Rio de Janeiro, July 18 (IANS/EFE): The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), global market leader in the leasing and remarketing of commercial aircraft, has finalized a $2.85 billion deal to purchase 50 jets from Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer said Wednesday.

The contract includes options to buy an additional 50 planes.

The firm sales contracts are among the first for E-Jets E2 aircraft, the new family of planes built by the world's third-largest commercial jet manufacturer and unveiled by Embraer last month during the Paris Air Show.

Deliveries of the E-Jets E2 are expected to begin in the first half of 2018.

Embraer said in June it had signed a letter of intent to sell 50 aircraft to ILFC, but the firm orders were only finalised this week.

ILFC ordered 25 E190-E2 aircraft and another 25 E195-E2 jets, Embraer's largest planes.

The new jets are intended for regional flights and have a seating capacity of between 70-130 passengers.

Embraer plans to invest $1.7 billion to develop its new family of planes, whose maintenance cost will be 15 percent lower due to greater fuel efficiency.

The Brazilian company, the global leader in the 60-120-seat market segment with a 42 percent share of orders, compared with 26 percent for Canada's Bombardier, expects to maintain its leadership in the 70-130-seat segment with a similar market share.