Brazil's TAM is in "advanced stages" of talks with airframers for an order of regional aircraft, citing the re-engined Embraer E2 as one of the options it is considering.
TAM has indicated this year that it was studying an aircraft order to help it expand in the regional market in Brazil. It says today it plans to finalise talks with airframers by the end of the first quarter in 2015.
"The airline is currently in the advanced stages of negotiations with aircraft manufacturers, including Embraer, the Brazilian manufacturer of the new generation of E-Jet E2, whose proposal includes 18 firm aircraft orders and 12 options," says LATAM Airlines Group, which TAM is a subsidiary of.
"Our plans call for the use of new-generation aircraft," says TAM president Marco Antonio Bologna. "Now we only need to conclude these negotiations with competitive prices and adequate financing conditions".
TAM will begin service to between four and six new regional destinations every year beginning in 2015, says the carrier. Its plans to invest in regional aviation is "independent of any regulatory changes" that Brazil's government might make to encourage the growth of regional aviation, says the airline.
Brazil's government has announced plans to subsidise regional routes through the country, but has yet to finalise the details for how this will be done.
TAM's chief executive Claudia Sender says the development of regional airports in smaller cities is more important than the subsidies. "Regional aviation is where we started; it is in our corporate DNA. We serve cities in the so-called average-density markets and, therefore, we are already established in this segment," says Sender.
While Embraer's E2 has long been cited as the leader in TAM's regional aircraft search, Mitsubishi Aircraft has also expressed keen interest in winning LATAM as a customer for its MRJ90. Mitsubishi told Flightglobal in November that it is still in the running to supply aircraft to the airline.
The Embraer 190-E2 will enter into service in 2018, three years after TAM plans to begin expanding its regional network. The airline says it will operate regional routes using leased aircraft or those already in its fleet.
The smallest aircraft in TAM's existing fleet is the Airbus A319, which seats 144 passengers. It has 50 A320 family aircraft - comprising A320s and A321s - on order, Ascend Fleets shows.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
