At its annual press conference at the Paris Air Show, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer unveiled its current commercial outlook, new orders and plans for the future.
Outlook
Embraer CEO Arjan Meijer highlighted Embraer’s position in the global aircraft market, with over 2,000 net orders for its E-Jet and its position as the market leader in the under 150-seat market. Meijer also noted that the E-175 still sees continued demand, mainly from regional airlines in the United States, where scope clauses restrict the size and weight of aircraft that can be operated for larger network airlines, a segment where Embraer now enjoys a comfortable monopoly.
Following the E1-Jets, Meijer gave an update on the new E2 family and emphasized the extremely low cost of the E195-E2. He also admitted, that many E1 aircraft were too young to be replaced at the time the E2 came onto the market, but Embraer sees increasing demand from existing customers for the E2. On the hot topic, the (un)reliability of Pratt&Whitney’s geared turbo-fan (GTF) engines, Meijer was quick to note that the engine issues are out of Embraer’s control, although improvements and fixes are either on the way or have already been installed in engines. Lastly, Meijer stressed how many airlines like Scoot, Royal Jordanian or Salam Air, plan to use the E2-Jets to complement an existing fleet of next-generation narrowbody aircraft.
Embraer’s commercial outlook projects a need for 11,000 new deliveries over the next 20 years in the under-150-seat market, 2210 of which will be turboprops. Its cargo outlook projects demand for a further 600 aircraft, where Embraer hopes its converted E-Jets will help bridge the gap between existing aircraft. The manufacturer currently has no plans to develop an E2 freighter.
Updates were also provided about Embraer’s new generation turboprop family Energia. The manufacturer has narrowed down the propulsion system to either hybrid electric or a hydrogen fuel cell. Currently, Embraer plans to develop the Energia family up to a size of 50 seats in either a 3-abreast or 4-abreast configuration. US regional carrier Republic also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help develop and adapt Energia to the US market.
New orders
On the commercial side of business, Embraer had several announcements to make. The first one was for seven incremental E-175 from Envoy Air, which will operate them under the American Eagle brand.
Leasing company Avolon signed up for 10 E195-E2 with plans to lease them to Porter Airlines, increasing their fleet of the type to 60. Fellow lessor Azorra Aviation was revealed to be the customer for 15 E195-E2, an order which Embraer previously listed as unidentified.
Lastly, Binter Canarias ordered yet another six E195-E2 from Embraer, with deliveries to run through 2025. Binter is also the first airline to reorder the E2 family for a third time, after increasing its original order of 3 to 5 and later to 10 aircraft.
Jan-Hendrik is an aviation enthusiast from Germany, loves to travel the world and fly on as many aircraft as possible. His first flight was with a Condor 757 to Spain and has been interested in aviation ever since. His fields of expertise are aircraft accidents and passenger experience (PaxEx).
