Congo Airways Converts E175 Deal into Order for Two E190-E2s

Congo Airways has converted the firm order it made in December 2019 for two E175 aircraft, with purchase rights for two more, into a firm order for two E190-E2 jets, with purchase rights for another two.

The new deal has a total value of US$ 256 million at current list prices with all purchase rights exercised.

Desire Bantu, CEO of Congo Airways, said, “These new jets will be replacing our legacy turboprops and will allow us to extend our operations within the Democratic Republic of Congo, and regionally to West, Central, and Southern Africa. Despite the current difficult circumstances, the fundamentals of our market have not changed; so we expect the momentum we’ve seen in the past to redevelop. I said in December that we may need to make an additional order for E2s due to the agility required to adapt to market changes – we have now reached that point. As we prepare for future success, we will have the flexibility, and the right sized, most efficient aircraft, to serve our customers as the market returns.”

The aircraft will be configured in a dual class layout seating 96 passengers in total, with 12 staggered business class seats.

Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022.

“It’s great to welcome another airline to the E2 and the Embraer family of operators, especially in Africa where the demand for regional travel had been growing strongly before the current crisis,” said Raul Villaron, Vice President Sales, Africa and Middle East, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “As airlines start to ramp up their operations, the E2 family of aircraft is perfectly positioned to right size routes previously operated by narrowbodies, while keeping frequencies and adjusting capacity to new levels. We look forward to supporting Congo Airways as they continue to upgrade their offering to their customers.”

This is second E2 order received from an African customer. There are currently 189 Embraer aircraft operating in Africa with 54 airlines in 27 countries.

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