News: New environmentally friendly planes for Flybe
Flights > News > # 944 (06/09/2006)
Flybe has become the first airline to take delivery of the Embraer 195, one of the most environmentally friendly passenger aircraft available.
The budget airline has bought 26 of the state-of-the-art aircraft in a deal worth £500 million.
Flybe operate a largely domestic route network, and say the new 118-seater planes will burn significantly less fuel and release fewer emissions per passenger than any other similar sized aircraft.
The Brazilian-built jet is also much quieter than other aircraft Flybe have previously used.
Flybe chairman, Jim French, said the Embraer 195, along with their new Bombardier Q400s, will give the airline one of the most modern and efficient fleets in the industry.
“ We hope that the UK Government will introduce the eco-labelling system that we are promoting which shows that the Embraer 195 has “five-star” environmental credentials,” Mr French said.
He added: “It is not often that a new aircraft comes into service and we are very excited that Flybe is the launch airline for this fabulous plane.”
The first aircraft are scheduled to go into operation at Birmingham International airport and will eventually be deployed at all of Flybe’s major bases, including Southampton, Belfast, Jersey, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
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Comment:
These new Embraer 195 jets should be a welcome replacement for Flybe's ageing fleet of BAe 146s, and the ideal choice to help the airline build on it is already substantial presence at various UK regional airports. The market for no-frills flights has been heavily dominated by larger jets such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 family, which typically carry between 140 and 189 passengers. These aircraft are ideal for the London based airlines like Easyjet and Ryanair, where there is no shortage of passengers to fill them, but are not so practical for carriers such as Flybe, who operate from smaller regional hubs. One of the main reasons why Flybe have been so successful within the UK regions has been their usage of the Bombardier Q400 turboprops. They only have 78 seats, which has enabled Flybe to offer the high frequency needed to give them the competitive advantage over taking the train or driving. The arrival of the new Embraer jets will allow Flybe to further enhance this advantage.
There are numerous airports throughout the UK which could develop routes to destinations on the European mainland, or indeed to other corners of the British Isles, but which do not have the catchment area or the facilities which would make flights operated by the larger jets possible. The Embraer 195 should enable Flybe to fill this gap.
