Embraer Looks At Growing Freighter Conversion Capacity

FARNBOROUGH—Embraer is looking at significantly expanding its freighter conversion capacity, likely together with a specialized partner.

“I think we could go to 10 units per year, but if we could go to a second line as a first step that would be great,” Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO Arjan Meijer told Aviation Week at the Farnborough Airshow. “Then we will have to see how the market picks up further.”

Embraer launched the cargo conversion program in 2022. Bridges Air Cargo started commercial operations earlier this year and has introduced its second E190F in June. Lessor Azorra announced July 21 that it has secured 20 slots for conversions of E190s to freighter.

The E190F, or E-Freighter, is capable of carrying up to 13.5 metric tons of cargo.

Embraer’s current conversion capacity is three aircraft per year. The work is being performed at its Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, headquarters. “We have one line in Brazil, and that is a bit thin. You are not going to build mass with it. With 20, we need to make sure that we build more and get to market quickly,” Meijer said.

However, Embraer is unlikely to expand its conversion operations itself. “We build aircraft in Sao Jose dos Campos, and we need to grow the business. Freighter conversions are not our core business,” Meijer said. Therefore, the company aims at finding a partner that could do the conversions on its behalf.

Availability of feedstock has been an issue for some time, with the E1 fleet still relatively young. But “the bulk of the 190s is now getting to an age where it makes sense to convert them. For a while, it was a bit early,” Meijer said.

Also, contrary to earlier plans, Embraer ended up not doing an E195 conversion because there were not enough aircraft available. “We did not see how we could get them out of the [passenger] market,” Meijer added. And since an E195 conversion program would require more investment, “we would rather focus on the 190,” he said.