One hundred and fifty exhibitors displayed their products and services at AVEX, Egypt’s premiere aviation trade show, in Sharm El Sheikh on November 7 & 8. A delegation from Embraer’s Commercial Jets team, led by Airline Market Vice President Mathieu Duquesnoy, welcomed guests from across the Middle East at the company’s air side chalet.

Forty-four Embraer E-Jets are in service with six scheduled airlines in the region, including EgyptAir Express which operates a fleet of 12 E170s on high-frequency schedules to key domestic cities as well as to a handful of international destinations.

The most important member of the Embraer delegation was not a person but an airplane. Gulf Air flew its new E190 from Bahrain to Sharm to showcase the aircraft and let visitors see first hand how the airline is using the 12-seat business class and 84-seat economy class E-Jet to build its network. On board the ferry flight to Sharm was Captain Abdulrahman Al Gaoud, Bahrain’s Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Affairs.

“Gulf Air is an excellent example of how an aircraft of this capacity can help bring greater connectivity to the region” said Ana Carolina Friedmann do Lago, Embraer’s marketing manager for the Middle East. “In just the few months since the airline acquired its first E-Jet, it’s already flying to 13 destinations and is scheduling them on routes that are also flown by larger jets.”

L-R: Mathieu Duquesnoy, Embraer VP, Middle East & Africa; Gulf Air crew members Kirsty Anne Leask, Flight Attendant; Azwar Mohammed Al Barwani, Captain; Ariana Aguiar, Flight Attendant.

Gulf Air’s flight and cabin crews were on hand to explain the E190’s features and emphasize the strategic importance of the aircraft’s role in the company’s business strategy.

The AVEX show is held once every two years.