Embraer ERJ-140
The Embraer ERJ-140 is a short-range regional jet and a member of the ERJ family developed by Embraer in Brazil. It's essentially a slightly shortened version of the ERJ-145, designed to meet specific airline needs—especially U.S. scope clause rules that limit the size of regional aircraft operated for major carriers.
🛩️ Overview:
- Role: Regional jet airliner
- Manufacturer: Embraer (Brazil)
- First flight: June 27, 2000
- Entered service: 2001 (with American Eagle)
- Production ended: Around 2005
- Family: Part of the ERJ-135/140/145 series
🛠️ Key Specifications (ERJ-140LR):
- Engines: 2 × Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1/3 turbofan engines
- Thrust: ~7,000 lbf (31 kN) each
- Length: 28.45 m (93 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 20.04 m (65 ft 9 in)
- Height: 6.75 m (22 ft 2 in)
- Cruise speed: Mach 0.78 (~518 mph / 833 km/h)
- Range: ~1,650 nautical miles (3,057 km)
- Service ceiling: 37,000 ft (11,300 m)
- Seating capacity: 44 passengers
- Crew: 2 pilots + 1–2 flight attendants
✨ Design Features:
- Same fuselage diameter and cabin cross-section as the ERJ-145
- Shorter fuselage (by about 5 feet), removing one row of seats
- Retains the 1–2 seating layout with no middle seats
- Similar cockpit, avionics, engines, and systems as the rest of the ERJ family = fleet commonality
- Maintains excellent field and short-runway performance
🧳 Major Operators (mostly past/present in the U.S.):
- Envoy Air (operating as American Eagle) – the largest and primary operator
- Some operated by charter companies or converted to VIP/business use
- Never saw wide global adoption outside the U.S.
🔁 Comparison to Other ERJs:
🔥 Fun Facts:
- The ERJ-140 was designed specifically to comply with “scope clauses” in U.S. pilot union contracts that limit the number of aircraft above 50 seats operated by regional affiliates
- Despite being less common than the ERJ-145, the ERJ-140’s common parts and systems made it easy to maintain alongside its siblings
- From the outside, the ERJ-140 looks almost identical to the 145—only a trained eye or tail number will tell you the difference!
🏁 Summary:
The Embraer ERJ-140 is a niche aircraft that filled a strategic need in the early 2000s for U.S. regional airlines. Though not widely used worldwide, it played a key role in scope clause compliance while still delivering the ERJ family’s hallmarks: speed, comfort, and reliability in a regional jet format.
| Model | Seats | Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERJ-135 | ~37 | 26.33 m | Smallest in the family |
| ERJ-140 | 44 | 28.45 m | Compromise between 135 and 145 |
| ERJ-145 | ~50 | 29.87 m | Most common model |
| MRO | Location | Embraer ERJ-140 Services |
|---|
A list of parts on the Embraer ERJ-140 is coming soon. Please check back again next week.