Embraer still plans to reach a decision by year-end on its strategy to address the evolving narrowbody market now that Boeing has declared its intent to re-engine its 737 narrowbodies.
The Brazilian airframer's message during the last few months was it would wait for Boeing to make a declaration of its intent in order to understand the competitive landscape.
Now that Boeing has tentatively said it plans to re-engine, Embraer CEO Frederico Curado said the airframer has two options - development of a new two member product line in the "adjacent" segment to its current E-Jet offering where the Boeing 737-700, Airbus A319 and Bombardier CSeries reside today, or stretch the E-195 and equip the aircraft with new wings and engines .
Curado during a 29 July earnings call explained Embraer is evaluating the chances to capture market share with those new offerings.
However, he stressed that if Embraer opts for a new aircraft, the new product will have commonality with the existing E-Jet family.
In a separate call with journalists, Curado noted that based on Boeing's recent order announcement with American parent AMR, it is not clear which 737 models the company intends to re-engine.
Touting the success of the E-Jet family, Curado said the sales of the aircraft family show Embraer is in a situation to "take it easy" in its decision, and the company will only launch a new product that is competitive.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
