Embraer ERJ family

ERJ family (ERJ 135 / ERJ 140 / ERJ 145)
An Air France Régional ERJ-145
General information
Type	Regional jet
National origin	Brazil
Manufacturer	Embraer
Status	In service
Primary users	CommuteAir Piedmont Airlines Airlink JSX
Number built	1,240[1]
History
Manufactured	1992–2020[2] 2003–2016 (China)
Introduction date	6 April 1997
First flight	11 August 1995
Developed from	Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
Variants	Embraer E/P/R-99 Embraer Legacy 600

The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ 135 (37 passengers), ERJ 140 (44 passengers), and ERJ 145 (50 passengers), as well as the Legacy 600 business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft.

Development of the ERJ 145 was launched in 1989. Its early design took the form of a turbofan-powered stretch of the existing turboprop-powered EMB 120 Brasilia regional aircraft. After the project was temporarily suspended in 1990, work on a revised configuration was undertaken during the early 1990s. While retaining the three-abreast seating of the Brasilia, the twinjet featured a new swept wing and is powered by two rear-fuselage-mounted Rolls-Royce AE 3007 turbofans for a range up to 2,000 nautical miles [nmi] (3,700 km; 2,300 mi). By the time of its maiden flight on 11 August 1995, Embraer had garnered 18 firm orders, 16 options and 127 letters of intent for the type. On 10 December 1996, the ERJ 145 received its type certificate; it entered revenue service with ExpressJet Airlines on 6 April 1997.

Embraer prioritised the rapid expansion of the family, leading to the introduction of the shortened ERJ 135 and ERJ 140 in 1999. The ERJ series' primary competition came from the similarly sized Bombardier CRJ100/200 regional jets. In December 2002, Embraer entered a partnership with the Chinese aerospace manufacturer Harbin Aircraft Industry Group to jointly produce the ERJ 145 in Harbin, China; this production line was shuttered in 2016 after producing 41 aircraft. Overall production of the type was terminated in 2020, by which point 1,231 aircraft were built. By this point, the ERJ family had been eclipsed by the newer and more advanced E-Jet family.