Embraer to bid for 10 E190-E2s for Vietnam Airlines
Embraer will be part of an official visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Vietnam next week and intends to use the opportunity to seek an agreement to sell 10 E190-E2 jets to state-owned Vietnam Airlines.
The airline has been evaluating an order for up to 20 aircraft with up to 150 seats since at least July last year.
Today the fleet consists of widebodies Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 and narrowbodies from the A320 family.
In September 2023, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, visited Embraer’s facilities in Brazil and asked the company to invest in his country to develop the local industry.
The company’s offensive comes amid the possible approval of COMAC’s C909 and C919 jets to fly in Vietnam. China has sought to open new markets in the region for its aircraft, currently flying mainly domestically.
Vietnam has had Embraer jets in service with Bamboo Airways, but the airline went into financial crisis and shrank its fleet years ago.
C-390 for the Vietnamese Air Force?
Embraer will also take advantage of the meetings with Vietnamese authorities to formalize an offer for the C-390 Millennium airlifter.
The country’s Air Force has a small fleet of aircraft, mostly of Russian origin, but the transport squadrons fly three CASA C212s manufactured in Indonesia and three Airbus C295s.
With greater capacity, range and speed, the C-390 would allow the Vietnamese armed forces to carry out a series of missions that are currently impossible.
According to Reuters, a showcase of the aircraft is scheduled for May in Vietnam. Embraer had already exhibited the C-390 last December during the Vietnam Defense Expo 2024.
Hanoi, however, is also in talks with the United States to acquire the C-130J turboprop from Lockheed Martin. Textron Aviation recently delivered the first T-6 Texan II trainers to the country, a landmark moment more than 50 years after the Vietnam War.
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Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
