Air TransportFirst E190F freighter flies to Europe in Bridges Air Cargo livery
More than three years after launching the E-Freighter program, Embraer is on track to make the first delivery of a jet converted to a freighter.
The only known E190F to undergo the P2F (Passenger to Freighter) process, registration N986TA, arrived in Maastricht, Netherlands, on Friday after flying from Embraer’s headquarters in São José dos Campos.
What’s new is that the aircraft now features the livery of its future operator, Bridges Air Cargo, based in Malta, which replaced the promotional scheme used by Embraer to showcase the freighter at some exhibitions.
The E190F was converted in Brazil and first flew in its new freighter configuration in April 2024. It is owned by Regional One, a Florida-based lessor.
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The small Bridges Air Cargo, which flies only one ATR 72 freighter, recently became the launch customer for the E-Freighter program after Kenya’s Astral Aviation withdrew its operations.
E-commerce Inspired Conversion
Embraer’s P2F program emerged in 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when e-commerce was experiencing a surge in demand.
The company saw in its large fleet of E190 and E195 jets an opportunity to offer freighter aircraft with a capacity to carry between 13 and 14 tons of cargo, filling a niche between turboprops and larger jets like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.
What was unexpected was that the supply chain crisis would delay commercial aircraft production to the point of reviving the pre-owned jet market.
Embraer recently updated its program, stating that it will focus solely on enabling the conversion of E190F aircraft, postponing the inclusion of the E195F variant for a later date.
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Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
