Greener jets from London City airport

[December 22nd 2008]

British Airways has ordered 11 new generation fuel efficient aircraft to fly from London City airport.

The new greener jets will join the fleet of wholly owned BA subsidiary BA CityFlyer from September next year. The orders are for six Embraer 170 and five Embraer 190SR efficiency jets, known as E-Jets. BA also has options for three more aircraft in a total investment worth $376 million at current list prices.

The Embraer jets will replace BA CityFlyer’s current fleet of 10 Avro RJ100 and RJ85 aircraft. The new planes are more fuel efficient and have significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions, which BA says was a key consideration when it placed its order.

The Embraer 170 will improve CO2 emissions by up to 56% compared to the RJ fleet and the 190SR will improve CO2 emissions by up to 28%. The new planes are also more fuel efficient by the same percentages.

Both the Embraer 170s and 190SRs will fly on BA CityFlyer routes from London City airport to Scotland, Ireland and Europe. The E-Jets can fly at a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.82 and at 41,000 feet with ranges of up to 4,448 km.

As well as being more environmentally friendly, the E-Jets will also offer passengers more space and comfort. The planes have a 'double-bubble' fuselage design which means there is more personal space for passengers. With four-abreast seating throughout the aircraft, all passengers will have the choice of either a window or aisle seat.

"We are very excited about this new fleet of fuel efficient aircraft which will not only help us to meet our environmental objectives but also provide more space and comfort for our customers,” comments BA CityFlyer managing director, Peter Simpson.

"This significant investment in new aircraft further demonstrates British Airways' commitment to services into and out of London City for our customers,” adds Simpson.

"Having the combination of the Embraer 170s and 190SRs in the same fleet will give us greater flexibility, enabling us to match capacity with demand on routes within our existing and future network," Simpson concludes.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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