Aloizio Mercadante, president of the Brazilian development bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - BNDES), has said that LATAM Airlines Brasil (JJ, São Paulo Congonhas) and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (G3, São Paulo Congonhas) are negotiating with Embraer to place separate orders for new aircraft, and that the discussions are “very advanced.”
“They are already very advanced in this dialogue. Obviously, we have commercial secrecy; we cannot go into details, but the companies are very advanced in terms of flying Embraer,” said Mercadante, as reported by Reuters.
Last month, the Brazilian manufacturer’s chief executive, Francisco Gomes Neto, said that both carriers were reportedly discussing a potential E2 order. In April, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said his government was working towards these two Brazilian carriers acquiring Embraer-made jets.
Neither LATAM Airlines Group nor GOL Linhas Aéreas operate any Embraer jets. LATAM Brasil’s fleet comprises 160 aircraft, including nineteen A319-100s, fifty-seven A320-200s, eighteen A320-200Ns, thirty-one A321-200s, fourteen A321-200NX, ten B777-300ERs, and eleven B787-9s. GOL, currently undergoing US Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, operates 139 planes, namely fourteen B737-700s, forty-seven B737-8s, seventy-two B737-800s, and six B737-800(BCF)s.
In a statement to ch-aviation, GOL said it “is always evaluating options for other models to grow its operations.” LATAM declined to comment; however, chief executive Roberto Alvo recently told ch-aviation that it is unlikely the group will return to the level of complexity and multiple aircraft types it had in the past.
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras and the Brazilian Air Force/Força Aérea Brasileira are the leading operators of Embraer jets in Brazil and, between the two, have 58 planes on order (forty-nine E195-E2s and nine KC-390s).
