At the Media Reception hosted by Embraer during the Paris Air Show, Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World had a candid discussion with Mr. Francisco Gomes Neto, President & CEO of Embraer. In this brief interaction, Mr. Neto highlighted his vision for India and why this country is important for Embraer in both commercial jets segment as well defence sector . Excerpts…

India is an important region for Embraer, so what all opportunities you see here?

We are very excited about the opportunities in India. Recently, we inaugurated our subsidiary office in India where besides sales and marketing, we are bringing together engineering, procurement, communication, and government relations. Embraer sees lot of opportunities in Defence sector with Indian Air Force for the MTA ( Medium Transport Aircraft)project; Commercial jets, we see a good opportunity for us to replace the old turboprop, because now India is building a lot of highways. They are competing with the turboprops that are slow and cannot fly longer and we believe, we have a good opportunity for our E-Jets, either the E-175 or the modern E-195 E2.

Star Air is your prominent client in India having all Embraer fleet only. Is there any query from other operators as well in India?

We are very happy with Star Air as they are doing a good job showcasing our aircraft, showing how good it is to operate with jets to improve the connectivity between the cities. On new query, yes we are in talk with other airlines in India as well.

What’s the objective behind setting up an office in India?

It’s for our procurement team as we want to find suppliers in India to help Embraer to expand its production capacity. In addition, to prepare for localisation of the C-390 Millennium in case we win the race and also, as our engineering team are looking for opportunities to cooperate in software field, for example, where India is very good.

How much optimistic you are specific for the India market?

I am very optimistic and that’s why we are investing in India. We do believe, we have the best product for the Indian Air Force and also to help India to improve, to increase the connectivity between small cities, under the UDAN project.