Update – Embraer Brasilia

What makes Brasilia different from its compatriots?

According to Embraer and the operators we spoke with endorsed this view, the aircraft is unique in that it is the only 30-seater and that it is also, by a considerable margin, the fastest and cheapest to operate on an aircraft/kilometre basis. The former point ensures that with 15 passengers the Brasilia is running a traditional breakeven load factor whereas all its competitors would be in the red. Similarly, with say, 22 pax, the EMB-120 would be netting around double what its 36/42-seat competitors would on the same sector. That’s Brazilian logic that is difficult to argue with in an industry that bounds from boom to bust almost in the course of a fiscal year.

In addition, the Brasilia makes an ideal corporate aircraft. Think about it. You have a Canadair Challenger-sized cabin that can be configured in the VIP role for 12, 18 or 22 passengers with full hot galley and toilet facilities that cruise at up to 32,000ft at an honest 300kts. Over a 400nm Sydney/Melbourne-type sector there would barely be ten or so minutes between the Brasilia and the jets, even less against a Diamond or Citation. On top of that the Brasilia would have burnt around half the fuel of the jet on that same mission. And if that wasn’t enough Embraer are quick to point out that the initial acquisition cost of the Brasilia is up to half that of the jet. Obviously, the jet begins to gain on the longer legs but even Brisbane/Adelaide is a comfortable three hours in the corporate Brasilia so is it really that impractical to consider such an aircraft for the corporate role?

What makes the Brasilia such a hot rod is its relatively high power-to-weight ratio. Excellent aerodynamics and lightweight design coupled with the new generation Pratt & Whitney Canada PW115 turboprops all contribute to a cruise profile as much as 50 kts better than some of the opposition. Rated at 1600shp for takeoff and 1500shp at cruise, the PW115s are coupled with new state-of-the-art Hamilton Standard four blade propellers that turn at a mere 11OOrpm at cruise to produce a noise footprint that complies fully with ICAO Annex 16/FAR 36 requirements. Australian Aviation found the aircraft to be extremely quiet both inside the cabin and on the ground during normal airport manoeuvring. Additionally, the airconditioning and pressurisation systems worked as good if not better than any we had experienced in recent years.

In a typical commuter operation, the Brasilia can fly three 100nm max payload sectors with sufficient fue! for a diversion. This eliminates the need for time-wasting feelings at intermediate stops and being fully self-contained, the Brasilia does not require airstairs or start carts in order to earn its living. Boarding is by a single front door while the large rear baggage door reveals an area of 6. 4cu metres capable of holding 550kg of baggage. This equates to an international airline standard of 7 cubic feet of baggage per passenger which is a ‘luxury’ that most Australian commuter operators have never been able to offer before. As a freighter, the rear bulkhead can be removed along with seats and overhead bins to allow the carriage of up to 7 pallets weighing a maximum of 3,230kg. In this configuration the aircraft can fly up to 400nm with full reserves which equates to a viable heavy payload inter-city freighter by night and a regular airliner by day – a certain recipe for staying in the black. If operations do not require a multi-stop service then the Brasilia can carry 30 passengers with baggage a full 600nm or 23 pax 1200nm. Ferry range can be extended out to 2000nm, while the corporate version in a typical corporate configuration can operate over sectors of 1500nm with ease. Just to buttress that latter point, the previously mentioned Darwin/Sydney flight was undertaken with a cabin full of Embraer sales executives, support personnel and a second crew, eight people in all with a not-inconsiderable payload of spares and sales brochures. Additionally, the aircraft had been held up in Cairo due to clearance delays and . had flown the Cairo/Sydney route non-stop (apart from refuelling) for an elapsed flying time of 42 hours out of 48 which must be some sort of record for crew and aircraft endurance! So what of the Brasilia in Australia?

The market for such aircraft in Australia is good in the long term. Air Queensland have already signed for 4 ATR42s, Kendell for 2 Saab-Fairchild 340s. Presently, Brasilia is short-listed with the BAe Jetstream 31, the DHC Dash 8 and SF340 for the TAA central Queensland operation. TAA expect to make a final decision? on which aircraft to acquire for this service by year-end though with their recent purchase of Air Queensland and the loss of the vital government subsidy (refer to Airline Affairs) on these loss-making routes then they may bail out of them and retire completely from propjet operations. Only time will tell.

Elsewhere, Skywest are actively studying Brasilia as a complement to their successful 19-seat Jetstreams. Skywest executives state that they can either go on buying more and more Jetstreams (some of which would ultimately find themselves on the east coast) or opt for a mix of Jetstreams and Brasilia. Again the primary selling attraction to Skywest was that as the Brasilia is so quick it could undertake a number of sectors that have traditionally proven unpopular with propellor-driven aircraft. Skywest tell us they would like to have made a decision on which way to go by the end of this year.

On the other side of the continent, Big Brother East West is also a contender for a complement or even an eventual replacement for the venerable F27-500s. East West would gain from being able to increase frequency on a substantial number of routes rather than having to forsake services over a period to smaller third-level operators such as East Coast Airlines, of which EWA is a shareholder. Other viable purchasers that have expressed a strong interest are Talair(NG), Opal Air, Bassair, Jetcare, Lloyd Av1at1on, Commodore Airlines and Murray Valley Airlines in the long term.

So much for third and second-level APT operators. When asked what proportion of eventual Brasilia production would be for the corporate market, a senior Embraer executive stated confidently that ultimately more than half would wear corporate livery. In Australia there certainly exists a market for such a spacious, fast and cost-effective corporate machine and local distributors, Aeromil, are confident of placing several such units on the Australian register in the years ahead.

The Brasilia order book presently stands at 67 firm orders including 25 for the Brazilian Air Force. First of type into commercial service will be with Atlantic Southeast Airlines of the USA in July this year following the granting of full FAA Certification (FAR25 up to Amendment 54, FAR36 up to Amendment 36, JAR25 up to change 8 and FAR91, FAR135 for operational characteristics) in June. Embraer actually had to delay FAA Certification by three weeks so that the aircraft could undertake its Australian demonstration tour followed by the Paris Air Show. Embraer feel confident they have got their sums right – a smaller capacity, cheaper to acquire and operate aircraft that flies abnormally fast is their recipe for market success in the years ahead. Only history will judge whether or not they were right but for sure you have to acknowledge the sheer logic in their thinking which in this case is also backed up by an extremely fine aeroplane.