This article was originally posted on my aviation site.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article where they talk about the history of Embraer, and its prospects for the future. I feel that they echoed what I said in my recent post where I talked about Airbus, Boeing and Embraer.

Embraer, also known as Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica SA, was officially started back in 1969 by the Brazillian government. Embraer’s, and Brazil’s, roots in aviation go back to the early days. However, it wasn’t until Embraer was privatized in 1994 that it started to become a player on the world aviation stage.

Despite a huge debt burden, and not selling a single copy of their first post-privatization product, Embraer managed to pull together a hit in the 50 seat ERJ-145. They learned that it’s better to have a product that customers want, than to have a great product that no one wants to buy.

Photo Credit: abdallahh
Embraer ERJ-145 in American Eagle livery

Right now, Embraer is a player in the 50-70 and in the 70-120 seat market. They offer small jets that offer big jet smoothness and efficiency that major airlines use on their short routes that used to be served by turbo prop planes.

Embraer is questioning whether they need to expand into larger capacity markets. A move towards bigger planes will put them in direct competition with Airbus and Boeing.

I like what the CEO of the company, Mr. Frederico Fleury Curado, says about expanding into larger planes. Mr. Curado says that he doesn’t see the market moving to buy a new airframe unless that airframe provided a major differentiator from the proven and known airframe platforms currently in the market.

I for one am glad to see Embraer is doing fairly well ($248.5 million in profit last year on $5.47 billion in sales) and has an order backlog of 1700 planes.

Despite increased competition from Bombardier with their new 150 seat regional jet and the new Japanese, Chinese and Russian manufacturers coming into the space I see a bright future for Embraer. To paraphrase Mr. Curado, I don’t foresee many airlines ditching the proven and established airframe in favor of newer and unproven airframes from new manufacturers.

Photo Credit: wbaiv
Embraer E-190 Series Regional Jet

It’s great to see a Latin American company competing on the global stage and doing well.