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Embraer Africa
Africa
• lam is changing the way people fly
• eoc in johannesburg
• 900 e-jets
• DECEMBER 2012 •
OPERATORS CONVENE IN JNB
The Johannesburg EOC attracted 117 participants from 27 airlines and aviation supply companies.
More than one hundred delegates representing 27 airlines and
suppliers from across Africa convened in Johannesburg on August 1st
for Embraer’s two-day commercial aircraft operators conference.
Several times each year, Embraer’s Services and Support division hosts
conferences in various cities around the world to listen to customers
and address operational issues associated with their ERJ145s and
E-Jets. The growing number of airlines flying Embraer aircraft in Africa
and the unique challenges that exist on the continent warranted a
conference dedicated to airline interests solely in the region.
AFRICA RISING
The delivery of Embraer’s 900th E-Jet to Kenya Airways was a
fitting tribute not only to the airline’s progressive expansion strategy
but also to how more Africans are travelling by air. According to the
African Development Bank, some 12 million people per year have
seen their purchasing power increase which, in turn, has given
them access to air travel for the first time.
Separate workshops were conducted for operators of ERJs and E-Jets.
With such geographical diversity, materials and parts supply is a
critical issue especially with a fleet of Embraer commercial aircraft
that is considerably smaller relative to the continent’s fleet of large
transports. Embraer is working to address the need for improvement.
Johann Bordais, Embraer’s Commercial Aircraft VP of Services
and Support for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, announced
the establishment of a new ERJ 145 parts distribution center at
Johannesburg’s Tambo Airport. The facility will reduce AOG response
time. Embraer is also placing a new ERJ 145 simulator at FlightSafety’s
facility in Johannesburg. The unit will help reduce crew down time and
the expenses associated with foreign travel for simulator training.
New airlines are starting up, new routes are opening, there are
more nonstop flights, better connections and, of course, there
are more aircraft joining African carrier fleets. Just five years ago,
there were two airlines flying seven Embraer airplanes. Today, 18
carriers operate 65 Embraer turboprops, ERJs and E-Jets.
Because the number of Embraer customers is growing, we’re
planning to increase our support to them by investing in more
African-based MRO capabilities, spare parts inventories and
training in the coming months. We’re working to give airlines
easier and faster access to Embraer’s services and support
network that will help to keep their fleets reliable.
I see tremendous opportunities for African airlines as the economy
strengthens and more people travel by plane.
Tailwinds is produced by Embraer’s Marketing and Sales team in Paris.
We welcome your comments and contributions.
Please contact
Raul de Oliveira Villaron
Market Analyst - Africa
raul.villaron@embraer.com.fr
TEL +33 (1) 49 38 56 62
Mathieu Duquesnoy
Vice President, Airline Market
Middle East & Africa
THE 900
TH
E-JET
CONNECTING A CONTINENT
Kenya Airways markets itself as the Pride of Africa but for the
manufacturer, the delivery of the 900th E-Jet to the carrier is
considered the Pride of Embraer. Each milestone aircraft symbolizes
another accomplishment in the E-Jets program. Each airline that
flies those distinctive aircraft is recognized for its unique contribution
to that continued success.
In the eight years since the first E-Jet entered revenue service with
LOT Polish Airlines, E-Jets have been changing the way people fly. Not
long after a handful of customers had received their E-Jets, they were
discovering the potential of the airplanes to go beyond the traditional
roles associated with other regional jets.
Today, E-Jets set the standard in their capacity category and are flying
with some 60 airlines from over 40 countries. The optimized common
family design philosophy, range capability and spacious cabin have
given airlines a new tool to stay competitive and profitable.
The deployment profile of the E-Jets family is as impressive as the
customers who fly them. British Airways CityFlyer bases its fleet of
E170s & E190s at London City Airport, flying to the capitals of Europe
and up to nearly three hours to cities on the Iberian peninsula.
Virgin Australia routinely flies its E190s between Perth and island
destinations to the north east covering a distance of just over four
hours, entirely over water. Air Canada’s E175s and E190s cross
the breadth of the North American continent and are equipped with
premium cabins and on-demand in-flight entertainment systems.
Fuji Dream Air, a new airline that took to the skies three years ago,
is thriving in the Japanese domestic market. Low fare carriers
Thanks, in part, to its fleet of E-Jets, Kenya Airways will fly between Nairobi and every African capital in 2013.
JetBlue Airways of the USA, Flybe in the UK and Austria’s Niki have
proven that the previous one-size-fits-all aircraft strategy is no longer
applicable with their mixed fleets of E-Jets and other aircraft types.
Yet it is Azul Airlines of Brazil that best symbolizes how E-Jets are
changing the way the world flies. Its strategy to fly E-Jets to secondary
markets with low fares brought affordable air travel to an entirely
new segment of the population that had never flown before. And
now Kenya Airways is adapting that same strategy with its growing
fleet of E-Jets, connecting more of the continent, more frequently and
making air travel accessible to more Africans.
LAM currently flies two E190s from its base in Maputo and plans to double the E190 fleet by the end of 2013. The E190s are configured with 9 seats in Business Class and 85 seats in Economy Class.
changing the way
people fly in mozambique
Three years ago, Linhas Aéreas Moçambique embarked on an
ambitious modernization plan to incorporate new technologies to
adapt to the advances in electronic product distribution in order to
maximize revenue. The enhancements went beyond online sales,
web check-in and e-ticketing. LAM also set out to modernize its
ageing fleet. The acquisition of two new 94-seat E190s have helped
to transform the airline and, more importantly, positively change
passenger perceptions of the carrier.
LAM’s new E-Jets allowed it to address long-standing deficiencies in
its schedule: equipment and capacity that was mismatched on city
pairs, frequencies that were too low to attract high-fare travelers,
underutilization of the fleet and an inability to capture lucrative new
business opportunities outside the country.
per leg. At seven flight hours per day per aircraft, E-Jet utilization is
almost double that of the B737 fleet. Despite having a small fleet of
E190s, nearly half of all the carrier’s ASKs are generated by those
two aircraft.
Three times per week LAM’s E190s fly nonstop between Maputo
and Luanda, the booming capital of Angola. The route is the longest
for the E190 with a block time of nearly four hours. In addition to
daily flights between Maputo and Johannesburg, the E190s fly
Today, LAM flies to eight domestic cities and five destinations in
South Africa, Tanzania and Angola.
Each E190 flies six revenue flights every day, averaging 1,050 km
internationally between Dar Es Salaam and Pemba in northern
Mozambique. LAM’s fleet, schedule and product distribution changes
have made the airline more competitive and better positioned for
the future. It has partnered with Kenya Airways and code shares
with KQ’s E170 4-hour nonstop between Nairobi and Maputo. Travel
agents in South Africa have praised LAM for introducing new E-Jet
flights that have improved accessibility to the key tourist destinations
of Beira, Pemba and Nampula.
Two more E190s will join the fleet next year as the carrier continues
its transformation. LAM serves as an example to other African
airlines how diligent capacity management and careful growth can
truly change the way people fly.