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Embraer To Sell Aircraft To Flybe For $1.3 Bln - Update

(RTTNews) - Tuesday, aircraft maker Embraer - Empresa Brasileira de Aeron??utica S.A. (ERJ) clinched a contract with airline company Flybe for the sale of 35 Embraer-175 jets for a list price of $1.3 billion, which may reach $5.0 billion, if all options and purchase rights are exercised. Separately, the company signed a letter of intent with Air Lease Corp for the sale of 15 Embraer-190 jets. The deals were bagged at the 47th Farnborough International Airshow, in England.

The Sao Paulo, Brazil-based Embraer said that the contract with Flybe includes 65 options and 40 purchase rights, with a potential for 140 Embraer-175s. The first aircraft is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2011, and would seat up to 88 passengers. It will be configured in a single-class layout.

The Embraer-175 is a state-of-the- art, fly-by-wire technology, which increases operating safety, while reducing pilot workload and fuel consumption. Coming from Embraer's fleet of E-Jets, it has features that include advanced engineering design, efficient performance, outstanding operating economics, low emission levels.

Additionally, Embraer said it has signed a letter of intent with Air Lease Corp for the sale of 15 Embraer-190 jets. As per the LOI, five of the 15 orders are re-confirmable, and the deal also includes five options, representing a potential sale of 20 Embraer-190s.

Paulo C?©sar de Souza e Silva, Embraer's executive vice president, Airline Market, said, "We're proud to partner with Steven Udvar-H??zy, the founder of Air Lease Corp., in his new, thrilling aviation endeavor. His remarkable professional experience and respectability in the aviation business, together with the outstanding attributes of our E-Jets family, will be major supporters of the success of the new company."

The Embraer 190 is the third of the four members of the Embraer 170/190 family of E-Jets, a brand-new commercial aircraft that entered service in August 2005. The jet may be configured in one or two classes, seating 98 to 114 passengers in a comfortable four-abreast, no-middle-seat configuration, and can fly up to 2,400 nautical miles nonstop.

Air Lease Chief Operating Officer John Plueger said "We have been following the growing market demand for the Embraer 190 for many years. We are now absolutely convinced that it is the right aircraft for not only the regional jet marketplace, but that it's powerful and compelling economics, passenger appeal, and reliability, positions it to occupy a significant segment of mainline operations--."

ERJ is currently trading at $22.59, up $ 0.74 or 3.39%, on the NYSE.