Ben Mutzabaugh – USA Today, 07/06/2012
SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil – Aircraft workers here on a big assembly line about an hour north of Sao Paulo wield screeching rivet guns on the tails and fuselages of a half-dozen gleaming new jets.
Many of the planes they’re making — 70- to 124-seat Embraer “E-Jets,” as they’re dubbed in the industry — will shuttle people between New York, Boston, Washington and Chicago on Delta. Or, some will ferry passengers on JetBlue flights from Boston to Bermuda, New York to Nassau or Fort Lauderdale to Cancun, Mexico.
If you’ve flown up to half-way across the country, chances are good you’ve been on a plane made by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. Nearly every U.S. airline or their regional partners are flying its newer E-Jets or older, smaller ERJ jets that seat 37 to 50 passengers. In all, Embraer counts more than 850 of its aircraft in the fleets of U.S. carriers.
