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COMMERCIAL AVIATION




















           Poised to Soar










         EMBRAER ENTERS THE P2F SECTOR EVEN                            and 86 executive jets). Having ended 2021 with
         AS IT SEES INCREASED DEMAND FOR ITS                           the highest delivery backlog in three years,
                                                                       Embraer expects to deliver 60-70 commercial
         COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT AND EXECUTIVE JETS                        jets and as many as 100-110 executive jets in
                                                                       2022.

           Arun Sivasankaran                                           Reason for Optimism
                                                                       The  general market recovery isn’t the only
                                                                       reason for the uptick in the number of deliv-
        2022 is shaping up to be a landmark year for Embraer, one in  eries. Midsize commercial jets producers are
        which it finally  buries the ghosts of the partnership that was not  expected to have opportunities with mainline
        to be with Boeing. Already benefiting from the faster-than-ex-  or low-cost carriers that are currently looking
        pected post-pandemic passenger traffic recovery, the Brazilian  to right size their fleet to adjust capacity in the
        plane maker has entered the booming freighter market, having  post-pandemic situation With the pandemic
        launched the E190F and E195F passenger-to freighter-conver-    highlighting the importance of regional air travel
        sions to capitalize on the growing demand for smaller freighters.  and airlines becoming more risk-averse in their
        Entry into service is expected in 2024. The company, which has  fleet purchases, the demand for the Brazilian
        announced plans to launch a new turboprop plane that could enter  airframer’s E-jets has grown. “Pre-Covid, air-
        service around 2027, is also expected to provide an update later  lines wanted bigger aircraft, looking only at the
        this year or early next on whether it will go ahead with the plan.   unit cost per seat,” says Embraer Commercial
                                                                       Aviation CEO Arjan Meijer. “We believe they
        There is more on the plate. Having committed to flying a hydro-  are becoming nimbler and go for aircraft with
        gen-powered technology demonstrator aircraft flying by 2025,  a better risk profile [such as the E-jets].”
        the OEM unveiled, in November last year, the Energia family of
        concept aircraft that is expected to help the industry achieve its  With Asia Pacific forecast to witness robust
        goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company’s sub-  post-pandemic aviation growth, Airbus has pro-
        sidiary, Eve UAM, already has launch orders for 1,825 vehicles, with  jected that the region will require an estimated
        non-binding letters of intent from 19 customers in all regions. The  17,620 new passenger and freight aircraft within
        only sour note has been the decision, announced earlier this year,  this period. Both Airbus and Embraer sense an
        to halt development of its E175-E2 regional jet for three years; the  opportunity to increase their market presence
        jet is expected to enter service between 2027 and 2028.        in the region as carriers move away from sin-
           The company, which posted a US$44.7 million loss for 2021,  gle-type fleets to more diverse ones that can
        ended the year on a good note by posting a profit of US$2.1 mil-  handle post-pandemic needs. Fueling optimism
        lion in the last quarter and is optimistic about a sunnier 2022. The  for the company, the utilization levels for the
        2021 delivery total of 141 jets, comprising 48 commercial aircraft  original-generation Embraer E-Jet fleet have
        and 93 executive jets (62 light and 31 mid-size), was an improve-  recovered at a much quicker pace than that for
        ment over 2020 when it delivered 130 jets (44 commercial aircraft  larger single-aisle and widebody aircraft. What


         14 March_May 2022                                                         WWW .GBP .COM.SG/ AAA
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