South American airline giant LATAM has just placed an order for an aircraft that’s becoming increasingly popular in recent times, and it seems like a good fit for the airline.
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LATAM orders Embraer E195-E2 for regional growth
LATAM has just placed an order for up to 74 Embraer E195-E2s, including 24 firm orders and 50 options. The first new Embraer jet delivery is expected for the second half of 2026, so that means we’re potentially around a year out from the first delivery. The deal is valued at up to $2.1 billion at list prices (excluding options), but airlines never pay list prices.
For those not familiar with the Embraer E195-E2, this is the latest generation jet of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer’s lineup. The E195-E2 is the largest, longest range, and most fuel efficient Embraer E-jet. The plane can seat 120-146 people (depending on the configuration), and can fly up to 2,600 nautical miles. The plane is great from a passenger experience standpoint, given the 2-2 layout, meaning there are no middle seats onboard.
Here’s how LATAM CEO Roberto Alvo describes this order:
“Over the past four years, LATAM group has focused on expanding its domestic and regional network, creating the most comprehensive and seamless way of travelling within South America. LATAM group’s decision is based on the excellent economics and versatility of the Embraer E195-E2, which will allow us to continue on our path of profitable growth by enhancing that connectivity through the opening of new destinations, allowing our passengers to have even more options and bringing communities closer, boosting also economic and social development.”
How the Embraer E195-E2 fits into LATAM’s fleet
LATAM is a South American mega airline, with bases in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The airline group currently has a fleet of 362 aircraft, consisting entirely of Airbus and Boeing planes. The airline group uses Boeing for wide body aircraft (with 767s, 777s, and 787s), and Airbus for narrow body aircraft (with A319s, A320s, A320neos, A321s, and A321neos).
So, what’s the plan for these new Embraer aircraft? LATAM plans to initially fly these Embraer E195-E2s with its LATAM Brazil subsidiary, which is the largest subsidiary in the group. As LATAM sees it, this aircraft will provide the company the opportunity to add up to 35 new destinations to its current list of 160 destinations.
That’s presumably due to a combination of the plane’s great economics, capacity, and ability to land on shorter runways than existing aircraft. I have to imagine that part of the motive here is to eventually replace LATAM Brazil’s fleet of Airbus A319s.
These are an average of over 17 years old, and have a similar capacity to the Embraer E195-E2s. Suffice it to say that the E195-E2s have a much better passenger experience, and also have better economics. Embraer emphasizes how the aircraft delivers up to 30% lower fuel consumption per seat compared to previous generation models.
It’s nice to see the Embraer E2 jets finally getting the love they deserve (we also recently saw orders of this plane from both Avelo Airlines and SAS). In particular, it’s nice to see a Brazilian carrier pick up this plane, given that it’s where these beauties are manufactured. This seems like a great fit for LATAM’s fleet.
Bottom line
LATAM has placed an order for up to 74 Embraer E195-E2s, which includes 24 firm orders and 50 options. The airline will take delivery of these starting in the second half of 2026, and the plan is for LATAM’s Brazil subsidiary to initially fly these planes.
LATAM has identified 35 markets that become economically viable with this aircraft, so that’s pretty exciting. Beyond that, I have to imagine that part of the goal here is to eventually replace existing Airbus A319s.
What do you make of LATAM ordering the Embraer E195-E2?
Were it not for the Scope Clause, Embraer would dominate the short haul domestic US market, regional and mainline.
While others might disagree, I've always preferred an Embraer over a CRJ. It has more overhead storage space.
even though US scope limits make the E jets and the CRJ family competitors, the E jets are really slotted between the CRJ and what was the C Series (now the A220 family).
The A220 is a wider and more spacious aircraft than the E or E2 and has more overhead bin space.
Bombardier just chose to move out of the regional airline game and into the small mainline aircraft market. They nailed it...
even though US scope limits make the E jets and the CRJ family competitors, the E jets are really slotted between the CRJ and what was the C Series (now the A220 family).
The A220 is a wider and more spacious aircraft than the E or E2 and has more overhead bin space.
Bombardier just chose to move out of the regional airline game and into the small mainline aircraft market. They nailed it technically and from a product standpoint but struggled commercializing the product which is why Airbus ended up w/ it after Boeing tried to shut down the C Series.
They didn’t struggle to commercialize the c-series. Bombardier totally underestimated the R&D costs of developing a mainline jet, ran out of money halfway through the project, and Airbus had to bail them out by taking over the project.