The Embraer E175-E2 made its inaugural flight Thursday from the company’s facility in São José dos Campos in Brazil. The E175-E2 is the third member of the E-Jets E2 family. The maiden flight kicks off a rigorous 24-month flight test campaign.

“This maiden flight of the E175-E2 marks the completion of our vision to produce a family of new-generation commercial aircraft that bring unparalleled cost savings to our customers, exceptional comfort for their passengers, and fewer emissions for the planet,” said John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

“The E190-E2 and the E195-E2 are already stellar performers. The E175-E2 is just as impressive. We’re eager to get working on certification. My sincere thanks to every Embraer employee who helped make this day possible,” he added.

The E175-E2 departed at 11:07 a.m. local time from the runway adjacent to Embraer’s Faria Lima complex and flew for two hours and 18 minutes. Embraer’s Captain Mozart Louzada commanded the aircraft along with first officer Wander Almodovar Golfetto, and flight engineers Gilberto Meira Cardoso and Mario Ito. The aircraft took off and landed with fly-by-wire (FBW) controls in normal mode. The crew evaluated aircraft performance, flight quality and systems behavior.

Embraer will use three aircraft for the E175-E2 certification campaign. The first and second prototypes will be used for aerodynamic, performance and system tests. The third prototype will be used to validate maintenance tasks and will be outfitted with interior furnishings.

The E175-E2 has one additional row of seats compared to the first-generation E175 and can be configured with 80 seats in two classes, or up to 90 in a single class. The airplane will save up to 16% in fuel and 25% in maintenance costs per seat compared to the E175.

Like the E190-E2 and the E195-E2, the E175-E2 will have the longest maintenance intervals in the single-aisle jet category with 10,000 flight hours for basic checks and no calendar limit for typical E-Jet operations. This means an additional 15 days of aircraft utilization over a period of ten years compared to current generation E-Jets.

The E175-E2 features new Pratt & Whitney GTF™ PW1700G ultra-high bypass ratio engines, a completely new wing, full fly-by-wire controls and new landing gear. Compared to the first-generation E175, 75% of aircraft systems are new.

A global aerospace company headquartered in Brazil, Embraer celebrates its 50th anniversary with businesses in Commercial and Executive aviation, Defense & Security and Agricultural Aviation. The company designs, develops, manufactures and markets aircraft and systems, providing after-sales Services & Support to customers.

Since it was founded in 1969, Embraer has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft. On average, about every 10 seconds an aircraft manufactured by Embraer takes off somewhere in the world, transporting over 145 million passengers a year.

Embraer is the leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats and the main exporter of high value-added goods in Brazil. The company maintains industrial units, offices, service and parts distribution centers, among other activities, across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers from 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.