In talks to supply commercial aircraft in India: Embraer

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The turbulence in the Indian civil aviation sector notwithstanding, Brazilian aeroplane maker Embraer SA is in talks with 'some partners' to supply its commercial aircraft as it looks to tap the market potential there.

"We believe that India has a big potential for the (commercial) aeroplane sizes that we produce...We are in talks with some partners right now for orders," Embraer vice- president Market Intelligence Airline Market Luiz Sergio Chiessi told agencies.

He, however, declined to disclose the identity of the partners or the possible timeline for finalising the orders.

Embraer, which entered commercial aviation in 2004 with its E Jets family, has different aircraft with seating capacity ranging from 70 to 124.

Chiessi said E Jets would suit the needs of Indian carriers while expanding to smaller cities.

"At present, a lot of operations in India are now concentrated in the metros and there is no expansion in the secondary and tertiary cities. Our aircraft will be ideal as and when the expansion happens," he said.

A mix of bigger aircraft from Boeing or Airbus and Embraer's smaller aeroplanes would serve Indian carriers that would like to have a widespread network, he added.

Commenting on the problems in the Indian civil aviation sector with the likes of Kingfisher Airlines struggling for survival, Chiessi said: "A lot of Indian carriers have ordered for Boeing or Airbus. There is a glut of order and the size is too big but the traffic is not growing."

Embraer, which had earlier supplied aircraft to Paramount, has no active carrier in service in India that uses its aeroplanes since the airlines folded up.

Globally, over 90 airlines from 50 countries are customers of Embraer's commercial aircraft at present.