Representatives from Embraer, General Electric, and Honeywell demonstrated this Embraer 190 (ERJ-190), PP-XMB (msn 190002), for the staff and management of Aloha Airlines with 2 preview flights (1 to OGG, and 1 to LIH) today. The sleek new airliner looked quite impressive as it sat in the AQ hangar, and when it was pushed outside, the jet gleamed under the Hawaiian sun.
This ERJ-190 was on display at this year's Farnborough Air Show in the UK, and on a "world tour". PP-XMB and its crew are heading back to Brazil, and making stops along the way for prospective airlines to check out this state-of-the-art jet.
I had the opportunity to tour the interior, and found it quite spacious. The coach seats are 2 abreast, and look a bit wider than normal. They were decked out with AQ bird-of-paradise headrest covers. Each seat on PP-XMB had a personal LCD screen for its IFE. The ERJ-190 series is only 20cm narrower than a 732, but still felt spacious.
The flight deck is all glass with 4 large displays, with the latest Honeywell avionics.
PP-XMB returns from its run to OGG on Rwy 4R. There was hardly a roar normally associated with thrust reversers. When the 2nd preview flight took off, the 2 GE CF34-10E engines were quieter than the RR/BMW BR710 (& BR715) engines. This has to be one of the quietest airliners around.
The ERJ-190, and more so the ERJ-195, are heavy contenders for AQ's replacements of their 732 fleet. It's not a done deal, but it's the beginning of a process to evaluate potential 732 replacements, which will take over a year. It would definitely be cool to see the bird-of-paradise on the tail of one of these E190 series birds. This is what I consider a Regional Jet! And the ERJ-190 series gets my vote!
Again, a big Mahalo to the folks @ Aloha for allowing me to attend this event!.
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