The commercial boss of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer played down Monday any threat posed by Airbus’ control of Bombardier’s C-series jet program.
John Slattery said that the deal, which will see Airbus develop, market and sell Bombardier C-series planes, should generate a higher level of activity in marketing for his firm.
Speaking at Dubai Airshow, Slattery said: “Ninety-nine percent of airline deals are competitive. So if an airline wants to buy any plane they tend to want a competing bid from a manufacturer.”
Embraer and Bombardier are traditional rivals in jet aircraft that typically offer between 100 and 150 seats.
Under pressure to both increase sales and stave off trade restrictions in the United States, Bombardier struck the surprise deal with European aerospace giant Airbus last month.
Embraer’s Slattery said that when the Airbus sales team starts to market the Bombardier C-series, customers who would not have previously considered that type of plane would seek comparable options.
Slattery added that the Airbus deal still needed to go through various antitrust hurdles and that Airbus would not be allowed involvement in the C-series for some time.
