Embraer E190

Embraer launched the E190 in 1999 as the larger member of its E-Jet family. The target was the 100-seat gap between regional jets and the smallest 737s and A319s. Nothing in that bracket had sold well for years, and low-cost carrier JetBlue was the surprise launch customer, committing to 100 aircraft. Other airlines soon followed. Embraer had clearly found a genuine gap in the market.

The E190 first flew on March 12, 2004 and entered service with JetBlue in November 2005. It seats about 100 people and uses a bigger wing and stronger CF34-10E engines than the E170 and E175. The stretched E195 followed closely. Together they let airlines match capacity to demand on routes too thin for narrowbodies. That flexibility was the whole point of the E-Jet family. Orders followed quickly.

Over 560 were delivered to a very varied customer list: JetBlue, KLM Cityhopper, Lufthansa CityLine, Azul, Air Canada, Aeromexico Connect and Tianjin Airlines. It also formed the basis of the Lineage 1000 VIP jet. Production ended as Embraer moved to the re-engined E190-E2, which flew in 2016 and entered service with Widerøe in 2018. Hundreds of original E190s still fly worldwide, and KLM Cityhopper runs one of Europe's largest fleets.

Two General Electric CF34-10E turbofans of about 20,000 pounds thrust each power the E190, paired with a larger wing and taller gear than the E170 and E175 use. That extra height gives the bigger engines enough ground clearance. The double-bubble fuselage keeps the four-abreast 2-2 cabin, so none of its roughly 100 seats is a middle seat.

Fly-by-wire controls and the Honeywell Primus Epic cockpit are common to all first-generation E-Jets, giving one type rating from the E170 to the E195. The E2 successor uses geared turbofans and a new wing.