Who will now become the launch operator for Embraer’s E-Freighters?

Astral Aviation, Africa's only all-cargo airline headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has decided to postpone the acquisition of two E190F aircraft from Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC). The airline had originally signed the agreement with NAC to become the launch operator of Embraer's passenger-to-freighter (P2F) converted aircraft. However, Astral revised its decision in October 2023.

“We don’t have any immediate plans for the E190F and may re-consider our position in the future, as the value-proposition for the E190F no longer meets our fleet strategy for the intra-African market,” Sanjeev Gadhia, founder & CEO of Astral Aviation, told The STAT Trade Times when reached out for a confirmation.

In July 2022, at the Farnborough International Airshow, NAC, the world’s largest regional aircraft leasing company, signed a memorandum of understanding to place the first two E190Fs with Astral Aviation. This happened a few months after the Brazilian aerospace company made the decision to enter the air freight market with the launch of the E190F and E195F P2F programme, known as E-Freighters. Embraer was quick to get NAC on board to be the launch lessor for up to 10 E190F/E195F with first deliveries starting in 2024. Aircraft for conversion were expected to come from NAC’s existing E190/E195 fleet.

Interestingly, in June 2022, Embraer announced that it had also signed a solid order with an unnamed client for up to 10 Embraer E-Freighter conversions. According to Embraer, aircraft for conversion will be drawn from the customer’s existing fleet of E-Jets, with delivery beginning in 2024. It is reported that this unnamed customer is Regional One.

However, at the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow held in July, Embraer had one of its first E-Freighters, the E190F, on static display with a new design. An almost obscure inscription below the flight deck windows revealed that Regional One, a Florida-based US lessor and aviation services group, has replaced NAC as the first E-Freighter customer.

Around the same time, The STAT Trade Times was informed by an anonymous source that NAC has “pulled out of the conversion programme and the new head lessor is Regional One”.

The STAT Trade Times reached out to NAC for clarification, and it reiterated that NAC was the first lessor to sign up to participate in the Embraer E-Freighter programme. “This is a separate acknowledgment of the first customer to convert an aircraft as part of the programme,” said an NAC spokesperson in an email response.

When asked about the sharp increase in the cost of leasing making the programme unviable for operators, the NAC spokesperson said that this is not something NAC has experienced and therefore cannot comment on its accuracy. “However, it is worth noting that in some instances, a straight cash sale of an Embraer may generally make more sense for our portfolio versus a conversion,” the spokesperson added.

When asked about the deal with Astral Aviation, the NAC spokesperson declined to comment, saying, “we do not discuss individual client relationships”. However, Gadhia told The STAT Trade Times that it will re-evaluate the E190F when the “time is right” for Astral, declining to elaborate further.

The STAT Trade Times made several attempts to get responses from both Embraer and Regional One. However, we haven’t heard from either.

With the recent announcement by Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) regarding its decision to acquire 100% of NAC, and based on information from reliable industry sources, it appears that NAC will no longer be part of the E-Freighter programme.

When Embraer launched the E-Freighter (originally called E-Jets Freighter) P2F conversion programme in March 2022, it was designed to meet the changing demands of e-commerce and modern trade, which require fast deliveries and decentralized operations.

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“Perfectly positioned to fill the gap in the freighter market between turboprops and larger narrow-body jets, our P2F E-Jet conversion hits the market as the demand for airfreight continues to take off, and as e-commerce and trade, in general, undergo a global structural transformation,” said Arjan Meijer, President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation, during the programme’s launch.

At the time of launch, Embraer had claimed that these converted jets would have over 50% more volume capacity (in July 2024, this figure was recalibrated to over 40%) three times the range of large cargo turboprops, and up to 30% lower operating costs than narrow-bodies. Embraer had estimated a market for this size of aircraft to be approximately 700 units over 20 years.

The E190F can handle a payload of 23,600lb (10,700kg) while the E195F a payload of 27,100 lb (12,300 kg).

Embraer completed the conversion of the first passenger aircraft under this programme by December 2023. On April 5, 2024, the first E190F successfully completed its maiden flight in São José dos Campos, Brazil. The Embraer team flew an E-Freighter jet that belongs to Regional One for around two hours, carrying out a complete evaluation of the aircraft. The aircraft had already successfully passed both ground pressurization and cargo loading tests. This flight was one of several that Embraer would conduct before the E-Freighter jets enter commercial operation.

The 190F E-Freighter has already been certified by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

At the Paris Air Show held in June 2023, Embraer signed a letter of agreement (LoA) with Lanzhou Aviation Industry Development Group for 20 E190F and E195F E-Freighters. Embraer and Lanzhou planned to cooperate on establishing E190F and E195F conversion capabilities in Lanzhou, China, to support and accelerate the introduction of E-Freighters to the Chinese market.

Originally published in stattimes.com