Embraer E190-E2 vs Airbus A220-300

The Embraer E190-E2 and Airbus A220-300 are the two clean-sheet small jets of the last decade, both powered by Pratt & Whitney geared turbofans, and the A220 has won the sales contest decisively. The A220-300, developed by Bombardier as the C Series and taken over by Airbus in 2018, is a 38.7 m aircraft seating 120 to 150 with PW1500G engines and a range of about 3,400 nautical miles. The E190-E2, in service with Widerøe from 2018, is 36.2 m long, seats 97 to 114 with PW1900G engines, and flies around 2,850 nautical miles. Embraer's closer match for the A220-300 is the longer E195-E2; the E190-E2's real rival is the smaller A220-100.

Both deliver fuel-burn cuts of around 17 to 20% per seat over the previous generation and both have excellent short-field performance. The A220's advantages are its wider, all-new fuselage, more seats and Airbus's sales reach, which have won it Delta, JetBlue, Air Canada, airBaltic, Breeze, Air France and Swiss. The E2's are lower weight, lower trip costs and the E-Jet family's commonality, attractive to carriers such as Helvetic, Azul, KLM Cityhopper (for the E195-E2) and Porter's rival Air Peace; it remains too heavy for US regional scope clauses, which has kept it out of the biggest E-Jet market.

Passenger experience

The A220 has the roomier cabin. Its 3-2 layout gives seats of 18.5 to 19 inches, the widest in any single-aisle, with large windows, big bins and a quiet interior, and only one middle seat per row. The E190-E2 keeps the E-Jet's 2-2 layout with seats of 18 inches and no middle seats at all, large bins and underwing engines that keep it quiet. Both have modern LED-lit cabins and ride well. The A220's extra width and height make it feel like a small mainline jet; the E2 feels like a very good regional one. For the best seat on an A220, take a window on the two-seat side; on the E2, a window ahead of the wing or an exit row.

Which to choose

Airlines have voted with orders, and the A220-300 is the more capable, more widely supported aircraft; the E190-E2 wins on cost where 100 seats are enough. Passengers are well served on either, with the A220's wide seats and the E2's absence of middle seats both genuine pluses.