Tianjin Airlines expands with major aircraft deal
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Tianjin Airlines’ expansion plans have taken a major step forward, following the signing of a contract for 22 new aircraft.
The company, which is a subsidiary of China’s HNA Group, has confirmed an order for 20 Embraer 195 and two 190-E2 aircraft, which are valued at US$1.1 billion at list prices.
These aircraft form part of a 40-jet deal initially agreed between the two companies during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Brazil in July 2014. Embraer said the remaining 18 E190 E2 aircraft will be confirmed at a later date.
“We are honoured to confirm this repeated order for our largest client in Asia,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, president & CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation.
“China is growing very fast and there is a need for smaller narrow-body jets to support efficient hub and spoke operations, complementing larger narrow-body aircraft operations, thus providing an ideal balance of frequency and seats, encouraging the development of new markets with lower risks and incremental capacity, while generating significant demand for new aircraft in this category.”
The first E195 aircraft will be delivered to Tianjin Airlines in 2015, while the E190-E2s are scheduled for delivery in 2018.
“As the number of passengers is growing in China, these E195s will be very important to support Tianjin Airlines’ strategy to attend this demand,” said Du Xiaoping, chairman of Tianjin Airlines. “We are very satisfied with the E190s that are currently in operation and are sure that the new airplanes will allow us to achieve our development objectives.”
Tianjin Airlines was the launch customer for the E190 in China and currently operates the largest fleet of Embraer regional jets in Asia, with 50 in its fleet. The airline configures its E190s with either 98 seats in a two-class layout or 106 seats in a single-class configuration.
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