São Paulo – Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, bets on expansion of the air transport sector in the Middle East and on the specific characteristics of its aircraft to increase sales in the Arab market. According to the Market Intelligence vice president at the company, Luiz Sergio Chiessi, Embraer sees great opportunities in the region, both in the executive aviation and commercial areas.
“The Middle East, like Brazil, continues growing in air transport. We already have a good number of Arab clients and I believe there are opportunities to further increase this number,” said Chiessi.
According to him, in the commercial area, Embraer has in its client portfolio Arab airlines Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Saudi Arabian Airlines, National Air Services (NAS), from Saudi Arabia, and Oman Air. “A contract was signed in Oman 15 days ago,” said the executive. The order, which includes five Embraer 175 jets, is evaluated at US$ 177.5 million.
“The Middle East is a very important market to Embraer. We already have over 20 Legacy 600 jets in Dubai, in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and the fleet is growing,” said Claudio Camelier, Embraer’s vice-president of market intelligence for executive jets. According to him, the embraer executive jets have different characteristics that are well-accepted in the Arab market. “Good performance at high temperatures, cabin size, comfort and spacious luggage compartments are among them,” he added.
The executives recalled that the Lineage 1000, the largest executive jet produced by Embraer, had its first unit sold to a client in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The jets in the Phenom line, according to the executives, should start being delivered in the Arab market in 2010.
In November, the Brazilian company participated in Dubai Air Show, a fair in the aviation sector, where it disclosed an international partnership with multinational CEVA Logistics for the development of a distribution centre for parts for executive jets in the emirate. According to Chiessi, Embraer has plans to continue investing in the region. “Today Embraer is a company with global operation and connected to all opportunities that may arise,” he said.
*Translated by Mark Ament
