SUBANG: Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation Embraer S.A. is set to expand its presence in Southeast Asia with its single-aisle E195-E2 aircraft as airlines in the region have started to look at having different types of aircraft in their fleet.
Embraer Commercial Aviation vice president sales, Asia Pacific, Victor Vieira said many airlines have realised the importance of having a flexible fleet, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"They've realised that their reliance on one single aircraft type really limits their ability to play with the capacity mix and to adjust the aircraft capacity to market demand," he told Business Times in an interview recently.
"The E195-E2 aircraft offers the right (seat) capacity. The average load factor in Malaysia nowadays is 75 per cent for narrow-body aircraft on average, which means that for every four seats offered, only three (seats) have passengers onboard.Empty seats costs airlines money," Vieira said, adding that the E195-E2 aircraft could also open new destinations for airlines and it is the best option for airlines flying out of city airports.
Malaysia plans to turn the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (SAAS) airport, also known as Subang Airport, into a premium green city airport under the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP).
On August 7, Business Times reported that the ground-breaking of the SARP project is expected to be in 2025.
The E195-E2 aircraft is currently operated by several airlines worldwide, including Brazil's Azul Airlines, Canada's Porter Airlines, Oman's Salam Air and Netherlands' KLM Cityhopper, to name a few.
In Southeast Asia, SKS Airways Sdn Bhd in Malaysia and Singapore's Scoot Pte Ltd are customers.
Both airlines are expected to receive their first E195-E2 in 2024.
Vieira said the delivery of SKS Airways' first E195-E2 aircraft is on track for early next year.
The airline announced a RM3.9 billion deal to lease 10 of the aircraft type from US aircraft lessor Azzora Aviation Holdings.
He also said that the E195-E2 airplane has a low operating cost compared with other single-aisle aircraft types despite a lesser number of seats.
"This is a real game changer.…
"What you would typically expect from a smaller aircraft is that it would offer a higher cost per seat, but despite having fewer seats, the E195-E2 has the same cost per seat as compared to the 180-200 seat aircraft types out there."
"It's really unbeatable, and it's a real game changer for airlines," Vieira said, adding that Embraer is also in talks with other airline operators in Southeast Asia.