Bombardier Inc. pioneered the regional jet with the launch of its CRJ program in 1989, but lately Brazil’s Embraer SA is emerging as the top seller in the market for medium-range planes.
While Bombardier was busy developing the new CSeries jet from the ground up, Embraer decided to revamp its E-Jets rather than replace them with a brand-new aircraft.
“There was no business case to create an aircraft from scratch,” Paulo Cesar Silva, president and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation, wrote in an email exchange.
“We can already see confirmation that we are on the right path through some sales results.”
Embraer has a backlog of more than 200 firm orders and 200 options or purchase rights since the new E-Jets program, known as E2, was launched in June 2013. On top of that, the company secured dozens of new orders at the Farnborough International Airshow earlier this month, including 30 from Brazilian airline Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras SA and 50 from U.S.-based Trans States Holdings Inc., which haven’t been added to its order book yet.
By comparison, Bombardier has secured 203 firm orders and 310 options or purchase rights for the CSeries since the program was launched in 2008.
And the E-Jet has consistently outsold Bombardier’s CRJ family of regional jets since it entered service a decade ago.
The largest version of Embraer’s new E2, known as the E195, competes directly with the CSeries, while the two smaller versions are more comparable to the CRJ.
The new Embraer E-Jets offer a lighter wing and more efficient engines which allow them to challenge the fuel-efficient CSeries.
“The goal … is to maintain our leadership in the 70 to 130-seat market,” Mr. Silva said.
Two of Embraer’s E2 customers — Azul and India’s Air Costa — said the plane’s low operating costs were a major reason for their choice.
“The E2 will be the most advanced model in its category, allowing us to reduce operating costs, further increase capacity and deliver an even higher level of service to our customers,” said Azul spokesman Fabio Davidsohn Abud.
“It has all the advantages of a jet … but lesser operating costs when compared to the contemporary commercial jets operated in our country,” said Air Costa’s Pramod Mitta.
Mr. Silva wouldn’t comment on the CSeries except to say that “we are aware of the growth in number of competitors and we take them seriously.”
But he pointed out that the major U.S. airlines — including American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. — just finished replacing their regional fleets and Embraer captured more than 80% of the new orders and options.
“Deliveries of the current generation of E-Jets, mostly the E175, will continue for years so we don’t see an appetite for more [regional jets] in the world’s largest market for awhile,” Mr. Silva said.
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