During the Farnborough 2022 show in July, Embraer officially unveiled at a major international event the design of its new aircraft, a modern turboprop that is expected to fly sometime in the second half of this decade. At the same event, the Brazilian manufacturer said it had more than 250 potential orders, from companies around the world, whose names were not disclosed.
This week, one of these potential interested parties became known, following an interview on the German website aeroTELEGRAPH with Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia. For him, the new Embraer model would fit the Serbian national airline.
As reported by our partner site Aeroin, while talking about his company’s short-, medium- and long-term plans Marek also detailed some plans related to the company’s fleet. Speaking about its short- and medium-range fleet, the executive said that the company should change its composition profile a bit, moving from Airbus A319s to A320s, which have more capacity.
This, in turn, would open a gap in terms of capacity, as the Airbus A320, with 180 seats, would be far from the smallest aircraft in the fleet, the 70-passenger ATR 72. With that, the company is now considering the inclusion of aircraft that fall into that gap, such as Embraer jets and the Airbus A220.
«We can choose the Airbus A220 or the Embraer E2. Both have advantages and disadvantages. There is also a third possibility. Currently, you can get the Embraer E1 on the secondary market at favorable conditions. The aircraft offer good value for money. And there is still a fourth option… the new Embraer turboprop,» he said.
«It’s still a project and only exists on paper, we have to see what they will actually offer. But it looks interesting to us. With up to 92 seats and the need for two cabin crew, the aircraft would represent an interesting niche compared to regional jets. So, we will certainly look at Embraer’s turboprop as well,» he concluded.
According to the executive, the Embraer project is still in the design phase and decisions on its components and production are expected to be made in the coming months. However, it is interesting to know the airlines’ opinion on the applicability of the model, which confirms the Brazilian manufacturer’s confidence in this new strategic turn.
