Page 14 - AAA SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2022 Online Magazine

REGIONAL CONNECT

EMBRAER IS EYEING THE E2s. That expansion would create around 25,000 new jobs and
MALAYSIAN MARKET FOR pump some US$700 million into the national economy,” said
Raul Villaron, Asia Pacific Vice-President for Embraer Commercial
REGIONAL JETS Aviation. He said that Embraer views unique opportunities for
Malaysia to enhance its connectivity domestically and regionally
 ATUL CHANDRA as air travel demand recovers. However, it must also make busi-
ness sense for airlines,” he said, while adding, “airlines are facing
Embraer is eyeing new market opportuni- tough challenges such as higher fuel prices and an increasingly
ties in Malaysia with the Brazilian airframer competitive operating environment, making it imperative to
observing a demand of up to 150 new aircraft right-size aircraft capacity to passengers.”
in the sub-150 seat segment. Embraer says
the need for the new jets is due to potential According to Embraer’s Malaysia report, 90 per cent of Malaysia’s
demand it foresees for over 100 new routes fleet and backlog, currently comprises of aircraft with more than
within Malaysia and the region. According 150 seats. “An imbalanced fleet mix might pose a threat for
to Embraer’s Malaysia report which was the country’s connectivity and to have optimized schedules for
released at the recently concluded Selangor passengers. Flexibility is now more than ever essential to airlines
Aviation Show, the airframer identified the and economies. Having a versatile fleet that can easily adapt to
need for 150 new aircraft under 150 seats different demand levels is key to sustainable growth,” the report
over the next 20 years in Malaysia. said. Embraer also makes the point that, even prior to the pan-

These regional jets can enable the open- demic there was a mismatch between capacity and demand in
Malaysia, with an average of 128 passengers per flight as com-
ing of over 100 new routes within Malaysia
and the region, Embraer said. Regional jets pared to aircraft which had seating capacities between 160-180
can complement larger aircraft operating in seats. According to Embraer, the E2s are perfectly positioned to
Malaysia to enhance the viability of establish- complement the current fleet of aircraft in service in Malaysia
ing new routes or increasing the frequency and can serve 99 per cent of the current narrow-body network.
of existing routes. This includes the boost- The report also raises another important point, stating that 20
ing of direct connectivity within Peninsula per cent of Malaysia’s narrow-body sectors had high load fac-
Malaysia, as well as connectivity between tors but low frequencies (less than 1.5 daily flights). This it said
cities in Peninsula Malaysia to Sabah and was presumably because, while there was adequate demand
Sarawak. to fill one narrow-body flight, it would be impossible to fill two
Opportune Moment daily flights. The answer to this, Embraer says, are regional jets
which have the perfect capacity and can become key assets for
“We see an opportunity to add more than 100 airlines looking to increase frequencies, offer a better schedule
new routes to Malaysia’s air network with our to passengers, and maintain lower costs and sustainable profits.

14 | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA