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Boeing's new chief executive, Dave Calhoun, said in January he was committed to the deal. He must now convince Boeing's board to pursue it while also facing critics in Congress who are questioning how potential U.S. taxpayer funds would be deployed.
"They are going to Washington with their hands out for a bailout and then on the other hand looking at spending $4.2 billion to complete the deal," Herbert said.
Calhoun's $7 million performance bonus, part of a three-year package tethered to Boeing's share price, hangs in part on his ability to close the Embraer deal, assuming regulatory approval.
"We don’t comment publicly on discussions between the parties or market speculation. We are addressing the regulatory approvals process and outstanding closing conditions," a Boeing spokeswoman said.
Embraer declined to comment.
Embraer's options should the deal fail have not been widely discussed and potential alliance partners are scarce.
Before the health scare hammered markets, some airlines had urged the EU to lift what then seemed the only serious obstacle to the deal, fearing Embraer's jetliner business would struggle on its own now that Airbus owns a competitor.
But Embraer has expressed confidence in its portfolio and continues to push hard to market its latest plane, the E195-E2, which it showcased in England this week.
Brazil’s Azul SA, the top customer for Embraer’s new line of jets, said last week it could delay some orders due to the coronavirus crisis, putting stress on the planemaker that was counting on its star customer to help market the aircraft.
