Airlink (South Africa) (4Z, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has finalised a lease agreement with Azorra for ten new E195-E2 regional jets, with the first expected to be delivered by December 2025, the airline announced in a statement. These will be the first of their type in Airlink's fleet and mark a long-anticipated upgauge for the Southern African regional carrier.

The deal was first announced at the Paris Air Show on June 18, with deliveries from Embraer expected to run until 2027. The twinjets will be powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.

The newly built E195-E2s will seat up to 136 passengers and join Airlink’s existing fleet of 68 all-Embraer aircraft.

Airlink has operated Embraer jets since 2001, and the new planes share operating commonalities with the existing fleet, promising cost savings and smoother integration. They will support the airline's growth on high-demand routes across sub-Saharan Africa and offer extended range to open new destinations, the airline stated.

CEO de Villiers Engelbrecht described the milestone as "exciting and daunting. Exciting, because it heralds the next phase of Airlink’s development and growth as the leading regional airline in Southern Africa and now possibly beyond. Daunting, as there is a lot to do in the weeks ahead before the first aircraft enters service, hopefully in December this year."

Airlink has been pursuing ways to lower its unit costs, especially on South African trunk routes and in the regional market where it competes with narrowbody operators like South African Airways and FlySafair.

Its current fleet is an all-Embraer collection consisting of sixteen E135s, eleven E140s, three E170s, four E175s, twenty-eight E190s (with one more to be delivered), and six E195s, according to ch-aviation data.