LATAM Looks For Quick Enbraer Deliveries To Add Up to 30 New Brasil Destinations

LATAM looks for quick Embraer deliveries to add up to 30 new Brazil destinations By Luciana Novaes Magalhaes and Gabriel Araujo September 26, 202512:40 PM PDTUpdated September 26, 2025 LATAM airlines logo, is seen inside of the Commodore Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago LATAM Airlines logo, is seen inside of the Commodore Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport in Santiago, Chile April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Summary Companies LATAM to receive Embraer jets quickly, expand Brazil routes Order marks milestone for both companies Carrier expands workforce, invests in new hangar SAO CARLOS, Brazil, Sept 26 (Reuters) - LATAM Airlines (LTM.SN), opens new tab will receive the E195-E2 jets it ordered from Embraer (EMBR3.SA), opens new tab "relatively quickly" and expects them to allow the carrier to add 25 to 30 new destinations in Brazil, an executive said on Friday. "An important portion of them will be delivered next year, by the end of the year, and then another portion in 2027," LATAM Brasil CEO Jerome Cadier told Reuters, adding the airline would decide within six months which routes the jets should serve. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report This Ad The Brazilian unit of Chile-based LATAM is the country's No. 1 airline by market share. The carrier announced on Monday a firm order for 24 E195-E2 aircraft, with purchase options for another 50. The deal was a milestone for both firms, with Embraer notching a long-awaited order for its second-generation jets in Brazil, and LATAM adding the regional planes to complement a fleet of Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab narrowbodies and Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab widebodies. AIRBUS COMPETITION Cadier first revealed last year that LATAM was considering purchasing smaller jets and cited Embraer's E2 and Airbus' A220, direct competitors in the up-to-150-seat segment. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Report This Ad The A220 would have offered more seats and longer range, placing it closer to the narrowbodies LATAM already flies, while the smaller, 136-seat E2 better fits the carrier's needs for the Brazilian market, Cadier noted. "When you look at the destinations, the distance between the cities we operate in, the potential markets and demand from those cities, the E2 fits very well," he said. "If there were many large cities, maybe the A220 would be more suitable." Cadier did not provide further detail on the destinations LATAM could add to its domestic roster. EXPANSION PLANS Following the new orders, LATAM will keep expanding its workforce and expects to match its 2024 hiring levels of about 1,000 employees this year, including pilots and cabin crew members. The firm invested 40 million reais ($7.49 million) in a new hangar designed for heavy maintenance at its Sao Carlos base. 00:09 How banana waste is being turned into sustainable clothing The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard The facility was inaugurated on Friday, a day after rivals Azul and Gol (GOLL54.SA), opens new tab ended talks on a merger that would have created Brazil's largest airline by market share, surpassing LATAM. Cadier said the tie-up would not have been worrisome, as antitrust watchdog CADE would likely have imposed restrictions on the deal. "We never considered a scenario in which such a merger would be approved without mitigation measures," he said. ($1 = 5.3392 reais)