JetBlue busca espaço com EMBRAER 190
Enviado: Ter Out 11, 2005 12:08
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USA Today 11 Outubro 2005
JetBlue looks for space with Embraer 190.
By Gary Stoller,
USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Upstart discounter JetBlue is hitching its future to a new type of airplane from Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer best known for cramped regional jets that have become anathema to many high-mileage air travelers.
But the new 100-seat Embraer 190 airplane, standing in a JetBlue hangar at John F. Kennedy airport here and poised for service, isn't the oversize regional jet some customers have feared. The aircraft, which JetBlue will publicly unveil today before beginning regular flights next month, is 5 feet shorter than an adjacent 156-seat Airbus A320, the current plane of choice for the 5-year-old carrier. The interior is relatively roomy and doesn't have the cramped, claustrophobic feel of many regional jets.
The Embraer 190 has two-abreast seating on each side of the aisle and larger windows than many bigger jets. The floor-to-ceiling height in the aisle is 6-feet-7-inches, and, unlike some smaller planes, a 6-foot passenger can stand upright in the rear lavatory.
JetBlue's Embraer 190s have 25 rows of leather seats — each with 36 channels of free television and more than 100 satellite radio channels. The seats are 18¼ inches wide, about a half-inch wider than those on the airline's A320s. Seats in the forward part of the one-class cabin have a 32-inch pitch — the distance from any point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front or behind. That's the same as A320 seats. Seats in the rear have a 33-inch pitch, an inch smaller than rear A320 seats.
Frequent business traveler Sean O'Toole of Clermont, Fla., welcomes a new plane with such a seat pitch. "I'm 6-foot-3, and I need all the room I can get," the theater technician says.
Frequent business flier Richard Libonata, of Tampa, is "not fond of most existing small jets." Their small, narrow seats are bearable for up to an hour, but airlines are using the planes for longer flights, he says. "The idea of smaller jets with more room and entertainment is very attractive to a frequent traveler," he says.
The Embraer has a range of more than 2,000 miles and is expected to be used in many small cities currently served by smaller craft. "It's a positive thing for passengers in small markets, because it brings a new level of service that most haven't experienced," says Tom Smith, editor of the weekly newsletter Regional Aviation News.
The introduction of the Embraer 190 will blur the distinction between a regional airline and a mainline carrier, Smith says. "There's always been a gray line between a regional and a mainline carrier," he says. "The Embraer 190 is making the gray line even fuzzier."
JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin says the Embraer 190 "will allow us to bring low fares to many midsize cities, some for the first time."
Besides small cities, JetBlue plans to initially use the plane between some big ones. Advertising a $25 fare for some seats, JetBlue will jump into the hotly contested New York-Boston shuttle market Nov. 8 with Embraer 190s, spokesman Todd Burke says. The aircraft will compete with both larger and smaller jets flown by Delta, American, Continental and US Airways.
JetBlue, a mostly profitable carrier that has grown into a major force in the giant New York market, has ordered 101 Embraer 190s, and has options for 100 more through 2016. The airline expects to have four next month, eight by Dec. 31 and 18 more next year.Aviation experts disagree on how to categorize the new plane. "It has a big feel in a regional jet," says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense consulting firm.
It's spacious, but it's "not a regional jet in any way, shape or form," says consultant Michael Boyd, who has worked with the Brazilian manufacturer for about 15 years. The jet, a stretched version of the Embraer 170, has about the same seating capacity as major airlines' 737-500s, 737-600s and DC-9-30s, he says.
The Embraer 190 gives JetBlue a competitive advantage in markets where existing carriers are trying to make do with regional jets, Boyd says. Passengers can take carry-on bags aboard rather than leaving them under the wing as regional jets require. "And you can use a laptop without it having to be surgically attached to your solar plexus," he quips.
But Boyd and other aviation experts aren't convinced that the Embraer 190 guarantees business for an airline. Ticket price, frequent-flier program, flight schedule and other factors come into play when passengers choose which carrier to use.
Boyd, however, says there's "limited ability to stimulate traffic with low fares" in many small markets. "For example, JFK to Omaha would be a prime market for this airplane," he says, "but there ain't a lot of folks who'll drop what they're doing to take advantage of a cheap fare in such a market."
Um abraço e até mais...
Cláudio Severino da Silva
jambock@brturbo.com
USA Today 11 Outubro 2005
JetBlue looks for space with Embraer 190.
By Gary Stoller,
USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Upstart discounter JetBlue is hitching its future to a new type of airplane from Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer best known for cramped regional jets that have become anathema to many high-mileage air travelers.
But the new 100-seat Embraer 190 airplane, standing in a JetBlue hangar at John F. Kennedy airport here and poised for service, isn't the oversize regional jet some customers have feared. The aircraft, which JetBlue will publicly unveil today before beginning regular flights next month, is 5 feet shorter than an adjacent 156-seat Airbus A320, the current plane of choice for the 5-year-old carrier. The interior is relatively roomy and doesn't have the cramped, claustrophobic feel of many regional jets.
The Embraer 190 has two-abreast seating on each side of the aisle and larger windows than many bigger jets. The floor-to-ceiling height in the aisle is 6-feet-7-inches, and, unlike some smaller planes, a 6-foot passenger can stand upright in the rear lavatory.
JetBlue's Embraer 190s have 25 rows of leather seats — each with 36 channels of free television and more than 100 satellite radio channels. The seats are 18¼ inches wide, about a half-inch wider than those on the airline's A320s. Seats in the forward part of the one-class cabin have a 32-inch pitch — the distance from any point on one seat to the same point on the seat in front or behind. That's the same as A320 seats. Seats in the rear have a 33-inch pitch, an inch smaller than rear A320 seats.
Frequent business traveler Sean O'Toole of Clermont, Fla., welcomes a new plane with such a seat pitch. "I'm 6-foot-3, and I need all the room I can get," the theater technician says.
Frequent business flier Richard Libonata, of Tampa, is "not fond of most existing small jets." Their small, narrow seats are bearable for up to an hour, but airlines are using the planes for longer flights, he says. "The idea of smaller jets with more room and entertainment is very attractive to a frequent traveler," he says.
The Embraer has a range of more than 2,000 miles and is expected to be used in many small cities currently served by smaller craft. "It's a positive thing for passengers in small markets, because it brings a new level of service that most haven't experienced," says Tom Smith, editor of the weekly newsletter Regional Aviation News.
The introduction of the Embraer 190 will blur the distinction between a regional airline and a mainline carrier, Smith says. "There's always been a gray line between a regional and a mainline carrier," he says. "The Embraer 190 is making the gray line even fuzzier."
JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin says the Embraer 190 "will allow us to bring low fares to many midsize cities, some for the first time."
Besides small cities, JetBlue plans to initially use the plane between some big ones. Advertising a $25 fare for some seats, JetBlue will jump into the hotly contested New York-Boston shuttle market Nov. 8 with Embraer 190s, spokesman Todd Burke says. The aircraft will compete with both larger and smaller jets flown by Delta, American, Continental and US Airways.
JetBlue, a mostly profitable carrier that has grown into a major force in the giant New York market, has ordered 101 Embraer 190s, and has options for 100 more through 2016. The airline expects to have four next month, eight by Dec. 31 and 18 more next year.Aviation experts disagree on how to categorize the new plane. "It has a big feel in a regional jet," says Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense consulting firm.
It's spacious, but it's "not a regional jet in any way, shape or form," says consultant Michael Boyd, who has worked with the Brazilian manufacturer for about 15 years. The jet, a stretched version of the Embraer 170, has about the same seating capacity as major airlines' 737-500s, 737-600s and DC-9-30s, he says.
The Embraer 190 gives JetBlue a competitive advantage in markets where existing carriers are trying to make do with regional jets, Boyd says. Passengers can take carry-on bags aboard rather than leaving them under the wing as regional jets require. "And you can use a laptop without it having to be surgically attached to your solar plexus," he quips.
But Boyd and other aviation experts aren't convinced that the Embraer 190 guarantees business for an airline. Ticket price, frequent-flier program, flight schedule and other factors come into play when passengers choose which carrier to use.
Boyd, however, says there's "limited ability to stimulate traffic with low fares" in many small markets. "For example, JFK to Omaha would be a prime market for this airplane," he says, "but there ain't a lot of folks who'll drop what they're doing to take advantage of a cheap fare in such a market."
Um abraço e até mais...
Cláudio Severino da Silva
jambock@brturbo.com
