KLM Purchases Seventeen Embraers to Replace its Fokker 70s

KLM Cityhopper is renewing its fleet by purchasing fifteen Embraer 175 aircraft (E175+) and two Embraer 190 aircraft (E190). KLM Cityhopper will already be welcoming the first two E190 aircraft in December 2015. The fifteen E175+ aircraft will be taken up in the KLM Cityhopper fleet between March 2016 and June 2018.

Arrival of the new Embraers will be coupled with phasing out nineteen Fokker 70s from service. The timing will be synchronised with the delivery of the Embraers. In 2018, the KLM Cityhopper fleet will consist of thirty E190 and fifteen E175+ aircraft. This represents an enormous efficiency gain since the entire fleet will then consist of Embraer aircraft. KLM Cityhopper’s cockpit crews operate both Embraer types. Additionally, KLM Cityhopper and Hop! have together signed an option for seventeen new Embraers.

Increased seat capacity
The seat capacity of the KLM Cityhopper fleet will increase with the acquisition of the new Embraers. The E190 is equipped with 100 seats and the E175+ boasts 88 seats. The Fokker 70 offers 80 seats; the middle seat cannot be booked in Business Class. The fifteen E175+ will be equipped with ultramodern slim seats. The two E190s will be equipped with the same comfortable seats as those in the existing Embraer 190 fleet.

Better fuel efficiency
The new Embraer fleet boasts far better fuel efficiency in comparison with the Fokker 70 fleet. The latest E175+ is the most efficient and economical aircraft in the Embraer series. And the aircraft will of course also be delivered in the new KLM livery.