8 October 2026

Azorra Adds 15 E2s to Its Embraer Order as 2,000th E-Jet Goes to Azul

Azorra has ordered a further 15 Embraer E2s, the fourth increase to its December 2021 E2 order, and has signed an agreement with Embraer to convert up to 30 E190s to freighters. Embraer's 2,000th E-Jet delivery, celebrated in Brazil in September, was also Azorra's 10th E2 delivered to Azul.

Five men in suits applaud in front of the nose of an Embraer jet in a hangar, the fuselage marked 2000th E-Jet above a green and yellow stripe. — The 2,000th Embraer E-Jet, marked for the occasion, at the delivery celebration in Brazil. [Azorra]

Edited by:

African Pilot Newsdesk

Why this article matters
Azorra is building its E2 position through successive increases to the order it placed in December 2021 without airline customers attached, and the latest 15 aircraft are the fourth such addition. Alongside new aircraft, it is extending the working life of existing E190s through freighter conversion, with up to 30 covered by the Farnborough agreement. Its 19% share of small narrowbody leasing at the end of 2025 gives it close to a fifth of that market.

For airlines leasing E-Jets, among them South Africa’s Airlink, the additional order adds to the lessor-owned E2 capacity coming to market, while the E190F programme gives the E190 a route into express cargo after passenger service. The order is best read as a further expansion of Azorra’s E2 commitments, with delivery timing and the placement of the aircraft with airlines to follow.

Of Interest
- Azorra has placed an order for a further 15 Embraer E2s, the fourth increase to its original E2 order of December 2021.
- Embraer’s 2,000th E-Jet delivery, celebrated in Brazil in September 2026, was Azorra’s 10th E2 delivered to Azul.
- At the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2026, Azorra signed an agreement with Embraer to convert up to 30 E190s to freighters.
- Azorra held 19% of the small narrowbody leasing market at the end of 2025.
- In 2025 Azorra acquired 49 E-Jets from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and 13 E190s from JetBlue.
- Oaktree Capital Management has invested more than US$800 million in Azorra.

Azorra has placed an order for a further 15 Embraer E2 aircraft, the fourth increase to the 20-aircraft E2 order it placed in December 2021. The lessor was in Brazil in September for Embraer's 2,000th E-Jet delivery, which was also Azorra's 10th E2 delivered to Azul.

At the Farnborough International Airshow in July, Azorra signed an agreement with Embraer to convert up to 30 E190s to freighters. Azorra sees the E190F as a replacement for older Boeing 737 freighters, citing its Stage 4 noise-compliant operations and the operating costs available through Azorra's CF34 engine programme, and describes the conversions as a way to extend the aircraft's useful life into the express cargo market.

Azorra's share of the small narrowbody leasing market stood at 19% at the end of 2025. During 2025 it acquired 49 E-Jets from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise and 13 E190s from JetBlue, and its E-Jet customers include Scoot, Airlink, Virgin Australia and LOT Polish Airlines.

Arjan Meijer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Embraer Commercial Aviation, said E-Jets remain among the most attractive assets in aviation leasing, citing their reliability, their appeal to operators and demand across primary and secondary markets, and described Azorra as a strategic partner whose confidence in the E-Jet family had helped drive the programme's success worldwide.

Azorra's Chief Executive Officer, John Evans, first ordered Embraer E1s in 2008 at Jetscape, the lessor he founded, and launched Azorra after Jetscape was sold to Nordic Aviation Capital. Azorra's first aircraft were two Phenom 300s leased to Gold Aviation, which remain on lease. The company moved into commercial aircraft in 2019 with the acquisition of five E190s from Copa Airlines, and in 2020 facilitated the sale and transition of 14 E190s from Copa to Alliance Airlines. Oaktree Capital Management invested US$350 million in Azorra in 2021 and has now invested more than US$800 million in the business.