During a press conference in which he presented the financial results, LATAM Brazil’s CEO, Jerome Cadier, acknowledged that the airline is evaluating an aircraft with 100 to 150 seats, but denied that Embraer is the chosen supplier.
According to the chief executive, not only the E2 jets are being evaluated, but also the Airbus A220.
“We are evaluating all the options that exist. We are generating cash, generating results and we want to grow. For that we need aircraft. And given the aircraft restrictions, we are looking for alternatives to continue growing,” said Cadier.
The CEO also attributed the rumors that LATAM will order smaller jets to taking advantage of a tax benefit that is being discussed by the government for regional flights.
Rumors, however, speak of pressure from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for both LATAM and Gol to operate with Embraer aircraft and to this end the government is offering financing from BNDES with attractive interest rates.
The A220 would be the technical choice
Jerome Cadier’s statement goes against a growing expectation that LATAM would be about to close an order for five to nine E195-E2s, an aircraft with capacity for around 136 passengers and slightly smaller than the A319, the company’s smallest aircraft.
The announcement was expected for the beginning of this week when the airline’s management team met with the Brazilian president in Chile.
However, the option for the A220 would in theory be a more technical choice since the group’s fleet of narrow-body aircraft is supplied only by Airbus.
The A220, like the E2, offers a much lower operating cost than jets such as the Airbus A319 and the Boeing 737, although they do not have as much range or cargo capacity.
