Embraer Commercial Aviation chief John Slattery is in bullish mood about the sales prospects for its E-Jet E2 family, after the firm unveiled orders and commitments worth over $3 billion at the show on Tuesday.
Slattery says $1 billion of those represented new business for the second quarter, which shows that Embraer is "experiencing less turbulence and fewer headwinds" than some of its rivals.
Although orders for E2-family aircraft have been fitful since the flurry of deals which accompanied the programme's launch four years ago, Slattery says this is normal for regional jets, with order activity typically picking up 12 months before service entry.
"That's where we are now. By this time next year we expect the aircraft to be flying in revenue generating service," he says.
"We are seeing increased confidence from airlines to engage in meaningful discussions that we haven't seen in the last few years."
Slattery hopes that the manufacturer will be able to announce more deals in the second half of the year, both from existing and new Embraer operators.
"As we cadence into the second half of this year I would be disappointed if we are not able to announce more marquee names to the programme."
The E190-E2 will enter service in the first half of 2018, followed by the E195-E2 around a year later, and the E175-E2 in 2021.
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Source: Cirium Dashboard
