Azerbaijan Airlines Takes Delivery of Embraer 190

Azerbaijan Airlines has taken delivery of the first of four Embraer 190s on order.

The aircraft will be deployed on the carrier’s international network from Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD). The three remaining aircraft are scheduled for delivery by the end of the year.

The four E190s are part of an acquisition of six E-Jets. Two 76-seat E170s purchased from ECC Leasing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Embraer, will also join the fleet later this year.

All of Azerbaijan Airlines’ E190s are configured with 106 Elite seats in a single class layout.

The first aircraft is scheduled to start flying from Baku to Nakhchievan and Tbilisi, Georgia. The airline also plans to fly the E190 on longer international routes in the near future.

“The arrival of the first E190 in AZAL’s fleet is an important milestone in our strategic renewal plan to replace turboprops and narrow-bodies in some of our markets,” said Jahangir Askerov, President and Chairman of the Board of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC. “The E190’s excellent operating economics and range open up new market opportunities for us, specifically to key business destinations. The comfortable cabin is particularly important for the longer routes we intend to fly with the E190 to Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.”

Azerbaijan Airlines joins a growing list of new operators in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that have added E-Jets to their fleets, including Air Astana, Air Lituanica, Air Moldova, Belavia, Bulgaria Air, Estonian Air, Montenegro Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines.