An official announcement is due in the next few weeks - but bosses are likely to follow the same model adopted by Flybe at Exeter and Southampton.
Mike Rutter, Flybe's sales and marketing director, said the size of the 118-seat jets made them ideal for Norwich and they should begin operating out of the city next summer.
"We would expect Norwich to have about 18 to 20 routes by mid 2006 and these new aircraft will help us deliver that expansion," he said. "That's 100pc the plan. We think Norwich is ready for it.
"We are taking Norwich from zero to one million passengers in two years, creating 1000 new jobs in the region for crews, support services as well as tourism and hospitality."
He said the airline was delighted by the success of its flights from Norwich and planned to operate three of the Embraer 195 jets from the city and a further two or three turbo propeller Q400s.
Flybe believes the move will see 300,000 visitors coming to the city as it estimates that 30pc of passengers will be inbound.
Ian Russell, chairman of Visit Norwich, the new body set up to promote the city and surrounding area as a visitor destination, said the move would help boost the local tourist economy.
"The challenge for us is to attract inbound traffic," he said.
"It's only realistic to expect people from Norwich to want to go to the Mediterranean and skiing destinations. But we are relishing the opportunity to work closely with the destination airports and win business from them."
Richard Jenner, managing director of Norwich International, said details were still being finalised about where the planes would go and he would not expect to see the new jets until later in 2006, but their size made them ideal for the regional airport.
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