Ten questions about the Embraer 190 aircraft

The Finnair fleet consists of approximately 80 aircraft, twelve of which are Embraers. On 1 October 2025, Embraer as an aircraft type will celebrate 20 years of flying as part of our fleet, as it will be 20 years since the Embraer 170’s maiden flight to Oslo, Norway. At the same time, we’re renewing the cabins of our current Embraer 190 aircraft, and the last one should be completed in the spring of 2026. Our Embraers are operated by Norra, or Nordic Regional Airlines.

Our interviewee, Heikki Kunttu, has been working at Finnair for almost nine years and over a year in his current role as Head of Regional Fleet Management, where he looks after Embraer and ATR aircraft  from an owner's perspective. Heikki's duties include managing the lifecycle of both aircraft types, being a manager for the 5-person Regional Fleet Engineering team and acting as a liaison between the cooperation of Finnair and Norra.

1. When did Finnair get the first Embraer 190 aircraft and how many of these aircraft does Finnair have today?

“The first Embraer ERJ 190-100LR aircraft, registration number OH-LKE, arrived at Finnair on 14 December 2006. However, we had already received several Embraer 170 aircraft before this: the first, OH-LEE, arrived at Finnair on 22 September 2005, so 20 years ago. These 170-model aircraft have since left Finnair’s fleet.

Today, Finnair has 12 Embraer 190 aircraft, which we plan to operate still during the next decade. The lifespan of one aircraft is approximately 25–30 years, meaning over 60,000 flight  hours and 40,000 flights.”

2. What are the dimensions of the Embraer aircraft? How much does it weigh?

“The Embraer 190 is the smallest jet aircraft in Finnair’s fleet. The aircraft is just over 36 metres long and its wingspan is just under 29 metres. The aircraft is approximately 10.5 metres high. The internal diameter of the aircraft's cabin is 2.74 metres, while the external diameter of its fuselage is 3 metres, which is smaller than the engine diameter of our Airbus A350 aircraft.

The empty Embraer 190 weighs just under 28 tons (kilograms), while its maximum take-off weight is 47.8 tons (kilograms).”

3. What is the seating capacity of the Embraer 190 aircraft? And how many pilots and cabin crew members work on board?

“According to the aircraft manufacturer, the Embraer 190 could seat up to 114 passengers. However, due to operational reasons and travel comfort, the maximum number of customers on Finnair’s Embraer 190 aircraft is limited to 100. In addition to passengers, there are always two pilots and two cabin crew members on board.”

4. What kind of destinations do the Embraer planes fly to? What are the shortest and longest routes?

“We fly the Embraer 190s mainly within Finland and in the Nordic countries, and also on some of our Central European routes, such as Hamburg and Brussels. The average flight time on Finnair’s Embraer flights is 1 hour and 35 minutes. Sometimes we also fly further with the Embraer 190, for example all the way to Naples, where the flight time is 3.5 hours. Moreover, the shortest Embraer flights we operate are from Helsinki to Tallinn where the flight time is only about 30 minutes.”

5. How high and how fast can the Embraer 190 aircraft fly? And what is the longest distance it could theoretically fly?

“The typical cruising speed of an Embraer 190 is approximately 870 kilometres per hour, and its maximum cruising  altitude is 41,000 feet, or approximately 12.5 kilometres. The maximum range of the aircraft according to the aircraft manufacturer, is 4,445 kilometres when the plane is full. Thus, we could theoretically fly with the Embraer 190, for example, from Helsinki to Doha, to which the flight time would be over six and a half hours.”

6. What are some unique or special features of the Embraer 190 aircraft?

“As part of the ongoing cabin renovation of our Embraer fleet, we are installing new LED lights to the cabin. Unlike in other Finnair aircraft types, these lights are controlled completely wirelessly. Thus, the wiring network for the lights only includes a power supply, which makes the aircraft weigh less, and at the same time, the maintenance of the lights easier.”

7. Does the Embraer 190 use any technology that Finnair’s other aircraft don’t have?

“When the Embraer 170 and 190 aircraft arrived at Finnair, they represented the latest technology in the industry. Even though they were traditional aluminum-framed aircraft in terms of their structure, they represented the latest in avionics. The aircraft type was one of the first in the world to introduce an avionics system based on the so-called ‘IMA’ (Integrated Modular Avionics) architecture. This means that the different functions share common computer hardware and software resource, instead of each function having their own hardware. By combining the functions, IMA reduces complexity, size and weight of the aircraft’s avionics system, which, in turn, makes it easier to maintain.

Later, a similar IMA architecture has become familiar to Finnair in our Airbus A350 aircraft that have been part of our fleet since 2015.”

8. What kind of engines does the Embraer 190 aircraft have?

“The Embraer 190 is powered by two CF34-10E5 bypass engines manufactured by General Electric. One engine produces approximately 90.6 kN of thrust at full power. The engine weighs 1,700 kilograms and the fan visible at the front has a diameter of 1.3 metres.”

9. What kind of flight deck does the Embraer 190 have? Does it differ from Finnair’s other aircraft?

“Even if Finnair’s Embraers are getting older, their flight decks still represent a very modern design. Our Embraers have a so-called ‘glass flight deck’    that has five LCD screens. The number of switches and lights has been kept to a minimum, and the ones in there are placed very logically. All Finnair’s Airbuses also have a similar kind of glass flight deck. However, one difference between the Embraer and Airbus is that the Embraer flight deck has a traditional steering wheel in front of the pilot, while there is a so-called side stick next to the pilot in Airbuses.”

10. Lastly, would you please share with us a memorable moment related to the Embraer 190?

“In the relatively short period of time that I’ve had the opportunity to work with the Embraer 190, perhaps the most memorable moment was when, after a long wait, I finally got to see the aircraft’s redesigned cabin with my own eyes last fall. Even though I’d seen photos of the cabin beforehand, I was still amazed to see the difference between the new and old cabins in real life. It felt like I had stepped into a completely new aircraft. A big thanks to our Cabin Engineering and Customer Experience teams for their magnificent and professional design work.

Now, I’m already eagerly waiting for the last five Embraer aircraft to arrive at Helsinki Airport with their updated cabins, so that all our customers travelling onboard Embraers will be able to enjoy the atmosphere of the new cabins. This should happen during the upcoming winter and spring of 2026.”