines, Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines, with the jet, dubbed the “profit hunter”, visiting Podgorica, Belgrade and Zagreb last week. “We handed over our first production E195-E2 to leasing giant AerCap and launch operator Azul Airlines of Brazil earlier this month. We are proud to show off our new aircraft to operators across the region. We are already seeing many of these customers interested in the world-beating aircraft”, Martyn Holmes, the Vice President for Europe, Russia, Central Asia & Leasing for Embraer Commercial Aviation, said. “We are eager to present the E195-E2 to airlines”, he added.
Montenegro Airlines, which is the only national carrier in the former Yugoslavia to operate Embraer-manufactured aircraft, has expressed interest in the new jet. The Montenegrin carrier is currently in the process of finalising a commercial strategy which will define the company’s development over the next three to five years in terms of its destination network and fleet structure. It is believed the strategy will include replacing the airline’s remaining Fokker jets with two E195s. Furthermore, in three years’ time, the carrier would replace its first E195, delivered in 2008, with the new E195-E2. The E2 family of aircraft have the capacity to seat between eighty and 132 passengers, depending on the variant and cabin layout.
Air Serbia, which is studying the renewal of its ageing regional fleet, also plans to replace its narrow-body Airbus fleet in the coming years. According to previous statements made by the Serbian Finance Minister, Siniša Mali, who served as the President of the airline's Supervisory Board between 2013 and 2018, the national carrier will replace A319 and A320 jets within a three year period in the lead-up to 2025. The airline was to start taking delivery of ten A320neo jets late last year, however, part-owner Etihad Airways cancelled its order for the aircraft this January, which were destined for Air Serbia.
Fleet expansion has been set as one of the priorities for Croatia Airlines’ future strategic partner. The carrier’s sale process is due to begin by June 1, 2020 at the latest. The carrier has been wet-leasing two CRJ1000 aircraft from Spain's Air Nostrum over the summer season for three years running and will take delivery of two A320neos in 2022 and a further two in 2023. However, the airline previously said it was seeking to acquire airframes that would bridge the difference in the capacity of its Airbus jets, which have between 144 to 174 seats, and the Dash 8 Q400 with 76 seats. It noted that the introduction of a third type of aircraft would further optimise the entire fleet and allow even better adjustment to capacity on the Croatian market, which is highly seasonal.
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