Embraer has disclosed publicly that it needs firm orders from India for more than 200 Embraer E-175 (E1) aircraft if it is to establish the final assembly line there.

The aircraft’s maker’s CEO, Francisco Gomes Neto, told The Times of India that “firm orders for 200 plus” aircraft were needed to warrant the investment and that the aircraft type Embraer and its local partner Adani plan to assemble in India is the CF34-powered E-175.

He also disclosed that Embraer anticipates the aircraft orders will come primarily from India’s two largest carriers Air India and Indigo.

Neto also added that if the aircraft order from India fails to reach 200-plus aircraft so soon, the company will consider establishing a completion centre in India as an interim solution.

A completion centre would mean the aircraft would continue to be assembled in Brazil, but the airworthy ‘green aircraft’ would then be flown to India for the cabin interior to be installed and the livery painted.

It is not surprising that Embraer is targeting Air India and Indigo as these are the only carriers in India with the propensity to order more than 100 aircraft each.

Indigo’s CEO, Pieter Elbers, was previously president and CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, one of the world’s largest operators of Embraer regional jets.

Air India’s CEO, Campbell Wilson, is also familiar with Embraer, because he was previously CEO of Singapore Airlines’ low-cost carrier Scoot when it announced in February 2023 it was taking delivery of nine Embraer E-190-E2 aircraft on lease, a significant deal as Singapore Airlines Group had never had Embraer regional jets before.

The low-cost carrier uses the aircraft to serve international short-haul destinations that have too low a passenger load to warrant using larger Airbus A320-family aircraft.

If Embraer secures a 200-plus firm order for Embraer E-175 aircraft it will also be a coup for GE which powers the aircraft with its CF34 engines. The CF34 engine is still in production because it powers the E-175 and the Comac C909 aircraft.

The Embraer order would also give GE a competitive edge in India against Pratt & Whitney. Air India already powers its narrowbodies with engines from CFM International, GE’s joint-venture with France’s Safran. But Indigo uses a mix of CFM and Pratt & Whitney GTF engines to power its narrowbodies.