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Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil: The Middle East is witnessing the emergence of a new market for regional jets that seat 30 to 120 passengers, and typically serve destinations within less than three hours of flight distance.
Although much smaller compared to other regions, the Middle East's regional jet demand could get a boost from the growth of low-cost carriers (LCCs) and rapid expansion of the aviation sector in general.
According to Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer's projections of the Middle East, the region will account for about three per cent of global deliveries of regional jets over the next 20 years.
That means 190 aircraft out of the projected deliveries of 7,450 planes in the segment.
The total regional jet fleet size in the Middle East is expected to grow to 243 by 2027 compared with 82 in 2007.
Eighty-five per cent of the projected 190 deliveries will be to support the air transport sector's growth, while 15 per cent will be for replacing old aircraft.
"This may be small, but it is significant because hardly any market for regional jets existed in the Middle East a few years back," Graciliano Campos, Embraer's director of environmental strategies and technologies, told Gulf News.
While hoping to supply the majority of future regional jets to Middle East customers, Embraer recognises that carriers in the region deploy wide-body aircraft to serve both regional and international routes.
"While this creates a consistent standard of cabin service across the network, it also provides high cargo capacity. Carriers place high value on premium cabins, and will likely require similar aircraft configurations when evaluating the acquisition of similar, single-aisle jets," a company presentation notes.
London-based aviation analyst John Strickland concurs that the Middle East aviation sector is based on high volumes and that requires more wide-body aircraft.
He believes it would be hard to sell small regional planes in the Middle East, but a market for jets in the larger 70-120 seat segment could develop as airlines add secondary cities to their networks.
With the exception of countries like Saudi Arabia, most countries in the region do not have viable domestic routes for operating regional jets.
So far, Saudi Arabian Airlines has been a major Middle Eastern customer for regional planes, and has acquired 15 Embraer 170s. Saudi budget airline Nasair also operates leased Embraer jets.
"Looking at the distribution of cities, the Middle East will be an inter-country market," Strickland said, adding that manufacturers can benefit from new-generation engine and fuel-burn technologies in the larger versions of regional planes.
According to Embraer, pros-pects for regional jets offering between 90 and 120 seats will improve from right-sizing of narrow-body operations. Replacement of old aircraft and airlines expanding into medium-density markets will also help.
Frequency
Need for increased frequencies and growth in the low-cost airline sector are seen as creating demand for regional jets.
"One significant factor that affects this industry segment is the presence of low-cost carriers," Mauro Kern, executive vice-president of Embraer's commercial aviation division, told a group of visiting foreign aviation journalists at the company's headquarters in Brazil.
Liberalisation of the Middle East aviation sector is also seen as helping diversification of the aircraft market. The number of airlines has grown to 35 from 22 five years ago. There are four low-cost airlines in operation in the Gulf, and Dubai recently announced it would launch a budget carrier this year.
North America remains the biggest market for regional jets, and accounts for 51 per cent of all confirmed orders. The Middle East's share is seven per cent, while Europe accounts for 20 per cent and the Asia Pacific region 13 per cent.
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