Julian Moxon/TOULOUSE
Regional aircraft specialists ATR and Embraer are negotiating a link that could go as far as a full merger and which could offer Airbus a way into the sub-100 seat airliner market.
An alliance between turboprop producer ATR and jet specialist Embraer became possible in January when Aerospatiale Matra bought into the Brazilian company as part of a French consortium (also including Dassault, Thomson-CSF and Snecma), which took a 20% stake.
It is the new alliance between Finmeccanica's Alenia Aeronautica and EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space) - which includes Alenia's ATR partner Aerospatiale Matra - that has paved the way for a deal, however, since an alternative twinning of the Italian company with BAE Systems would almost certainly have killed the project. The UK company pulled out of a partnership with ATR on the AI(R) aircraft marketing venture in 1998.
ATR executive director Antoine Bouvier reveals that Aerospatiale Matra and Alenia began talks with Embraer as soon as the EADS-Finmeccanica accord was struck. He is "very optimistic" about their outcome.
With Finmeccanica and EADS yet to determine how ATR will be incorporated into their alliance, Bouvier will not put a timescale on the talks with Embraer, but says they will take "several months". He adds that "there are two options" for the alliance: "Heavy, involving complete integration of our respective businesses, and light, which would be little more than a marketing alliance."
Bouvier favours the "light" option, saying the geographical distance between Brazil and Europe might limit full integration. Such an option would see joint marketing, with ATR's 48- and 64-seat turboprops complementing Embraer jet offerings in the same categories. ATR has also established an asset management operation - which Embraer lacks.
Long-term, a deal could allow Airbus, in which EADS will be an 80% shareholder, to offer 70-90 seat jets via Embraer's planned ERJ-170/190 range. Says Bouvier: "We can link ATR with the Airbus operation, which makes an alliance even more attractive".
ATR won 40% of turboprop orders last year and is targeting a 50:50 share with Bombardier, its sole Western competitor. Production averages 30 aircraft a year.
Source: Flight International
