July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA may make bigger jets to challenge Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. in the next decade if new engine technology is developed, Chief Executive Officer Frederico Curado said.

``If there is a huge change in the structure of the dynamics of this market, we will certainly look into that,'' Curado said in an interview in Paris.

Airbus and Boeing, the world's biggest commercial aircraft- makers, are expected to start making replacement models for their best-selling A320 and 737 planes in the next decade. Embraer, based in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, could challenge rivals with a large single-aisle jet, Curado said.

Embraer will wait for new engine technology before considering bigger planes, the CEO said in an interview July 13. A decision now would be ``premature'' because ``there'd be no sense bringing to the market a product that will be similar to existing products.''

The 737 is the world's most popular short- to medium-range jet, winning Chicago-based Boeing more than 6,700 orders since the first flight in 1967. The 737-900ER version can carry as many as 215 passengers. Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, has won about 3,200 orders for the A320 series, which seats up to 220 people.

``A new engine technology, whatever it is, could be available by sometime in 2015 or 2016,'' Curado said. ``Until we have this new engine technology, I don't see Embraer making any new decision about our program.''

Embraer's biggest current offering is the 118-seat Embraer 195, part of the E-Jet family. Demand for the medium-range E-Jets allowed the company to surpass Bombardier Inc. of Canada as the third-largest producer of commercial aircraft.

Curado, 45, became chief executive officer in April. An aeronautical engineer, Curado had been Embraer's executive vice president for eight years, leading expansion in Asia by setting up operations in Singapore and China.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Alloway in London at talloway@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 16, 2007 06:46 EDT