BEIJING - Empresa
Brasileira de Aeronautica SA (Embraer), which has
a venture in China to assemble regional aircraft,
said orders have not matched expectations as the
country's airlines focus on bigger passenger
planes.
The world's fourth-largest
commercial plane maker and its Chinese partner
have won orders for 16 ERJ 145 planes since the
venture started in 2002, Frederico Curado,
Embraer's executive
vice
president for civil aircraft sales, said. He did
not give details on Embraer's target for the
venture.
"We certainly expected when we
launched the venture a few years ago that the
market would develop faster," Curado told
reporters at the Asian Aerospace 2006 in
Singapore. The venture will face a "commercial
challenge" after mid-2007 when it completes
deliveries of aircraft on its order backlog, he
said.
Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil-based
Embraer won orders for five of its 50-seat ERJ 145
planes in China last year, when airlines bought
238 single-aisle planes from Airbus SAS and Boeing
Co. China's focus on larger planes has led to a
shortage of pilots, hurting sales of regional
aircraft, Curado said.
Embraer is
committed to the venture as China's efforts to
develop its remote areas, where airlines don't
operate regular services now, will increase demand
for regional planes, Curado said.
Airlines
worldwide will need 7,950 planes with 30 to 120
seats in the next two decades, Embraer said. The
planes have a total value of US$180 billion. China
and other Asian countries will need 1,000
aircraft, or 13% of the global total, Embraer
said.
The plane maker has 13 customers in
the Asia Pacific region, operating a total of 55
aircraft, Embraer said. Hong Kong Express Airways
Ltd and India's Paramount Airways Pvt are Asian
operators of the Embraer 170, one of four bigger
models that Embraer is offering to broaden its
product range.
By 2025, China alone will
need 590 planes, of which 410 will be for aircraft
that can carry more than 60 people, according to
Embraer's forecast. The company's venture with
State-owned China Aviation Industry Corp II makes
the ERJ 135, 140 and 145 planes.
