COPENHAGEN, July 1 (Reuters) - Scandinavian Airline SAS

said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy up to 55 aircraft from

Brazil's Embraer ( ERJ ) 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 ( ERJ )

family of regional jets and competes with the Airbus

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 )

, but are subject to equally fierce competition.

The SAS deal follows a setback for Embraer ( ERJ ) earlier this

month when Airbus sealed a landmark order for 40 A220 jets from

Polish national carrier LOT.

(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Louise Breusch

Rasmussen and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)