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Oman Air Acquires Five E175 Jets Worth $177.5m from Embraer

DUBAI — Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has sold five E175 regional jets worth a total of $177.5 million to Oman Air, which also signed purchase options for another five of the planes.

Frederico Fleury Curado, president and chief executive officer of Embraer, said the first E175 will be delivered in the first quarter of 2011. The other four are scheduled for delivery between 2012 and 2013, he said, speaking on Tuesday at the Dubai Airshow.

The E175s will be configured with 72 seats in a full-service, dual-class layout, with 12 seats in business class and 60 in economy.

“This deal marks our first sales in the Gulf, although we already have a growing presence in the Middle East,” Curado said.

Over the last five years, Embraer has sold 55 commercial planes to Royal Jordanian, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Egypt Air. It has also sold about 60 business jets in the region.

Curado said he is seeing a bigger demand in the coming years for commercial aircraft catering to regional routes.

“As the region gets more deregulated, you can expect a huge demand for local air travel, considering the economic strength of this region,” he said.

Embraer Executive Vice-President Mauro Kern, Jr., said that the Middle East is of major significance to his company, which has been trying to expand its presence in the region.

“This region is growing much faster than the rest of the world. In the last 12 months, the region has seen a 14 per cent increase in passenger traffic,” Kern said. “We can expect that growth to be sustained in the next five years.”

“There is a tremendous growth potential for airplanes of the right size to accommodate regional routes and also some international flights,” he said.

Oman Air Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill said the E175 jets suit the airline’s strategy to increase its flight frequencies and develop new regional and domestic routes.

“We already have a fleet of long-haul and medium-range aircraft. We need planes that are smaller, one that can operate fromMuscat to Dubai at a time when we don’t have a demand for 150 seats. It’a a perfect plane to fly during off-peak season,” Hill said.

“These new routes will require smaller planes. We also want to have a fleet that can service routes where we cannot otherwise justify operating,” he said.

Hill added that the airline also hopes to capitalise on the development of several domestic airports in Oman.

rocel@khaleejtimes.com