Embraer Projects 530 New Deliveries of 70 to 130-seat Jets in Africa and the Middle East over the Ne

Embraer Commercial Aviation forecasts that airlines in Africa and the Middle East will take delivery of 530 new jets in the 70 to 130-seat segment over the next 20 years (valued at USD 25 billion at list prices), representing 8% of the worldwide demand for the segment in the period. It is estimated that 65% of the total new deliveries will be added to support market demand growth while 35% will replace ageing retiring aircraft.

Forecasts indicate that 17 of the world's top 30 fastest growing countries in 2014 will be in the region. Air transport in Africa and the Middle East will steadily grow 5.3% and 7.1% per annum over the next 20 years, respectively - above the world average of 4.8% -, more than tripling the air traffic to, from, and within the region.

"The 70 to 130-seat jets will play a key role to support the intra-regional development in Africa and the Middle East, not only for its ability to explore new markets, but also because of the possibility to improve load factors with greater flexibility," said Paulo Cesar Silva, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. "E-Jets are the most efficient, reliable and comfortable aircraft in this category and are perfectly suited for the airlines needs in the region by providing the benefit of significantly lower trip costs."

Currently, 60% of the larger single aisle jet flight departures among African and Middle Eastern destinations have up to 110 passengers on-board on average, resulting in low load factors. The region is mostly composed by low- and mid-density markets. Some 88% of all markets have demand densities of up to 300 passengers daily each way, and approximately 50% of them are not served nonstop. Embraer E-Jets provide the capability to develop a better traffic feed system and greater network connectivity, as well as improving the quality of services on existing markets where there is not enough demand to support larger single aisle aircraft operations.

The E-Jets family has logged nearly 1,500 orders and over 1,000 deliveries to date. The aircraft are in service with some 65 customers from 45 countries. In Africa and the Middle East, Embraer has more than 75% market share among aircraft in its segment. Nearly 70 E-Jets are currently in service with 7 operators from 6 countries in the region.