Embraer CEO Sends E2 Message to Turkish Airlines: “You Don’t Buy the Same Knife Twice in the Kitchen”

HavaSosyalMedya reports from Brazil. During a visit to Embraer’s manufacturing facilities in São José dos Campos, Brazil, HavaSosyalMedya asked Embraer Commercial Aviation President and CEO Arjan Meijer about recent remarks by Turkish Airlines Chairman Murat Şeker indicating the airline’s interest in both the Embraer E2 family and the Airbus A220.

Meijer described the E2 family as a strong alternative for the Turkish market, saying he sees significant potential for this aircraft segment in Türkiye. He noted that Embraer is engaged in discussions with both airlines and their subsidiaries.

“We believe there is a huge market in Türkiye for this segment,” Meijer said. “Whether through the airlines themselves or their subsidiaries, we are having those discussions. We think the E2 is a very good aircraft to address that market need.”

Addressing comparisons between the Airbus A220 and the Embraer E2, Meijer argued that although the two aircraft are often portrayed as direct competitors, the A220 is positioned closer to the larger narrow-body segment. He pointed out that Airbus has ambitions to further develop the A220 family toward the A320 category, while Embraer has focused the E2 family on the market of up to 150 seats, positioning it as a complementary aircraft to larger narrow-body jets.

Meijer also emphasized that introducing additional aircraft types into an airline fleet inevitably increases operational complexity, meaning any new type must bring genuine value to the operation.

Using a kitchen analogy to illustrate his point, Meijer said:

“You don’t buy the exact same knife twice in the kitchen. You choose a bigger knife or a smaller one because you want greater flexibility. That’s how we position the E2.”