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OPPORTUNITY

EAGER TO CASH IN ON THE GROWING NEED FOR

SMALLER AIRCRAFT, EMBRAER MAKES A MOVE IN

VIETNAM AND THE ASIA PACIFIC

ARUN SIVASANKARAN

You know an aviation market is ideal aircraft for flights between for 57 per cent of all new deliver-
brimming with potential when regional and rural airports with ies, 43 per cent will be used to grow
major plane makers start show- shorter runway distances. Because markets.
casing new aircraft and wooing of its optimized design and Pratt
carriers in the region. & Whitney PW1000G engines, the According to the plane maker,
aircraft has a significantly lower Asia-Pacific will require up to 3,190
Embraer’s three-day tour of Vietnam carbon footprint than other air- regional jets in the up-to-150- seats
with its E190-E2 ‘TechShark’ in craft in its class and also is quieter. category, with North America fol-
April has to be seen in the context More importantly, it offers airlines lowing close behind at 3,140. With
of the eye-catching growth of the the potential for lower operational sustainability becoming a key
country’s aviation industry and the costs on short routes. focus area and network connectiv-
growing need for the right kind of ity assuming critical importance,
aircraft to serve remote commu- Small is Beautiful carriers across regions are likely
nities. The tree-day tour, in which to diversify their fleets throughout
the company showcased the air- Embraer’s focus on Vietnam and the current decade, adding more
craft’s fuel efficiency, minimal noise the Asia Pacific region in general 80-to-120-seat aircraft.
emissions, and short-runway perfor- comes at a time when the effects of
mance, generated an enthusiastic the pandemic are wearing off and Arjan Meijer, President and CEO
response from carriers, thus pro- carriers, in a sea change from the of Embraer Commercial Aviation,
viding a major fillip to the Brazilian pre-pandemic period, are looking is confident that the company will
plane maker’s plans of capturing a for smaller aircraft. Much of the be able to significantly expand
market that is ripe for the entry of demand for smaller aircraft over its presence in Vietnam and the
smaller capacity aircraft than the the next two decades will origi- region. “Embraer has a good foot-
A320 and 737 that dominate the nate from the region; according to print in Asia, but not as big as it
skies in the country. its 2022 Market Outlook, Embraer has in Europe and the Americas,”
forecasts the need for 10,950 new he says. “We are seeing significant
In the E190-E2, which is designed aircraft with up to 150-seats over interest in Asia at the moment;
to operate with up to 114 passen- the next 20 years. While replace- more than 40 used E jets moved
gers onboard, the company has the ment of ageing aircraft will account into Asia during the pandemic, into

VIETNAM AVIATION EXPO 2022 2022 SEPTEMBER | 7