Why Asia Is A Big Market For Embraer’s E2 Series

As airlines draw up their future plans, Embraer is eying a huge market for its brand-new E2 series in Asia. The aircraft’s competitive economics and long range make it favorable for many domestic and point-to-point routes in the world’s largest market. Let’s find out about Embraer’s vision for Asia.

While the E2 family has not seen too many customers in Asia yet, the manufacturer expects more very soon. Photo: Embraer

Rightsizing

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific have been particularly hard-hit by the pandemic. While much of the region has managed to keep cases low (with a few exceptions), this has meant border closures and much lower demand. All of these changes have forced airlines to rightsize their fleets and look into buying smaller aircraft in the future.

Embraer sees these changes as an opportunity for its brand-new E2 family. In an interview with Simple Flying, Embraer’s Commercial Head for Asia-Pacific, Raul Villaron shed light on the Brazilian manufacturer’s outlook and strategy for the region in the coming years.

While Embraer is yet to add an E2 customer in Asia-Pacific, the airline has seen new carriers take on E-jets in the last year. Photo: Embraer

Perhaps the most attractive aspect about the E2 for airlines is the jet’s economics. The new generation of jets features a lower unit cost ($60mn for a new E190-E2 at list price) as well as a lower per seat cost. The improved costs of the E2 family will make it more attractive to airlines looking to many airlines at this time.

Considering the focus on per seat cost among airlines across Asia, the E2 is now much more competitive. Now that Embraer has a jet ready for the Asia-Pacific market, where does it expect to see the most demand?

Short-haul

Many might be familiar with the E2’s promotional “TechLion” or profit hunter livery from 2019. The reason the E2 is great at turning a profit is because of its efficiency in a particular market segment: flights under 650 nautical miles. Below this distance, the E2 offers better seat costs than even narrowbody jets like the A320 or 737.

This means that Embraer’s newest planes are well-suited to regional routes and adding more frequencies on popular short-haul routes. Considering the renewed focus on domestic and regional traffic in the last year, carriers like Bamboo Airways and Alliance Airlines have added their first E-jets to their fleets (not E2’s however).

On flights under 650 nautical miles, the E2 is undoubtedly the “profit hunter.” Photo: Embraer

For context, routes under 650nm include Delhi to Mumbai, Beijing to Shanghai, Sydney to Brisbane, and scores of others. It’s clear that there is a growing market for regional jets in the future, one that the E2 is intently eying.

Coming soon

With vaccines slowly rolling out across the world, aircraft demand is expected to pick up once again. Indeed, Embraer saw its deliveries bounce back in the last quarter of 2020 after a difficult year. While revenues are still down, the decade holds many opportunities for the E2 as airlines expand and replace their fleets.

What do you think about the future of the E2 in the Asia-Pacific market? Let us know in the comments!

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