Flight International – 11 June 2019

AIR TRANSPORT

fiightglobal.com 11-17 June 2019 | Flight International | 13

Blade crack issue

‘unique’ to Trent

1000

Air Transport P

Initial test article is in final assembly at Sao Jose dos Campos facility

Embraer

RESEARCH

KLM backs novel Flying V concept

KLM has signed an agreement to support the development of

a “Flying V” blended wing concept that promises to deliver a

fuel-burn improvement of up to 20% compared with an Airbus

A350. Developed by Delft Technical University (TU Delft) in the

Netherlands, the design features a 65m (213ft)-wide and

55m-long V-shaped fuselage that brings the cabin, wings and

fuel tanks into the same structure. It is powered by a pair of

rear-mounted turbofan engines. TU Delft claims it is 15% more

aerodynamically efficient than conventional tube-and-wing

configurations. A flying scale model of the aircraft and a full-

size section of the interior will be presented during KLM’s 100th

anniversary celebrations in October. In its baseline configura-

tion, the Flying V would seat about 314 passengers in two

classes.

TU Delft

PROCUREMENT EDWARD RUSSELL NASHVILLE

Spirit trims field to two

for next big fleet order

U

S carrier Spirit Airlines is fo-

cusing the campaign for its

next aircraft order on Airbus and

Boeing, ending consideration of

Embraer’s E-Jet E2 family.

The Miramar, Florida-based

ultra-low-cost operator is in the

“late innings” of evaluating the

Airbus A220, A320neo and Boe-

ing 737 Max families for an order

that could top 100 aircraft, with

deliveries from 2022, chief exec-

utive Ted Christie said at the

JumpStart conference in Nash-

ville on 3 June.

However, while praising Em-

braer’s aircraft, the company falls

outside a contest where “we had to

tailor ourselves down to just where

we are in a Boeing/Airbus world.”

Boeing’s pending acquisition of

an 80% share of Embraer’s com-

mercial aircraft division does not

appear to be coming soon enough

for Spirit. The airframers plan to

close the deal by year-end.

Christie says Spirit hopes to fi-

nalise its order in the coming

months, though he does not rule

out an announcement at the Paris

air show, saying: “We’ll see how

things go.”

Spirit is an all-Airbus operator

with 135 A320-family aircraft,

Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer shows,

comprising 31 A319s, 62 A320s,

12 A320neos and 30 A321s. It has

firm orders for 43 A320neos, with

deliveries through 2021.

Airline executives have repeat-

edly insisted throughout the cam-

paign, which kicked off in mid-

2018, that Spirit is not wedded to

the A320 family. ■

J

ohn Slattery, Embraer’s com-

mercial aircraft chief, dismiss-

es suggestions that it is looking to

exit the sub-100-seat market, but

concedes that the delivery sched-

ule for its smallest E-Jet, the

E175-E2, may be revised again.

The E175-E2 is the last of the

E-Jet E2 derivatives to be devel-

oped, with the first aircraft now

in final assembly.

“We continue on a schedule

that would have the first test flight

before the end of this year,” says

Slattery, who is chief executive of

Embraer Commercial Aviation.

The variant is due to enter ser-

vice in 2021, but its non-compli-

ance with current US pilot scope

clauses by weight could affect

that schedule, says Slattery. Em-

braer lists the E175-E2’s maxi-

mum take-off weight as 44,800kg

(98,700lb), with capacity for

80-90 seats.

PROGRAMME MAX KINGSLEY-JONES SEOUL

Embraer keeps faith in smallest E2 jet

Commercial aircraft chief insists firm will not ditch sub-100-seat market, but says delivery of re-engined E175 may slip

Uncertainty over when the

scope clauses could be renegoti-

ated prompted Embraer to re-

move SkyWest Airlines’ 100 firm

E175-E2 orders from its backlog

last year. However, the manufac-

turer reiterated that the airline

“remains committed” to the deal.

“I recognise that there is a lot of

noise around the issue that the

aircraft is not scope-compliant in

the USA from a weight perspec-

tive,” said Slattery at the IATA

annual general meeting in Seoul.

However, he adds that he

viewed a recent comment by “a

competitor” – believed to be

Bombardier – that Embraer was

exiting the sub-100-seat market

as “somewhere between laugha-

ble and amateurish”.

“We have sold in the US mar-

ket almost 600 aircraft since Janu-

ary 2013 and we are continuing

to sell the 175 platform in the US

market – you’ll see more [E1]

sales this year. This segment is

very critical to us,” says Slattery.

Although discussions related to

the relaxation of scope clauses are

ongoing between US airlines and

unions, it is unclear if and when

any changes could be agreed.

“I can’t legislate for when the

[E2] will fly in the US market.

We’re always reviewing schedul-

ing of that [E175-E2] pro-

gramme,” says Slattery. “There

may be some nuances on the

entry into service of the E175-E2,

but it will not be dictated by tech-

nology, it will more be dictated

by the marketplace.” ■