NEW DELHI: India's largest airline IndiGo is in early-stage talks to buy 100 regional jets from Embraer, with options for about 50 more, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, in what could be one of the largest commercial aircraft orders placed with the Brazilian planemaker.
IndiGo and Embraer did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Embraer has been pushing its regional jets to Indian airlines and this year signed a non-binding pact with Adani Defence & Aerospace to explore a final assembly line in India for its E175 jets, which can seat up to 88 passengers. The firm also makes the larger E190-E2 and E195-E2 jets, which can seat up to 114 and 146 passengers, respectively.
An IndiGo-Embraer deal is not guaranteed, and the aircraft model and quantity have not been finalised, the two people said on condition of anonymity. Deliveries are likely to begin from or after 2030, they said.
While talks between IndiGo and Embraer have been reported previously, Reuters is first to reveal the number of planes and options under consideration. If concluded, the 100 jets alone could be worth billions of dollars at list prices, though discounts are common in such deals.
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