Embraer is seeing a cautious shift among certain airline customers that had planned to convert purchase options into firm orders, the aircraft manufacturer's chief executive said on June 6. Francisco Gomes Neto told reporters at the International Air Transport Association's annual summit in Rio de Janeiro that the war in Iran - and the associated rise in jet fuel prices - has prompted some carriers to delay incremental commitments.
Gomes Neto said that, so far, Embraer has not experienced formal requests to postpone scheduled deliveries nor a clear slowdown in the pace of active sales campaigns. Nonetheless, he described a developing tendency for airlines to hold off on exercising options they had previously signed.
"Some companies that could be exercising previously signed options are leaving that a bit further ahead to better understand how the situation will evolve," he said.
The planemaker's commercial backlog covers nearly five years of deliveries, providing a multi-year pipeline of work. Embraer continues to pursue several sales campaigns for aircraft in its E2 family, and management hopes to secure some deals at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom next month.
Embraer plans to leverage momentum from recent contract wins, including agreements with Finnair for 18 jets and with lessor Azorra for 15 aircraft, following a strong 2025. Management believes the fuel efficiency of the E2 family will be an important factor for prospective customers weighing new purchases.
"There are several campaigns under way," Gomes Neto said, adding that the timing on potential orders hinges primarily on customer decisions. "I don’t know if it will be as strong as last year, but it should still be a good year for commercial aviation."
On production targets, Embraer reiterated an internal ambition to raise output toward delivering between 95 and 100 commercial aircraft in 2027. The outlook for the current year remains between 80 and 85 planes. Gomes Neto emphasized that achieving the higher 2027 target depends more on smoothing supply chain constraints than on the resolution of geopolitical tensions such as the war in Iran.
He noted that bottlenecks that have affected the wider industry since the pandemic are gradually improving and that the key challenge is "getting the cadence right." The company is also targeting margin improvements in its commercial aviation unit through renegotiation of older, lower-profit contracts and by seeking stronger pricing on new deals, he added.
While uncertainty tied to fuel costs and geopolitical risk is prompting some airlines to defer option exercises, Embraer continues to press multiple sales efforts and to plan for stepped-up production, with its multi-year backlog and recent transactions providing underlying commercial momentum.