By Graham Warwick in Washington DC

Brazilian certification of the Embraer 195 is scheduled for June 30, completing development of the manufacturer’s family of small airliners.

Approval for the fourth and largest member of the E-170/190 family will come 24 months after delivery of the first E-Jet, president and chief executive Mauricio Botelho told the Aero Club of Washington, DC today.

With 160 E-Jets delivered to 13 operators worldwide, Botelho believes the restructuring of US network carriers will lead to large orders for the 70- to 118-seat family. “The scope clause relaxation made possible [by the restructuring] will increase the number of high-capacity aircraft that by their affiliates,” he says.

Testing has continued of the 195, including aircraft serial number 1950001 (PP-XMJ) undergoing high water level landing trials at Embraer's facilities at Gavião Peixoto in early June (pictured below).

E195 high water test W445
© Mariusz Adamski

Botelho confirms Embraer’s previous guidance of 145 commercial aircraft deliveries this year and 150 next year. The 1,000th ERJ-145 family aircraft will be delivered later this year and production is continuing, he says, both in Brazil as the Legacy 600 business jet and in China.

While the joint venture with China’s AVIC II to assemble the ERJ-145 in Harbin has been an industrial success, “in terms of the market is has not developed so well”, Botelho says. But the venture has been profitable each year since it was formed at the end of 2002 and will keep going, he adds.

“We expect good news in the near future,” Botelho says, arguing that “you will not see an efficient air transport system [in China] without a regional airline system. It is a must.” Smaller aircraft are needed to feed passengers from outlying airports to large-aircraft hubs “otherwise the system will fail. It is only a matter of time,” he notes.

Botelho says the recent change in Embraer’s share structure eliminated any major controlling groups, making it the first major Brazilian company with “totally distributed capital”. The restructuring allows Embraer free access to international capital, “and to use its shares for acquisitions”, he says.

While there are no acquisitions are in the pipeline, Botelho says, it is now an option for growing the company. “We could not do it before,” he notes.

Source: Flight International

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