São Paulo – Embraer wants to double the number of units of its E-Jet commercial aircraft family operating in the Middle East and Africa in the next two years. The announcement was made by the company’s commercial aviation vice president for the region, the French Mathieu Duquesnoy.
“Presently, we have a 74% market share for jets with up to 120 seats in the Middle East and Africa. The goal is to double the number of units in the region in the coming two years,” says the executive. Embraer leads the segment of jets with up to 120 seats in the region, with 65 E-Jet units in the Arab world, flown by nine operators: EgyptAir (Egypt), Gulf Air (Bahrain), Nasair, Saudi Airlines and Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia), Oman Air (Oman), Petro Air and Sirte Oil (Libya) and Royal Jordanian (Jordan).
According to Duquesnoy, there is a demand for smaller aircraft. “What we are seeing is that the region needs aircraft this size, not only large aircraft. It needs regional aircraft with 70 to 120 seat capacity,” she says. “Traffic density in the region requires more than that, and our aircraft are able to meet the demand in terms of performance load, and comfort,” he says.
Regarding the Middle Eastern and African market demand for 70- to 120-seat aircraft, Duquesnoy claims that "we see a potential for 310 additional units in the coming 20 years. However, we sense that it may be much more, due to the growth we had in the last five years and have the right product for customers in the region.”
To meet the target of doubling its presence in the Middle East and Africa, Duquesnoy says Embraer is already in talks with all operators in the region. “We are advertising our solutions,” he says. He also claims that the company has already allocated more personnel to the region, in order to “be closer to the clients.”
“We are investing to make sure that our customers’ needs will be met. We are also about to announce a new solution in client support,” he says. According to the vice president Embraer, the company “sees lots of potential in the Middle East and Africa, which is a very dynamic region,” he says.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
