JetBlue officially retired its Embraer E190 aircraft on Tuesday, completing the carrier’s transition to an all-Airbus fleet.
The airline operated a final “commemorative flight” for the narrowbody jet from New York-JFK to Boston on Tuesday, with send-off events at both gates. JetBlue COO Warren Christie, who captained the E190’s first flight for the airline in 2005, sat behind the controls again for the aircraft’s last service.
“I am proud to operate today’s flight, as it marks a significant evolution of our fleet,” Christie said in a statement. “The E190 was instrumental in our early years and proved to deliver on critical connectivity in short-haul markets, allowing us to grow into new regions, especially in our New York and Boston focus cities. As one of the originating crewmembers to launch the E190 at JetBlue, it is an honor to pilot our final E190 revenue flight.”
JetBlue was the first airline in the world to fly the E190. It once operated over 60 of the aircraft type but ultimately pivoted toward the Airbus A220-300 as a replacement. The carrier had only nine E190s still in operation in August.
JetBlue has taken delivery of 52 A220s, with 48 more on order. The airline said the jets will help improve fuel efficiency and reduce costs while opening up new “transcontinental markets” that the E190 was not able to reach.
The carrier now operates only two aircraft families – the A220 and the larger A320 family.
