Fewer commercial and executive jets were delivered in the second quarter of 2020 than in any given second quarter of previous years, Embraer’s press release admits.
Brazilian company delivered just four commercial aircraft: two E190-E2s and two E175-E1s, one of them being the commemorative 1,600th E-jet received by Helvetic Airways, as well as 13 executive jets. The numbers stand in stark contrast with 24 commercial and 26 executive jet deliveries in Q2 2019.
Poor performance is blamed on COVID-19 pandemic, as Brazil remains one of the most heavily affected countries worldwide.
Embraer’s order backlog stands at $15.4 billion as of June 30, a decrease from $15.9 billion at the end of Q1. Most of it is comprised of Helvetic Airways order of eight E190-E2s and four recently upgraded E195-E2s, as well as purchase rights for further twelve E-jets. Another customer is Congo Airways with their order of two E190-E2s and purchase rights for two more.
The company is also set to deliver 25 C-390 Millennium multimission medium airlifters to Brazilian Air Force, in addition to one unit delivered in Q2 2020 and two in 2019.
The first delivery of Embraer’s new enhanced Phenom 300E also happened this quarter, along with other eight light and four large business jets, reflecting the relatively smaller impact of the pandemic on the executive aircraft market.
Recent Q2 reports by Boeing and Airbus show the same trend of low delivery and diminishing order numbers, as the industry struggles to cope.