By Gabriel Araujo
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA on Tuesday announced new aircraft orders from Porter Airlines and Alaska Air Group Inc as it participates in the Farnborough Airshow in the UK.
Embraer said Canada-based Porter Airlines has ordered an additional 20 E195-E2 aircraft to support its expansion plan in North America, while Alaska ordered eight new E175 jets for its regional airline subsidiary Horizon Air.
Porter’s deal adds to an existing 30-aircraft firm order from the company and was valued at $1.56 billion, taking its orders with Embraer to a total of up to 100 aircraft, including 50 firm commitments and 50 purchase rights.
In 2021, Porter had ordered 30 Embraer E195-E2 jets, with purchase rights for a further 50 aircraft, worth $5.82 billion with all options exercised, Embraer noted in a statement.
Alaska’s order for eight new jets also included options for 13 more, the Brazilian company said, adding that the contract was valued at $1.12 billion considering options.
“The E175 is the backbone of the U.S. regional network,” Embraer’s Commercial Aviation VP for the Americas, Mark Neely, said.
“While this market is currently under pressure, it is essential that carriers are able to provide these essential services.”
Porter’s first delivery and entry into service is scheduled to start in the second half of 2022, while Alaska’s airplanes are expected to be delivered over the next four years starting in the second quarter of 2023.
Embraer also announced in Farnborough its outlook for the next 20 years, saying it expects global demand for air travel measured by Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) to grow by 3.2% per year in the period.
The projection came roughly in line with last year’s estimate of a 3.3% growth. The planemaker added it sees RPKs returning to 2019 levels by 2024 as the industry recovers from the pandemic-related downturn.
Embraer, which is the world’s No. 3 planemaker behind only Boeing Co and Airbus SE, also said it expects global demand for new aircraft of up to 150 seats to reach 10,950 units over the next two decades, with such planes being valued at $650 billion.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, editing by Ed Osmond)
