Abra Group Shakes Latin America’s Regional Aircraft Market With Embraer E195-E2 Order

Despite its inevitability and expectation, Abra Group’s announcement at Farnborough of a 20-firm order for Embraer E195-E2 aircraft (plus 10 options and 15 purchase rights) was a bit surprising. What really caught the eye of the flock of analysts and journalists that packed Embraer’s chalet was the quantity.

The 20-aircraft order seems to be a beachhead for a quick continuation with the options and rights, and a confirmation that there is no plan to have a dog in the Azul-LATAM fight for the middle and thin destinations in the Brazilian interior

. Abra has made clear that there is no direct assignment of the new fleet to GOL; even though it is the main candidate, the holding is keeping its options open.

Flexibility is the word

Abra understands, as LATAM does, that two things are happening right now, two big trends that seem to clash but in fact complement: fleet segmentation is key, and the ability to move assets between subsidiaries is even more important. Builders know that, too, and they add a third concept: in times of a large, narrowbody-extended backlog, smaller but more efficient aircraft will drive the market for the next couple of years.