Embraer has not yet received a proposal from Boeing for a possible combination of the manufacturers, Embraer Commercial Aviation president and CEO John Slattery said.
The two companies are still working on “identifying a structure that might work,” Slattery said at the Singapore Air Show, declining to identify further details.
Boeing and Embraer confirmed Dec. 21 that they are in talks about combining their businesses. The potential move follows Airbus’ decision to take a majority stake in the Bombardier CSeries program, although Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said a potential Embraer transaction is unrelated to the deal. Key to an agreement is bringing the Brazilian government on board, which owns a golden share in the program.
Scenarios include Boeing taking a minority stake in Embraer to allow for majority control to remain with its other investors. The two are also rumored to be considering creating a joint venture for commercial aircraft, into which Embraer’s commercial business could be integrated.
The talks take place as Embraer nears certification of the E190-E2 in the coming weeks. The first aircraft is to be delivered to launch operator, Norwegian regional Wideroe, at the end of March. The regional carrier plans to start deploying the aircraft on scheduled services in the second half of April.
Slattery believes Embraer can significantly broaden the customer base of the E2 in Asia-Pacific very soon. He expects Embraer to be able to add six to eight customers to the 14 that already exist in the region. “We are targeting larger flag carriers and low-cost carriers,” he said. Slattery anticipates that “marquee names will join the program this year,” after the aircraft has been certified.
Slattery also said he is “confident” the E175-E2 will be delivered in 2021 as planned. The smallest member of the E2 family is not compliant with US scope clause agreements and therefore cannot be used in the US market by most regional carriers affiliated with mainline airlines, unless scope clauses are changed.
Embraer has pushed out entry-into-service by one year to allow more time for scope regulation to be renegotiated, but Slattery stressed that “we are not planning to reschedule at this time.” The aircraft was never expected to be marketed only in the US, but was also pitched at airlines elsewhere seeking to replace turboprops and smaller regional jets, he said.
The Brazilian manufacturer is also able to continue production of the E1 version, particularly the E175 “ad infinitum,” according to Slattery. Given that the manufacturer has established a hybrid final assembly line that can handle the E1 and E2, “there is no drop-dead date [for the E1].”
Strategically, Embraer is targeting a much broader customer base for the E-Jets. “About 50% of the meetings we have are with customers that do not already operate E-Jets,” Slattery said.
Overall, Embraer expects the market for aircraft up to 150 seats to total 10,550 units in the next 20 years. Around 3,000 of these (or 29%) will be delivered into the Asia-Pacific region, the company estimates. North America and Europe are following at 26% each. Currently 165 Embraer jets fly in Asia-Pacific.
Jens Flottau jens.flottau@aviationweek.com