Embraer 170

The Embraer 170, usually shortened to E170, is a twin-engine regional jet built by Embraer of Brazil and the smallest member of its first-generation E-Jet family. It seats 66 passengers in a typical two-class cabin and up to 78 in a high-density layout, with two seats on each side of the aisle and no middle seat.

The E170 first flew on February 19, 2002, and entered airline service with LOT Polish Airlines in March 2004. Embraer delivered 191 before production ended in 2017, and the type still flies under the American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express brands in the United States.

How the Embraer 170 was developed

Embraer first disclosed a study for a new 70-seat aircraft in March 1997. The early concept mated a new wing and a wider fuselage to the nose and cockpit of the ERJ 145, the company’s smaller regional jet.

In February 1999 Embraer dropped that derivative approach in favor of an all-new design. The E-Jet family was formally launched at the Paris Air Show on June 14, 1999.

The prototype first flew on February 19, 2002, and production began later that year. Brazil’s ANAC certified the type on February 19, 2004, European validation followed a day later, and U.S. certification came the same month.

LOT Polish Airlines put the E170 into service on March 17, 2004, flying the first commercial service by any E-Jet. Alitalia and MidAtlantic Airways, a US Airways subsidiary, were among the other early customers.

The larger Embraer 190 and Embraer 195 followed later in 2004, and the stretched E175 arrived in mid-2005.

E170 variants: STD, LR, AR, SU and SE

On paper every E170 is an ERJ 170-100, the model name on its type certificate. “Embraer 170” is a marketing name, and the suffix after it identifies the version.

The E170 STD is the baseline, and the E170 LR raises the maximum takeoff weight for longer range. Embraer’s spec sheets also list the AR, the heaviest version, which Embraer quotes with the CF34-8E5A1 engine and its higher normal takeoff rating.

The E170 SU and E170 SE are built on the LR but capped at 76 and 70 passengers. Both exist because of scope clauses, the limits in US pilot union contracts on the jets that regional partners may fly.

Seating and cabin

The E170 uses a “double-bubble” fuselage cross-section, which Embraer developed to give passengers stand-up headroom. Embraer lists the cabin height as 6 ft 7 in (2.00 m). The cabin width is 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m).

Every row is two-by-two. In Embraer’s cabin drawings the economy seat is 18.25 in (46 cm) wide and the aisle is 19.75 in (50 cm), while a first-class seat is 20 in (51 cm) wide.

Embraer’s standard layouts are 66 seats in two classes at 40 in and 32 in pitch, 72 in one class at 32 in, and 78 in a high-density cabin at 30 to 33 in. The type certificate allows up to 80 passengers.

Airlines vary the recipe. Delta Connection E170s carry 69 seats: 9 in First, 20 in Delta Comfort and 40 in Main, with 37 in of pitch in First.

United lists 70 seats on its United Express E170s. American Eagle E170s seat 66, including 12 in first class, and Japan Airlines flies its domestic E170s with 76 economy seats.

Cockpit, engines and systems

Two pilots fly the E170 from a glass cockpit built around the Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite. The flight controls are fly-by-wire.

Power comes from two General Electric CF34-8E turbofans mounted under the wings, certified in the CF34-8E5 and CF34-8E5A1 versions. The auxiliary power unit is a Hamilton Sundstrand APS2300.

Category II and III low-visibility approach capability is an option on the type certificate.

Explaining the numbers

The full specification table for the aircraft is on this page. Most of its weight and performance figures come from Embraer’s spec sheet for the E170 AR, the heaviest version, so several of them read higher than an average E170 in airline service.

Range is the clearest case. The 2,150 nautical miles in the table is the AR with every seat filled, at long-range cruise with typical reserves, and Embraer quotes 2,100 nm for the LR and 1,800 nm (2,071 miles, 3,334 km) for the STD.

Takeoff distance works the same way. The 5,400 ft (1,640 m) figure is the AR at maximum takeoff weight on a standard day at sea level, while an E170 loaded for a 500 nm trip with every seat filled needs 3,776 ft (1,151 m).

The speed row shows the maximum operating limit of Mach 0.82, about 470 knots (541 mph, 870 km/h). Normal cruise is nearer Mach 0.75, about 430 knots (495 mph, 796 km/h), which is the speed Embraer uses for its payload-range chart.

Thrust is 14,510 lbf per engine, the maximum takeoff rating in the engine’s type certificate, which a running engine steps up to automatically if the other fails. For a normal takeoff the CF34-8E5 is rated at 13,420 lbf and the -8E5A1 at 14,050 lbf, which is why published figures such as the widely quoted 14,200 lbf do not always agree.

Embraer 170 vs Embraer 175

The Embraer 175 is a stretched E170, with the fuselage lengthened by 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m). It uses the same CF34-8E engines and, in its standard form, the same wing, while seating 76 in two classes and up to 88.

The two sold very differently. Embraer delivered 191 E170s, while the E175 has passed 1,000 orders and 829 deliveries and is still being built.

Scope clauses help explain the split. Embraer built both the E170 SU and the E175 SU to a 76-seat limit, and at 76 seats the E175 still has a two-class cabin, while an E170 needs a denser all-economy layout to get there.

Embraer’s second-generation E-Jet E2 family has no E170-sized model. Its smallest member, the E175-E2, has been delayed past 2027 for lack of demand.

Who flies the Embraer 170 today

In the United States the E170 flies under the American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express brands, operated by regional airlines under contract.

Republic Airways flies E170s for all three brands. After completing its merger with Mesa Air Group in November 2025, it operates about 310 E170s and E175s, the world’s largest fleet of Embraer regional jets, and it plans to replace the E170s it flies for United Express with E175s.

Envoy Air flies more than 40 E170s as American Eagle, alongside a larger E175 fleet.

Abroad, launch customer LOT Polish Airlines still had four E170s in May 2026, and Japan Airlines uses the type on domestic routes.

Safety record

No fatal accident involving an E170 appears in the E-Jet family’s accident record. The family’s deadliest crash, Henan Airlines Flight 8387 in August 2010, involved the larger E190 and killed 44 people.

E170s have been written off without loss of life. Republic’s N876RW was damaged beyond economical repair by a fire during maintenance at Columbus, Ohio, in June 2018.

On July 23, 2026, Enugu Air’s E170LR 5N-ENR overran the end of Runway 05 at Benin City, Nigeria, in heavy rain and struck approach lights and concrete structures beyond it. All 63 passengers and 5 crew evacuated by slide without injury, and the aircraft has been reported as written off.

Nigeria’s NSIB published a preliminary report in August 2026 that examines the runway-end environment, the control tower’s line of sight and the availability of weather information. As of September 2026 it has not assigned a cause, and a final report is still to come.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Embraer 170 a good plane?

Its main passenger advantage is the two-by-two cabin, which has no middle seat, with 18.25 in economy seats in Embraer’s standard design. It has no fatal accident in the E-Jet family’s accident record and, 22 years after entering service, still flies scheduled routes in the US, Poland and Japan.

How much does an Embraer 170 cost?

The E170’s list price was $41.0 million in 2016, near the end of production. No new E170 has been built since 2017, so any E170 bought today is a used aircraft priced on its age and condition.

Is the Embraer 170 safe?

By its record, yes. No fatal accident involving an E170 appears in the E-Jet family’s accident record, and the type is certified to transport-category standards equivalent to the U.S. FAR Part 25 rules. E170s have been written off without fatalities, including in a July 2026 runway overrun in Nigeria in which all 68 people aboard escaped uninjured.

Is the Embraer 170 a small plane?

It is a small airliner. At 98 ft 1 in (29.9 m) long with 66 to 78 seats, it is the smallest member of Embraer’s E-Jet family and smaller than mainline jets such as the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320.

What is the difference between the Embraer 170 and 175?

The E175 is a stretched E170, 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) longer, with room for 76 passengers in two classes against the E170’s 66. They share engines and, on standard versions, the same wing. The E175 is still in production, while E170 production ended in 2017.

How many seats does an Embraer 170 have?

Embraer’s standard layouts are 66 seats in two classes, 72 in one class and 78 in a high-density cabin, and the type certificate allows up to 80. In the US, American Eagle E170s seat 66, Delta Connection 69 and United Express 70.

How far can an Embraer 170 fly?

With every seat full, Embraer quotes 1,800 nautical miles (2,071 miles, 3,334 km) for the E170 STD, 2,100 nm for the LR and 2,150 nm (2,470 miles, 3,980 km) for the AR. Those figures assume long-range cruise and typical reserves.

Is the Embraer 170 still in production?

No. E170 production ended in 2017 after 191 deliveries, and Embraer continues to build the larger E175.

Which airlines fly the Embraer 170?

In the US, Republic Airways flies E170s for American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, and Envoy Air flies them for American Eagle. Launch customer LOT Polish Airlines had four in May 2026, and Japan Airlines flies the type on domestic routes.