Summary

• Scoot's new Embraer E190-E2 jet took a scenic route home to Singapore, stopping in 7 countries over 4 days.
• The crew had layovers in Spain, Greece, Azerbaijan, India, and Thailand during the international journey.
• After its odyssey, the E190-E2 was greeted with a water cannon salute in Singapore before it enters service in May.

Sometimes aircraft deliveries, or ferry flights, can be a quick nonstop flight from the final assembly line to a nearby customer, such as a delivery of an Airbus aircraft from Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) to a German airline at Frankfurt Airport (FRA). Others can be a much more exciting odyssey across continents with shorter-range jets or turboprops making multiple stops to fill up the tanks or give the crew a break.

Time for Explorer 3.0 to go home

This month, low-cost carrier Scoot, a member of the Singapore Airlines Group, took delivery of the first of nine Embraer E190-E2 jets it will receive by the end of 2025. Getting the new aircraft from Embraer in Brazil to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) involved just such an interesting odyssey, with the regional jet stopping in seven countries on its four-day flight home.

The new jet, named 'Explorer 3.0' to celebrate the third and latest type to join the Scoot family, was handed over to the airline on April 11 at Embraer's home in Brazil. The next day, the E190-E2 departed from São José dos Campos and started its journey that ended when it touched down at Singapore Changi on April 15, although it had put quite a few miles on the clock by then.

Flightradar24 tracking data starts from Brazil's northeast coast at Recife Airport (REC) and shows the Scoot E190-E2 departed on April 12 at 12:38, carrying the test registration PR-EEW and MSN 19020127. Why the tracking starts there and not from São José dos Campos is a mystery that I hope one of our readers can solve.

Anyway, the jet took 6:12 hours to cross the Atlantic Ocean and arrive in Spain's Canary Islands at Gran Canaria Airport (LPA) at 22:50. It looks like the crew had a restful morning because the next leg did not depart Gran Canaria until 14:55 on April 13 and traversed over Morrocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Italy before landing in Athens.

That scenic leg took 5:04 hours and landed in Greece at Athens Eleftherios Venizelos Airport (ATH) at 21:58. This time, there was no overnight stop or sightseeing in the morning, as the E190-E2 left Athens at 00:02 on April 14 and headed for Baku, Azerbaijan, a 2:52-hour hop across Turkey and Armenia.

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The red-eye flight landed at Baku Heydar Aliyev International (GYD) at 03:54, staying until late evening. The well-rested crew returned to take off at 20:25 (still April 14) across the Caspian Sea and through Turkmenistan, taking a sharp right turn over Tajikistan, which seems like it might have been to avoid overflying Afghanistan.

The flight continued over Pakistan and India, landing at Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International (HYD) at 03:28 on April 15, after a 5:33-hour flight. There was barely time for a coffee and some fuel before the aircraft left Hyderabad at 04:56 for the famous beaches of Phuket in southern Thailand.

Home at last!

The penultimate leg involved a 3:01-hour crossing of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, landing at Phuket International Airport (HKT) at 09:28. This was another quick stopover, with the aircraft leaving Phuket at 10:31 on April 15 and arriving just ninety-three minutes later at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) at 13:03.

Very deservedly, the E190-E2 was greeted with a traditional water cannon salute as its life as PR-EEW came to a close. It next appears on Flightradar24 tracking with its new registration of 9V-THA on April 25 when it made a short hop over to Malaysia's Johor Bahru Senai International (JHB).

Over two days, it made a series of 11 very short round trips from Johor Bahru, one as short as 13 minutes, and one return flight to Singapore Changi before settling in Singapore on Friday, April 26. All being well, the new Embraer jet will enter service on May 7 to two destinations in Thailand, firstly as flight TR684 at 15:45 from Singapore to Krabi return and followed by flight TR630 from Singapore to Hat Yai return at 21:55.

What do you think of the E2 ferry flight from Brazil to Singapore? Let us know in the comments.