Embraer Commercial Aircraft CEO Arjan Meijer.
LE BOURGET: Brazilian airframer Embraer has no immediate plans to develop a E195 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion, or re-enter the turboprop market, and will instead focus on upgrading the E175-E1 and selling its E2 variants.
Around 2019, Embraer was considering a new turboprop with aft-mounted forward-facing engines. This formed part of its sustainability strategy, separate from its Energia hybrid family.
While Embraer secured significant customer interest in the proposed 70- and 90-seat turboprop, the Brazilian airframer ultimately concluded that engine technology had not evolved enough to justify a program launch.
During a one-to-one interview at the Paris Air Show, Embraer Commercial Aircraft CEO Arjan Meijer told ATW that the turboprop revival is still on ice, adding, “It is quite far down in the freezer at the moment.”
If Embraer went ahead with a new turboprop, it would need to be full fly-by-wire. “We want to bring a product that's up-to-date. We want to bring a jet-like interior and jet-like experience,” Meijer said.
Likewise, Embraer’s plans for an E195-E1 freighter conversion are on hold for now.
In May 2022, when the EJet P2F freighter project was launched, Embraer said both the E190-E1 and E195-E1 would be included. The E190F program has progressed well, performing its first flight in 2024 and gaining global certification in February 2025. However, things have been noticeably quiet on the E195F sister program.
Meijer said there were simply not enough E195s available for conversion, because of strong post-pandemic passenger demand, which shifted the P2F program focus to the E190F.
“The E190 has a much bigger feedstock than the E195, so we decided to focus initially on the E190,” Meijer said, adding, “The E195-E1 could be done [converted] in future, depending on feedstock and customer demand,” though he declined to specify a timeline.
Instead, Embraer’s strategic focus is on product upgrades to the E175-E1, which was the only E1 variant not produced as an E2, because of US scope clauses. However, the E175-E1 has full cockpit commonality with the newer E2 and Meijer sees the variant flying for a long time yet.
“Since COVID, a lot of 50-seater traffic and connections have disappeared. So, I think there's definitely demand in that space. I think that's also why you've seen the E175 market coming back,” Meijer said. “I definitely see a demand in the U.S. for between smaller cities since that segment is shrinking.”
The E175-E1 product upgrades will include new weather radar systems, Recaro seats, larger overhead lockers and mood lighting. “We're really investing a lot on making the E175-E1 up-to-date” Meijer said.
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