Embraer is confident about its prospects in the Asian regional jet market despite competition from aircraft being developed in China and Japan.

Japan's Mitsubishi Aircraft is developing the MRJ regional jet, which is expected to enter service in 2014, while the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is set to deliver its first ARJ21 this year.

"We are very confident, we know where we are in this game," says Embraer Asia Pacific's managing director Alex Glock.

The Brazilian airframer has 45 regional jets operating in Asia, excluding China, mostly E-170s and E-190s. Glock believes that Embraer, with its 40-year history, has a good understanding of the sector.

"The others have to catch up in a market that we have already built up. They are trying to generate a market based on what we have already established," he adds.

Embraer foresees the Asia-Pacific region to have "the most aggressive growth" in the years ahead.

"We have seen more airlines from Asia coming to us and certain emerging markets are driving a lot of work," he adds, declining to identify the specific countries.

But low-cost carriers in the region play a big part in driving that growth, says Glock.

Asian low-cost carriers, excluding those in China, have an order backlog for 521 narrowbody aircraft.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news