Isaura Daniel*
isaura.daniel@anba.com.br
São José dos Campos – EgyptAir Express, an airline from Egypt, and Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft maker, are negotiating a partnership to open a service centre in the Arab country. The news was disclosed yesterday (14) at the Embraer offices, in the city of São José dos Campos, in the interior of the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, at the ceremony marking the delivery of the first aircraft the Egyptian company bought from the Brazilian enterprise. Last year, EgyptAir signed a contract for the purchase of six Embraer 170 aircraft, with options for the purchase of another six.
Atef Abdel Hamid, chairman at EgyptAir Holding Company, which owns EgyptAir Express, stated to ANBA that the company intends to exercise the options and purchase the 12 aircraft. He was at Embraer accompanied by other company executives to receive the aeroplane. According to Hamid, the other six aircraft that EgyptAir is going to buy from Embraer are larger, Embraer 190 or Embraer 195 models. The agreement should take place in October, when the first units will all have been delivered.
The service centre that Embraer and EgyptAir may open in Egypt is still being negotiated. According to information disclosed by the Brazilian industry, however, EgyptAir should operate the centre, which will be responsible for the maintenance of Embraer aircraft operating in the region. In the Arab world, the Brazilian company has already sold commercial aircraft to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Jordan. Currently, the Embraer maintenance centre that is closest to the region is in Europe.
The Embraer 170 delivered yesterday will also be the first aircraft belonging to EgyptAir Express. The company, whose holding is also the owner of EgyptAir Airlines, was established to operate domestic and regional flights and is going to start flying next month. According to Hamid, the organization will initially fly to 12 destinations within Egypt itself. But later on the company will also have flights to neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Malta, with flights of up to two hours. EgyptAir Airlines will be in charge of the longer flights, like the international ones.
"This kind of aircraft, made by Embraer, is excellent for short routes," stated Hamid. Embraer ran against its main competitor, the Canadian Bombardier. "The Embraer product is more elegant, more advanced," stated the EgyptAir executive. The aircraft, also called E-Jets, have capacities for up to 76 passengers and are configured with leather seats. "The aeroplanes have very good baggage capacity and cooling systems," stated Embraer president Frederico Fleury Curado.
Curado explains that the Embraer entry in the region is the result of marketing efforts that began in the Paris office in the 1990s. The change in regulations and the opening of the aviation business that the region is living, however, according to him, are favouring company sales. Curado added that the Middle Eastern and Asian market is growing faster than traditional markets. However, it will take a while for the market to become one of the main markets for the company, said the president at the Brazilian aircraft maker.
According to him, the United States currently answer to between 50% and 60% of company sales, Europe for 20% and the other regions of the world for the rest. The growth of the Middle Eastern market is greatly connected, according to him, to the economy. "There is a correlation between air traffic and economic activity, and as the Middle East is growing due to oil, this powers the economy and the air traffic," he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament