Brazilian jet manufacturer Embraer SA announced Monday that it had only delivered four commercial aircraft in the second quarter this year, compared to 26 from the same period in 2019, pointing to the ongoing global health turmoil as the reason behind the drop in orders.
The pandemic has battered the aviation industry around the globe, and its bigger competitors Boeing Co and Airbus are both having difficulties selling their aircraft. Embraer's backlog, a measure of potential sales, was pegged at $15.4 billion, a modest decrease relative to the $15.9 billion it was worth three months earlier.
The 31 planes delivered by Embraer in the first six months of the current year included nine passenger planes, down from 37 from the previous year. Among the nine passenger jets were five E175s, three next-generation E190-E2s and one E195-E2, Embraer disclosed.
The aircraft maker delivered 22 executive jets in the first six months this year, including two Phenom 100s, 12 Phenom 300s, one Legacy 650, two Praetor 500s, and five Praetor 600s, Embraer said.
While the second quarter this year was a tough one for airline companies and plane makers around the globe, Embraer did see some positive news during and after the end of the first half. It delivered its 1,600th E-Jet to Helvetic Airways. As a matter of fact, that same Helvetic Airways delivery flight even made a transatlantic record for flying. Currently, Helvetic Airways runs a fleet of 16 jets, all made by Embraer.
Much of Embraer's future at the start of 2020 revolved around the plane manufacturer's partnership agreement with Boeing in which the two giants would work on building and selling jets. In the first quarter, Embraer blamed preparations for implementing the Master Transaction Agreement as a result of falling orders.
While the company is now planning a route out of the ongoing crisis, it has not given up on its ambitions. The group believes that its planes are perfect for airline companies at the moment, and it also believes that it has a robust production program with zero cancellations. The company is even planning to build a brand new turboprop plane that could be ripe for a deal.
While the aviation market has survived many strong shocks, and often come out stronger, "the effects of the pandemic has been deeper, broader, and more damaging," Arjan Meijer, Embraer Commercial president, and chief executive officer, told FlightGlobal on July 17. Meijer, the company's former chief commercial officer, took over the top position from John Slattery last month.
