South African regional carrier Airlink has formally accepted the first three Embraer E195-E2 jetliners of a 10-aircraft lease from Florida-based lessor Azorra, following a handover ceremony at Embraer’s São José dos Campos facility. News24’s Na’ilah Ebrahim attended the ceremony and reported airline and manufacturer comments about expanded range, higher seat counts and new route potential.
Airlink says the E195-E2s will boost its domestic capacity this year and unlock regional routes across Central, East and West Africa in 2026-27 as regulatory approvals and route applications progress. The airline told media it has submitted multiple route applications to the Air Licensing Services Council (ALSC) to support the planned network expansion.
Key facts
- Lease: Airlink finalised a lease for 10 Embraer E195-E2 aircraft with lessor Azorra; the lease was publicly announced in August 2025 and deliveries begin in late 2025, completing by 2027.
- Deliveries: The first three E195-E2s were handed over at Embraer in São Paulo and are being ferried to South Africa for entry-into-service after crew training and regulatory acceptance.
- Capacity & cabin: Configured at roughly 136 seats in Airlink’s two-by-two layout, the E195-E2 offers increased overhead bin volume, in-seat power and more premium seating options versus older E-Jet variants.
- Efficiency & range: The E-Jet E2 family uses Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans (PW1900G). Fuel-burn improvements over previous generation E-Jets are quoted at up to ~25–29% depending on metric; range figures vary by source and configuration (about 4,665–4,815 km commonly cited; News24 reports 5,556 km/3,000 nm as a performance figure). Use Embraer’s published specs for a precise reference per configuration.
(Citation note: manufacturer pages and trade outlets provide the authoritative technical specs; News24’s reported numbers align with Embraer-supplied performance ranges when configuration factors are considered.)
What this means for intra-Africa connectivity
- Longer sectors & new city pairs: The larger seat count and extended range allow Airlink to consider direct services on longer intra-African sectors (for example, direct Cape Town–Lagos or Cape Town–Dar es Salaam were highlighted as potential demand cases in Embraer’s intra-Africa research). Actual route launches will require regulatory approvals, airport handling readiness and commercial assessment.
- Cost & competition: Bigger aircraft increase seat-mile economics and reduce unit costs on dense routes. Airlink says the E195-E2’s lower fuel burn will allow more competitive fares and premium product offerings, increasing competition with larger domestic players.
Timeline & immediate operational steps
- Now (Oct 2025): First three E195-E2s accepted; crew training, maintenance readiness and regulatory acceptance underway.
- Late 2025 – 2026: Additional deliveries (four more in 2026, three in 2027 per Airlink’s schedule) and phased deployment on domestic and regional routes subject to ALSC approvals.
- 2026–2027: Commercial trials and new route announcements likely once slots and bilateral rights are secured.
What’s next? industry outlook
- Network impact: If Airlink secures ALSC approvals and slots, the E195-E2 fleet will enable more direct intra-Africa services, reduce connection times and potentially stimulate air traffic between under-served city pairs.
- Competition: The move tightens competition on domestic trunk routes and could force price and product responses from domestic LCCs and national carriers.
- Watch: official Airlink service bulletins, ALSC route approvals and Embraer / Azorra press releases for confirmed deployment schedules and exact technical specs.
Citations
- News24, Na’ilah Ebrahim, “SEE | New Airlink jets to bring more African connections, swanky seats,” 3 Oct 2025.
- Airlink official news, Airlink press release on E195-E2 handover / Azorra lease.
- CAPA / Centre for Aviation, “Airlink receives first three of 10 E195-E2s,” Oct 2025.
- Embraer product pages and specs, E195-E2 technical information and performance figures.
