Embraer had the worst order and delivery performance since the introduction of its commercial jets in 1996. Only 5 aircraft were delivered in the first quarter of 2020, three E175-E1 for American Airlines, one E190-E2 for Helvetic Airways and one E195- E2 for Azul Linhas Aereas, ordered by lessor AerCap.
Until March, the Brazilian manufacturer had not closed any new orders for its commercial aircraft line. However, the company lost an order for 15 E175 jets and 15 options that were listed for an undisclosed customer.
Embraer’s backlog dropped to 318 aircraft, 151 of them from the new E2 family, which had no cancellations this quarter. This is the lowest number of aircraft to be delivered in the last five years. According to planemaker, these orders amount to $15.9 billion, a decrease of $900 million compared to 2019.
In its statement, Embraer blames the process of creating the joint venture with Boeing and which failed, as one of the causes of the poor performance. “Embraer seasonally has fewer deliveries during the first quarter of the year, and in 2020 in particular, the commercial aircraft deliveries in the first quarter were also negatively impacted by the conclusion of the separation of Embraer’s Commercial Aviation unit in January,” said the company.
In the first quarter of 2019, Embraer had delivered 11 jets, ten of them of the E175 model, the company’s most popular. The volume had already been the lowest since 2016 when 21 aircraft were delivered. Embraer delivered nine other business planes, including five Phenom 330, one Praetor 500 and three Praetor 600.
