Air Costa gets approval to fly the Embraer E190s

First E190 operator in India

Air Costa received DGCA approval yesterday to fly its Embraer E190s. It became the first airline in Indian aviation history to operate the type. The airline had begun flying in October 2013 with two Embraer E170s.

The two E190s, manufacturer serial numbers 593 and 608, were registered VT-LBR and VT-LVR. They were delivered in the second half of December 2013 and were leased from GECAS. Approval to fly them came only three months later, because of lengthy DGCA paperwork, part of it tied to getting the aircraft type approved in India. In the meantime the aircraft sat parked at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (ICAO VOHS, IATA HYD).

Where the E190s would fly

The E190s were expected to enter commercial service in the first week of April 2014, on the longer routes in the approved summer schedule. The DGCA licence endorsement for the E190 was "EMB170", the same as for the E170, so the airline's pilots could fly both variants.

The E190s would be based at Chennai and fly these sectors: Chennai to Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad to Bangalore, Bangalore to Jaipur, Jaipur to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Chennai, Chennai to Bangalore, Bangalore to Vishakhapatnam, and Vishakhapatnam to Hyderabad.

Each aircraft would start at 06:00 IST and finish at 23:40 IST, flying 18 flights and 29 block hours a day. Together they represented 56% of the fleet's utilisation. The E190s would be used about 30% more than the E170s.

The cabin

The E190s had an all economy, four abreast, single aisle cabin with 112 seats in 28 rows. Seat pitch was 29 or 30 inches depending on the row. Each seat was 18.25 inches wide from armrest to armrest, a full 1.25 inches wider than the 17 inch seats on SpiceJet's Boeing 737s and on the Airbus A320s of IndiGo, GoAir and AirAsia India. There were no middle seats, only window or aisle. That comfort made the product a preferred one among regional airlines at the time.

With 112 seats, the E190 had 62% of an Airbus A320's capacity, which the airline felt was right for the markets it served. Four more E190s were expected to join the fleet during the year.

Air Costa had been flying its E170s with load factors above 70%.