Chilean carrier LATAM Airlines will target up to 35 new secondary cities using its incoming Embraer 195-E2 narrowbody jets.
Chief executive Roberto Alvo said in a 30 September social media post that the airline’s recent order of 24 E195-E2s – with a further 50 options – will enable flights to smaller cities and airports throughout Latin America and ”further diversify our hubs” with lower-capacity routes.
The 136-seat aircraft, configured with a pair of two-by-two rows, will initially be operated by LATAM Airlines Brazil but could eventually fly for all of the airline group’s country-specific affiliate carriers.
The order “reflects a commitment we have to reach more places and connect more people in South America”, Alvo says. It also signals LATAM’s intention to step up competition against Brazilian carrier Azul, which operates more than 50 E-Jets in a multitude of South American markets.
Azul also has 44 E195-E2s on order, according to aviation analytics provider Cirium.
For LATAM’s purposes, the E195-E2 is a “smaller-capacity aircraft” compared with the A320-family jets it already operates, opening the possibility of flying into smaller airports and smaller cities. Alvo adds that the type’s advertised range of 3,000nm (5,556km) ”allows it to reach almost every corner of our continent”.
Taking on new E-Jets will allow LATAM to establish direct connections between secondary markets, which today are connected via larger hubs in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Powered by twin Pratt & Whitney PW1900G turbofans, E195-E2s provide a sizeable efficiency leap over older-generation small narrowbody jets, burning 25-30% less fuel, Alvo says.
”It is these characteristics – its size, versatility and efficiency – that allow us to dream of opening up to 35 new destinations in South America,” he says.
Embraer is due to begin delivering the type to LATAM in next year’s second half and continue deliveries into 2030.
At the end of June, LATAM operated a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft: 281 A320-family jets, three A330s, 28 Boeing 767s, 10 777s and 37 787s.
