|
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer delivered today the first of 12 Embraer 190 Advanced Range (AR) aircraft to Copa Airlines of Panama. Additional deliveries are scheduled through 2008. In addition to the firm orders, Copa holds options on 18 Embraer 190s.
The airline's Embraer 190s are configured with 84 seats in Economy Class and ten seats in Business Class. The dual class arrangement enables Copa to offer a consistent product standard throughout its growing network from its Hub of the Americas in Panama City. "We are proud to deliver the first Embraer 190 to our launch customer in Latin America. The start of operations in Panama with this new airplane is very significant to Embraer," said Frederico Fleury Curado, Executive Vice-President, Airline Market. "Copa Airlines has one of the most modern and newest fleets in the Americas," said Pedro Heilbron, CEO of Copa Airlines. "The acquisition of Embraer aircraft will allow us to continue expanding the Hub of the Americas, increasing frequencies and destinations with the same comfort aboard and the excellent service that our customers have grown accustomed to," added Heilbron. Copa's order also marks the first customer in Latin America for the Embraer 190, one member of a family of four new-generation commercial aircraft, which according to Embraer, 'feature advanced engineering design, exceptional performance efficiency, superior operating economics and a spacious cabin." More than 100 Embraer E-Jets are currently flying in the Americas, Europe and Asia in the colors of LOT Polish Airlines, Alitalia Express, US Airways Express, United Express, Delta Connection, Cirrus, Air Canada, Paramount Airways, Hong Kong Express, Finnair and JetBlue Airways. The Embraer 170/190 Family Embraer is developing a new family of aircraft designed for the commercial aviation market. The new product line comprises the Embraer 170, Embraer 175, Embraer 190 and Embraer 195 jets - seating, respectively, up to 78, 86, 108 and 118 passengers. The high degree of commonality among the family of four airliners results in spare parts and maintenance cost reduction for carriers. Moreover, cross crew qualification (CCQ) allows better utilization of resources without the restrictions normally associated with mixed-fleet flying. Each model of the Embraer 170/190 family has two underwing CF34 General Electric engines continually monitored by a redundant computerized management system called Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). Another important feature of the Embraer 170/190 program is the use of fly-by-wire technology for the flight control systems, similar to that deployed on larger commercial jets and advanced military aircraft. Each member of the Embraer 170/190 family has two main passenger doors and two service doors that minimize aircraft turn-around time. All four aircraft can be configured for single class or dual class seating. Another strength of the Embraer 170/190 family is the comfort provided by the double-bubble fuselage design. Unlike other aircraft of similar seating capacities, this design offers much more personal space for passengers. Embraer expects its new commercial jet family to win a significant share of the still untapped market for jets in the 70- to 110-seat range - mainly due to their performance, cabin comfort and reduced operating costs. Three Embraer 170/190 aircraft are certified. Certification for the Embraer 195 is expected in the second quarter of 2006. Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A.) is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 110 seats, with 36 years of experience in designing, developing, manufacturing, selling and providing after-sales support to aircraft for the global airline, defense and business jet markets. With headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos, state of Sao Paulo, the Company has offices and customer service bases in the United States, France, Portugal, China and Singapore. Embraer is among Brazil's leading exporting companies. As of September 30, 2005, Embraer had a total workforce of 17,046 people, and its firm order backlog totaled US$ 10.4 billion. Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A. - www.embraer.com.br
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Brazil received a huge boost in its international image with its selection as the host of the 2016 Olympics, but it was really just the cherry on top of the overall recognition of the country's ascension to the ranks of one of the world's most important countries. Now, as it finally takes its place on the world scene, there has been a great deal of concern about what kind of image Brazil hopes to project, now that the world is really paying attention. 
The only good thing to say about the visit to Brazil of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Monday November 23, is that it was mercifully short and lasted less than 24 hours. Ahmadinejad had his picture taken being hugged by president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva who gave him a warm welcome and said Iran had every right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. 
The small, coastal town of Condé is located just a twenty minute's drive from João Pessoa, the capital of Paraíba. The Northeast of Brazil has historically been a place of encounter and mixing between peoples. For millenia groups of indigenous people fished, farmed, migrated and sometimes fought along this large, fertile area. 
The Brazilian diplo-MÁ-cia (bad diplomacy) carries on its accelerated course towards the non-acknowledgment of human rights, although sometimes it takes pleasure in saying that it does precisely the opposite. The visit of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is another example of a diplomatic omission that verges on hypocrisy. 
On July 4, 2006, representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay met in Caracas to sign the protocol for the entrance of Venezuela into the Southern Common Market (Mercosur). After two and a half years, the protocol was approved by the legislative bodies of Argentina and Uruguay, and as of now it may be only days away from being ratified by the continent's economic megalith, Brazil. 
Some sectors of the fight against AIDS have suggested that Thabo Mbeki, the former president of South Africa, committed genocide through his absence from the fight against the illness in his country throughout his two terms. 
One hundred and eleven years after Brazil abolished slavery, the number of workers deprived of their freedom is still huge. They raise cattle, produce charcoal, sugar cane or timber. Some of them, most undocumented Bolivians, work in basements of small apparel factories in São Paulo and other metropolis. 
On November 7, 2009 a few friends and I had an opportunity to take a look inside a Brazilian jail outside the city of Rio de Janeiro. We were able to take some amateur footage of our experience on video (see link below). It's no surprise, of course, that the typical Brazilian jail lacks some of the functionality of those in North America or Europe, but our experience that day was quite shocking. 
Depletion of the Amazon Rainforest is not a new concern facing environmentalists, biologists, ecologists, and a growing number of the Amazonian indigenous peoples. For decades they have feared for the fate of the world's most biologically diverse and species-rich hothouse. 
Geisy Arruda made history this week in Brazil, but for all the wrong reasons. What began as a poorly planned fashion statement has become a worldwide tale. Geisy decided to wear a pink mini-dress to her private college in São Paulo state, and after that, all hell broke loose.