Mandarin Airlines, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese carrier China Airlines, confirmed the gradual retirement plan of its Embraer E-190 fleet – the only fleet of Embraer aircraft in Taiwan.

The Taiwanese Civil Aeronautics Administration (TWCAA) approved Mandarin Airlines’ gradual retirement plan under which the airline will return all its E-190 aircraft back to leasing companies at the pace of two per year, starting from October 2020. The retirement of the rest jets will follow in 2021 and 2022.

Currently Mandarin Airlines has five Embraer E-190s in active service while one aircraft is stored. The average age of an airline’s E-190 is 7 years and the majority of the carrier’s fleet is leased from GE Capital Aviation Services. One of E-190 jets, that is currently stored, is leased from TrueNoord, PlanesSpotters data showed.

As airlines around the world retire their fleet due to COVID-19 consequences, Mandarin Airlines ,uses the expiration of their leasing contracts in 2020 as an opportunity to let go of their Embraer aircraft. The air carrier took delivery of eight leased E-190s aircraft in June 2007 for an eight year contract and later extended it in 2015 for six of them for another five years.

E-190s have been used to operate only domestic and regional flights. With the delivery of seven ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft, Mandarin Airline drew the conclusion that using ATR 72s is more cost efficient for domestic routes than operating E-190s.