Luxembourg flag carrier Luxair will delay making a decision on new regional aircraft until 2018, a senior official said March 30.
An announcement on whether to choose the Bombardier CSeries or the Embraer E2 regional jets had originally been expected in 2016, but has been postponed, Luxair VP-finance Marc Schroeder said.
Whichever regional jet is chosen will replace the company’s two Boeing 737-700s and some of its Bombardier Q400 fleet. The latter will grow to 11 in July with the delivery of the latest of the type.
“We made the decision to fly on with the 737-700,” Schroeder said on the sidelines of the European Regions Airline Association conference in Copenhagen.
“It’s a good asset, in the sense that it’s almost completely written off; we write off our assets quite quickly and we own our planes ourselves. Looking at the choice between the cost of upgrading to new aircraft versus an almost depreciated asset was not a good business case,” he said.
A 2018 decision would probably result in deliveries around 2020, he added. The decision is between the CS100 and the E190-E2 versions.
Whichever type is chosen must have certification to operate into London City Airport, an important destination for Luxair. “That’s a must,” Schroeder said. The airport’s short runway and high buildings near its western end necessitate a steeper-than-normal 5.5-degree approach rather than the usual 3 degrees.
The CS100 completed steep approach certification test flights into London City a week ago, while Embraer also plans to seek such certification for the E190-E2.