Embraer delivers new aircraft that Boeing could soon sell against Airbus

By Marcelo Rochabrun

Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm "type =" text "content =" SAO JOSE CAMPOS, Brazil (Reuters) – Embraer A Boeing Boeing Boeing readies to take over the Brazilian planemaker's commercial jets division in what could mark the next phase of its rivalry with Airbus . "data-reactid =" 32 "> SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil (Reuters) – Embraer hopes to see more orders for its new passenger aircraft by the end of the year, said a senior executive, Boeing, on Thursday is preparing to resume the commercial jet division of the Brazilian planemaker, which could mark the next stage of its rivalry with Airbus .

The manufacture of the E195-E2, like the Embraer aircraft is known, will soon be controlled by Boeing, which needs regulatory approval to close the deal and buy 80% of the Embraer commercial jet division for $ 4.2 billion.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Embraer on Thursday delivered its first E195-E2 plane , which will seat 140, to Brazil's No. 3 airline Azul at its headquarters in Sao Paulo state. Embraer has delivered Thursday its first E195-E2 aircraft, which will carry about 140 people, to the 3rd airline. "Embraer has delivered its first E195-E2 aircraft, which will carry about 140 people, to its third airline on Thursday. Brazilian Azul at its headquarters in the state of Sao Paulo. Embraer executives said the delivery is expected to generate more orders, helping to cope with the new competition from Airbus.

"I hope we will do more transactions, hopefully … before the end of the year," said John Slattery, head of Embraer's Commercial Aircraft Division. "I do not see a big wave of people who have to wait or wish to wait because of the Boeing transaction."

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = " under 150 seats is changing drastically. The new aircraft comes as the jet aircraft landscape of less than 150 seats changes drastically. Airbus buys control of Bombardier The division will compete directly with Embraer in 2018 and the Boeing contract to take over the Embraer commercial aircraft division.

The result could broaden the global duopoly of jumbo jets into a smaller category, with Boeing and Airbus seeking to attract orders over a wider range of commercial aircraft.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Azul was founded by US airline executive David Neeleman, who also founded JetBlue Airways Azul was founded by David Neeleman, chief executive officer of the American airline, who also founded JetBlue Airways, which was founded by American airline founder David Neeleman. , who was a launch customer and a key customer of Embraer's latest generation of jets.

"We can have an additional 18 seats with this plane, with a 15% reduced travel cost," Neeleman said of the improvements to the new generation. "If you have something that is 15% cheaper, you just want that thing, you do not want anything else."

A VIVE COMPETITION

Embraer relies on the energy efficiency of this new generation, to the point of marketing its E195-E2 to its customers as a "profit hunter", by painting the jet with a shark-like livery in the nose. ;plane.

But for now, Embraer is struggling to compete directly with Airbus. Carriers and aircraft renters had placed 551 orders for the Airbus A220 family in June, but Embraer was only registering 168 for its new family of E2 aircraft, up from 200 in 2014.

<p class = "canvas-atom-canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Part of Embraer's struggles stem from its smaller E175- E2 plane, which has been a hard sell to the United States of America. Some of Embraer's difficulties come from its smaller E175-E2 aircraft, which was difficult to sell to US regional airlines due to contract restrictions. Embraer lost 100 of these aircraft from its order book after the resistance of the pilots prevented it from determining whether the Skywest buyer would be able to fly them.

"We did not design a plane solely for the US market," Slattery said, adding that he hoped his company would get an order from a customer elsewhere in the world this year. Currently, they do not have one, although Slattery has stated that Skywest remains committed, if the pilots allow it.

JetBlue also dealt a heavy blow to Embraer last year by deciding to replace its old Embraer fleet with Airbus A220s, a decade after Neeleman's departure.

JetBlue spoke about the benefits of the longer range of the A220, as well as its broader offering with Airbus, including jumbo jets – the type of partnership that Boeing could offer with jet airliners. Embraer his wallet.

(Report of my Marcelo Rochabrun in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, additional report of Allison Lampert in Montreal, edited by Alistair Bell and Marguerita Choy)