J-Air says its incoming fleet of Embraer 190s will form the core of its fleet, together with the 32 Mitsubishi MRJ regional jets it has on order.

Speaking to Flightglobal at the delivery ceremony of its first E190, J-Air president Tetsuya Onuki, says the Japan Airlines subsidiary is "pleased" with the E-Jet family's performance, and will use its E190s and E170s to their "full potential".

Onuki says the MRJs will replace the older E170s and Bombardier CRJ200s in its fleet, when they are delivered from 2021.

“These E170s will be quite old by the 2020s, and it will be time to replace them. We, as part of the JAL Group, are happy and comfortable to operate both the E190 and MRJ simultaneously,” he adds.

Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer lists J-Air as operating a fleet of 27 aircraft, comprising nine CRJ200s, 17 E170s and one E190. It also has nine E190s and three E170s on order, with a further six of each type on option – all to be delivered by 2018.

Fleets Analyzer also shows that J-Air’s CRJ200s are built between 2000 and 2006, while at least six of its E170s will be 16 years old by 2021.

Asked whether the carrier is looking at possibly adding the new E2 to its fleet, Onuki would only says that company "will take a wait-and-see approach".

Source: Cirium Dashboard