Airline SAS to buy up to 55 aircraft from Embraer in deal worth $4 bln

COPENHAGEN, July 1 (Reuters) - Scandinavian Airline SAS said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy up to 55 aircraft from Brazil's Embraer EMBR3.SA in a deal worth around $4 billion, excluding purchase rights.

SAS has signed a firm deal for 45 E195-E2 aircraft with an option of an additional 10, CEO Anko van der Werff told reporters at a press conference in Copenhagen.

Deliveries are set to begin in late 2027, Scandinavia's biggest carrier said in a statement.

"Its size and range are ideally suited to complement SAS' existing fleet and route structure, allowing for more frequencies, better network flexibility, and lower trip costs," it said about the aircraft.

The E195-E2 is a so-called narrowbody aircraft, which seats up to 146 passengers. It is the largest member of Embraer's family of regional jets and competes with the Airbus AIR.PA A220, which was originally developed in Canada.

Both models occupy a segment of the market for commercial passenger jets below the main one dominated by Airbus and Boeing BA.N, but are subject to equally fierce competition.

The SAS deal follows a setback for Embraer earlier this month when Airbus sealed a landmark order for 40 A220 jets from Polish national carrier LOT.