Industry Congo Airways orders two Embraer E195-E2

Congo Airways has placed a new order for Embraer newest regional jet, the E195-E2. This order comes only six months after the carrier opted to buy two initial E2 aircraft. In total, the four aircraft deal is valued at approximately 272 million USD, according to current list prices.

With the new aircraft, Congo Airways will continue to strengthen and modernize its fleet. With the E195-E2, new markets with new destinations will become more accessible while maintaining environmental friendlier operations.

In summer last year, Congo Airways announced that it will switch its E175 order to E190-E2 jets, while holding purchase rights to buy two more. Deliveries are scheduled for the second quarter of 2022.

Congo Airways has now opted to purchase the larger E195-E2, which will give the airline more opportunities and a better choice when serving specific destinations. Along with the other aircraft in its fleet, Congo Airways will be able to choose the aircraft with the right capacity for each specific route.

Desire Bantu, CEO of Congo Airways said, “We see an opportunity in our market and the crisis we are all facing for Congo Airways to emerge stronger – which is why we are not waiting to place this further order. These new jets will allow us to extend our passenger and cargo operations regionally to high demand destinations such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Abidjan. 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.”

Cesar Pereira, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Embraer Commercial Aviation, added: “Africa has for too long been thought of as a market of mostly low frequencies and long thin routes. As airlines start 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 [...] Congo Airways will benefit from the flexibility provided by the common cockpit on the E2 jet family meaning their flight crews can transition seamlessly between variants.”

Congo Airways will configure its E195-E2 aircraft in a two-class layout. 12 passengers can be welcomed in business class and 108 can be accommodated in economy class. This represents a 25% capacity boost when compared to the 96-seat configuration of Congo Airway´s E190-E2s.

The airline started operations six years ago in 2015 and has its main operational hub at Kinshasa Ndjili International in Congo. The current fleet consists of two Airbus A320s and four De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 turboprops. The average fleet age is at nearly 12 years.