The Embraer E175-E2 made its inaugural flight from the company’s facility in São José dos Campos on 12 December.

The E175-E2 is the third member of the E-Jets E2 family. The maiden flight kicks off a rigorous 24-month flight test campaign.

The E175-E2 departed at 11:07 from the runway adjacent to Embraer’s Faria Lima complex and flew for two hours and 18 minutes. Embraer’s Captain Mozart Louzada commanded the aircraft along with first officer Wander Almodovar Golfetto, and flight engineers Gilberto Meira Cardoso and Mario Ito. The aircraft took off and landed with fly-by-wire (FBW) controls in normal mode. The crew evaluated aircraft performance, flight quality and systems behaviour.

Embraer will use three aircraft for the E175-E2 certification campaign. The first and second prototypes will be used for aerodynamic, performance and system tests. The third prototype will be used to validate maintenance tasks and will be outfitted with interior furnishings.

The E175-E2 has one additional row of seats compared to the first-generation E175 and can be configured with 80 seats in two classes, or up to 90 in a single class. The aircraft will save up to 16% in fuel and 25% in maintenance costs per seat compared to the E175.

Like the E190-E2 and the E195-E2, the E175-E2 will have the longest maintenance intervals in the single-aisle jet category with 10,000 flight hours for basic checks and no calendar limit for typical E-Jet operations. This means an additional 15 days of aircraft utilisation over a period of ten years compared to current-generation E-Jets.