The past two decades have seen the market for airliners with more than 120 seats come to be dominated by Airbus and Boeing. In the sector below a name from another continent dominates – Brazil’s Embraer. Initially producing small turboprop airliners, the EMB 110 Bandeirante and EMB 120 Brasilia, Embraer entered the jet market in 1995 with the ERJ family of airliners. In 2002, they introduced the EJet series.
Available in four varieties – E170, E175, E190 and E195 – all feature two underwing General Electric CF34 turbofans and a four-abreast cabin.
Modelmakers have followed the popularity of the EJet family with a wide variety of model types. Revell produces a 1:144 scale self-assembly kit with Air Dolomiti decals. Gemini and Hasegawa produce detailed 1:200 and 1:144 scale models in the colours of Alaska Airlines and Japan Airlines.
Listing operators of small regional jets isn’t as straightforward as with larger jets as the biggest users operate service for the main US carriers’ regional routes. I’ve listed below the airlines whose colours appear on the planes rather than the underlying operators.
AMERICAN EAGLE
American Airlines regional subsidiary has E175s in service operated by Compass Airlines, Envoy Air and Republic Airline. They are externally identical apart from small “Operated by…” legends. I think American’s colour scheme is one of the best of the US airlines and stands out from the crowd.
Atlantic Models produces a relatively large 1:72 scale desktop model of an American Eagle E175. This is a detailed custom build so can take 6-8 weeks for delivery and is over $350. Skymarks produced a 1:100 scale snap-fit model with small Envoy Air markings. The model was deleted in 2017 but many are still available. Gemini Jets have an American Eagle in their 1:200 scale die-cast range.
DELTA CONNECTION
I used to like Delta and Northwest’s respective 1970s and 1980s colour schemes. I’m less keen personally on the merged airlines livery but at least it acknowledges Northwest’s heritage with the tilted direction of the Delta triangle. Compass, Republic and Skywest fly for Delta Connection – like American Eagle – in identical livery with small titles for the operating carrier.
Skymarks have a 1:100 scale snap-fit model with small Republic titles available for around $35. Gemini Jets produces a small but detailed 1:400 scale die-cast model, also with Republic titles for a similar price.
UNITED EXPRESS
Express Jet, Mesa Airlines, Republic Airline and Trans States Airlines all operate E175s for United Express from hubs across the United States. A Republic E170 was involved in the infamous United flight 3411 incident at Chicago O’Hare where a passenger was forcibly removed to make way for a positioning crew. All operators use United’s globe logo on their tail fins.
Herpa Wings and Gemini jets are among the modellers of the United Express EJet fleet, both with 1:400 scale models. Decals are available for Revell’s 1:144 plastic self-assembly kit too.
AZUL BRAZILIAN AIRLINES
Founded by JetBlue’s David Neeleman, Azul has expanded rapidly since 2008 to become a major Brazilian airline. Perhaps not so well known outside the Americas (though it does fly to Portugal), the airline operates a large fleet of E190 and E195s.
Azul’s normal colour scheme is a smart white and dark blue with a stylized map of Brazil on the tail. However, the airline has several special schemes and its Embraer fleet sports some of these, including an Ayrton Senna livery. Herpa Wings produce 1:200 scale models in both the standard and a selection of special liveries.
JETBLUE
Ah, JetBlue. Or, is it jetBlue? I’m never quite sure. The New York-based airline has a fleet of 60 E190s, each with a different livery on its tail fin. Modelmakers are left to choose which of these to represent on their wares.
Skymarks, Herpa Wings and Gemini Jets all produce variants in varying scales to represent the fleet of this now-established US airline.
