Embraer’s establishment of an Indian subsidiary with a corporate office in Aerocity, New Delhi, signals the airframer’s belief in the fast-growing country’s importance in the commercial and defence sectors.
Chief executive Francisco Gomes-Neto told FlightGlobal on 2 June at the IATA annual general meeting in New Delhi that Embraer’s “fully owned” subsidiary in India is a major aspect of the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer’s global growth strategy.
”This subsidiary in India is the first step to show to the market how serious we are about the opportunities in India,” he says.
On the defence side, Gomes-Neto says that the company’s C-390 tactical support jet “is the best solution for the Indian Air Force”.
“We will do our best to win this job,” he says.
In February 2024, Embraer Defense & Security signed a memorandum of understanding with Mahindra Defence Systems to “jointly pursue” the Indian Air Force’s Medium Transport Aircraft programme with the C-390, seeking to replace its ageing Antonov An-32 fleet.
But India has yet to place an order for C-390 aircraft.
Embraer says it is “significantly deepening its engagement in India”, asserting that its E175 regional jet and larger E195-E2 are well-suited to the mission of expanding connectivity within the country. The company is engaging with both Air India and AGM host IndiGo on potential aircraft sales.
Currently, about 50 Embraer jets are in operation in India, including military and business jets as well as ERJ-145 and E175 regional jets operated by Star Air.
“India is the third-largest market in the world, so it’s obvious that we need to be here,” says Arjan Meijer, CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation.
Meijer compares the growing Indian air travel market to those of Brazil and the USA, where connecting “secondary and tertiary markets” helped grow those countries’ economies. And he points to the E195-E2 as the right fit to boost network connectivity and fill India’s gap between turboprop aircraft and larger narrowbody jets.
“Whereas in the past, we had the E Jets, which were smaller with lower trip cost, but they had quite a bit higher seat cost, which was a challenge for India to accommodate,” he says. ”The E195-E2 is an amazing aircraft; we call it the profit hunter not by accident, because it is an aircraft that has a 25% lower trip cost and also almost the same seat cost as the much bigger [Airbus] A320neo and [Boeing 737] Max 8.
“So, an airline will be able to employ the E195-E2 at higher frequency, on smaller routes, complementing the bigger narrowbodies,” Meijer adds.
Gomes-Neto says Embraer’s office in New Delhi’s aerospace business district will open with a ceremony on 3 June.
The new Indian headquarters will cover “a lot of activities”, he says, including ”government relations, local communications, procurement, engineering, sales and marketing for defence, and sales and marketing for commercial aviation”.
