In the wake of its announcements that it will introduce two new executive aircraft next year, Embraer (ERJ) said the 30- to 60-seat market has matured but will continue to play a significant role in North American and European air transportation and will develop markets in China, Mexico and Russia. (RAN, November 20, p.3) Larger equipment, the 61- to 90-seat equipment will continue the natural growth for regionals on high-demand, 50-seat routes as well as help in replacing aging aircraft. Finally, the 91- to 120-seaters will be used to help airlines match aircraft capacity to market demand through aging aircraft replacement, right-sizing narrow-body routes with excess capacity and low-cost-carrier expansion into mid-sized markets.

The company predicted a need for 7,500 regional jets between 2007 and 2026 in the 30- to 120-seat range but indicated the industry will continue to move toward larger equipment.

Executive jet forecasts for the period grew to 11,115. The value of the orders for the two segments is pegged at $220 billion and $169 billion, respectively. The company predicted manufacturers would deliver 3,050 regional jets by 2016 and the remaining 4,450 from 2017 to 2026.

The forecast of the value grew $40 billion for regional jets and $25 billion for executive jets since last year's forecast. ERJ 170/190s are now at eight per month but Embraer expects to increase production to 12 per month next year and 14 per month in 2008.

Deliveries next year for all segments of its business are expected to be between 160 and 165 aircraft and, for 2008, between 195 and 205. It is also implementing new production methods for the Phenom jets to achieve efficiencies that will result in producing between 17 and 22 per month. Its 2008 delivery schedule includes 15 to 20 Phenoms beginning in the second half.

The company noted demand shifting to non-traditional markets in Eastern Europe and Latin America. It anticipates 70 executive aircraft will be sold to Russia by year end and the Middle East would experience a 5.2 percent growth since 2000. Meanwhile, Asia experienced a 50 percent increase in deliveries in 2005 alone as Eastern Europe's growth rate jumped 19.1 percent.

It noted that premium travelers are underserved by the airlines owing to massive route abandonment since 2001 and higher door-to-door travel times with the increased hassle factor driving a demand for more executive jets. Meanwhile the costs for branded charter, new business models and air taxis in this market has plummeted as commercial travel has increased. What is now a $27 billion industry will grow to nearly $40 billion in 2016 driven largely by very light jets.

Finnair Complets ERJ-190 Order

Finnair confirmed its four remaining options for Embraer (ERJ) ERJ 190s of the initial order placed in July 2004. The total value of the deal comes to US$135 million. Finnair initially placed an order for 12 ERJ 170s, plus eight options convertible to other models of the E-Jets family. When completed, the Finnair E-Jets fleet will consist of ten ERJ 170 and ten ERJ 190 jets. Finnair's 190 E-Jets are configured to accommodate up to 100 passengers and are schedule for deliveries to begin this month. This aircraft comes from the conversion of two firm ERJ 170 jet orders into ERJ 190s, as announced in December 2005.

In other news Embraer announces that R駩onal Compagnie A鲩enne Europ饮ne took delivery of its first Embraer 190 E-Jet on November 23. R駩onal's 190 is configured with 100 seats in single-class. It will be operated by the airline on both its French and intra-European networks. R駩onal was created in March 2001 with the merger of Flandre Air, Proteus Airlines and Regional Airlines. Its network serves around 20 French cities and 30 other European cities through 400 daily flights. The airline, headquartered in Nantes, operates 65 aircraft, including 46 from Embraer (28 ERJ 145, nine ERJ 135, and nine EMB 120 Brasilia), and has two maintenance sites - Clermont-Ferrand and Lille. R駩onal is a 100% subsidiary of the Air France Group and has 1,800 employees. It also delivered Copa Airlines' fifth ERJ 190AR.

Source: Embraer

Source: Embraer