Delivering an Embraer E190 aircraft down under

Falko has recently placed an E190 (19000616) on a long term lease with our customer, Cobham based in Australia. There are many facets to leasing an aircraft to a customer and this month we are focusing on one in particular, the preparation and physical delivery of an Embraer 190 Regional Jet to Perth, Australia.

At Falko, our Technical Operations department manages all the technical aspects concerning Falko’s portfolio of aircraft including the acceptance and handover of an aircraft.  Over the last 18 months with the current restrictions in place, the team have had to adapt their processes to ensure that Falko can continue to support its customers’ requirements.

As part of the process of leasing an aircraft, the location of the physical handover of the aircraft needs to be agreed, along with how this takes place and who will deliver the aircraft.  On occasion the customer may what to pick up an aircraft themselves, however most likely, as in this case, the aircraft will be delivered to the customer by Falko.

As a Regional airliner, the Embraer 190 is designed to meet the demands of short-haul flights and therefore its range is reduced in comparison to a typical narrowbody such as an Airbus A320 aircraft for example.  This restriction complicates the delivery as, in many cases the aircraft will be unable to make the journey to its new operator in one flight and will need to make technical stops, to re-fuel and rest stops for the crew.

As we do not have pilots ourselves, we contract a third-party flight support company to perform the customer demonstration flight and then fly the aircraft to the delivery location, but first the aircraft must be prepared.

After undergoing eight weeks of heavy maintenance, which included structural inspections, engine inspections and modifications as agreed in the lease contract with the customer, the aircraft was then painted into the Airlines livery.

Once painted, the aircraft performed a demonstration flight where systems are checked to ensure they are serviceable and operating as expected.  The aircraft then underwent a physical inspection by the customer to confirm the aircraft complies with the delivery conditions, the customer then technically accepts the aircraft.

Once the aircraft technical acceptance has been agreed by both the customer and Falko, the aircraft, crewed by two pilots and a flight engineer, departed for the delivery location. The aircraft routes via planned stops which are organised by the contracted flight support company.

On this particular delivery, first officer Tommy Griffiths, captured the flight and has shared his journey through the eyes of the Flight Crew.

When our aircraft arrive at their delivery location, any issues encountered during the flight are resolved and the aircraft is then accepted by and handed over to the customer.  The aircraft will then be re-registered and put into service by the airline.

In this film, the three-day delivery has been condensed into a thirteen-minute film for your enjoyment.