The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has letters of intent for more than 250 turboprops. There is a lot of interest from two regions of the world – in different variants.
The demand is there: Embraer already has more than 250 letters of intent for you new turboprop aircraft receive. Arjan Meijer, head of the civil division of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, said this week at the Farnborough Airshow.
“The United States is an important market for the 50-seater segment because there are many aging aircraft and no replacement,” Meijer said in an interview with the portal Air Insight. Its own turboprop variant with up to 70 seats and the project name TP70 “offers the potential of having a three-class cabin with 50 seats,” said the manager.
90-seater in demand in Asia
According to Meijer, there is great demand from Asia for the turboprop variant with 90 seats. “There’s a lot of interest there in driving down the cost per seat with a slightly larger turboprop aircraft.”
Interest in the two versions is roughly balanced. The decision as to whether Embraer will launch the 70th or 90th seat first will also depend on which airlines make firm orders out of the declarations of intent.
No GE engines
Embraer made it clear in Farnborough that it would stick to its plan to choose an engine supplier by the end of 2022. However, only Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce are still in the running. According to Meijer, GE Aviation did not make a suitable offer.
Embraer wants to attack the market leader ATR with the new turboprop model. It will be a return for the Brazilians. Because when Embraer was founded in 1969, the EMB 110 Bandeirante with two propellers the first product of the then young manufacturer, which currently only builds jet aircraft. The starting signal for the new model should fall in mid-2023.