Embraer, Brazil-based aircraft manufacturer, has demonstrated its recognition that the air transport industry in Africa is an important and growing market that needs greater attention. With a population of more than 900 million and over 650 regional and domestic city pairs on the continent, the air transport market in Africa cannot be ignored. Embrarer's growing commitment to the continent was underlined during the Airline Business Seminar held recently in Nairobi and sponsored by the aircraft manufacturer. African airlines face huge competition on intercontinental routes. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) states that intercontinental capacity to and from Africa held by African airlines currently stands at 36.40% compared to 63.60% by non-African airlines. Even though the intra-Africa marketplace is different, readily available connecting flights between some regions are rare.  One way that African airlines can increase their competitive advantage on intercontinental routes may be to establish a stronger intra-African network that will feed passengers to gateway cities and facilitate better connections.

In order to achieve the feeding of long-haul routes from the regions, African carriers need to make the right choice of aircraft type. Embraer aircraft provide a good option for airlines that have plans for short- to medium-haul operations or strengthening their hub activities. As Dr. Bridget Ssamula, Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria, puts it, "the advantages of hubbing for routes with low passenger demand are very apparent. A point-to-point airline cannot serve these routes because the operating costs needed to meet the low demand make them unprofitable."

Embraer's increasing presence on the continent shows that there is growing acceptance of the aircraft brand by African carriers. 38% of all flights in Africa is adequate for Embraer's 70-120 seat capacity aircraft, showing that operators have a ready market in Africa. Egyptair tops the list of operators of the EJets in Africa with 12 E170 and 12 on order; Kenya Airways operates 5 E170's and 3 E190's; while PertoAir has 3 E170's in operation, and Air Nigeria and LAM Mozambique have 2 E190's each in operation. This is in addition to other ERJ 135 and ERJ 145 commercial Jets in operation across Africa. To ensure flexibility, Embraer also has service center for the EMB145 and EMB120 in Morocco; E-Jets service centre in Egypt and EMB120 service centre in South Africa. Cost of aircraft acquisition is still a challenge to operators in Africa evidenced by the preference for used aircraft by some operators on the continent.  Mr. Mathieu Duquesnoy, Vice President, Airline Market Middle East & Africa, Embraer, says, in line with the effort by the government of Brazil to support Africa, Embraer is working on a link with the Brazilian Export Credit Agency, BNDES, to assist African airline operators in the acquisition of Embraer aircraft which may become an additional incentive for African airlines to add the Embraer to their aircraft shopping list. Because cost- and eco-efficiencies and comfort now matter a lot, the newer EJets are even better for African domestic and regional operators.