São Paulo – Airlines in the Middle East and Africa are expected to order 530 jets with passenger capacities ranging from 70 to 130 within the next 20 years. Approximately 65% of these orders will cater to the growth of Arab markets, and 35% will replace old units. According to information released last Wednesday (23rd) by Embraer in Morocco, countries in Middle East and Africa should see an average air traffic growth increase between 5.3% and 7.1% per year up until 2023, a higher rate than the world average, which is 4.8%.
The Brazilian aircraft manufacturing company’s forecasts were announced by Embraer Commercial Aviation president Paulo Cesar Silva, during the 4th Marrakech Airshow, taking place at the Marrakech Airport’s airfield up until next Saturday (26th).
“Jets with 70 to 130 seats will play a key role in supporting intraregional development in Africa and the Middle East, not only due to added capacity for exploring new markets, but also to improved occupancy rates and greater flexibility,” said Silva at the fair according to a press release from Embraer. As the company’s forecasts, out of the 30 countries whose economies will grow the most this year, 17 are located in the Middle East and Africa. As of last Thursday (24th), the company had not closed any deals at the fair in Morocco.
Executive aircraft
Embraer is showcasing three of its executive jets at the show in Marrakech. They are the Phenom 300, Legacy 650 and Legacy 500, the latter of which should start operating in this half of the year, and has been taken to the African continent for the first time.
Out of the 20 executive jets delivered by the company in quarter one this year, 14 were of the short-range Phenom 300 model, and two were of the long-range Legacy 650 model. The Legacy 500 will have a flight range of 5,556 kilometres, which allows for non-stop flights between Marrakech and Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, w up to eight passengers on board.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
