Tue, Sep 30, 2008
Global Credit Crisis May Hit Smaller Manufacturers Hard
The International Air Transport Association predicts the
world's airlines will lose a total of $5.2 billion this year, and
Airbus alone says up to 27 percent of its order backlog may be at
risk. What does this mean for manufacturers of smaller
airliners?
Embraer, the world's third-largest manufacturer of commercial
jets behind Airbus and Boeing, was quoted Monday by Reuters as
saying none of its customers have cancelled orders yet. The
Brazilian company is sticking with its projections of between 195
and 200 deliveries of its popular regional jets during 2008.
Company president and CEO Frederico Fleury Curado told a media
briefing in Singapore yesterday that the availability of credit is
the biggest risk.
"We see signals that the customers' financing options are
getting scarce," he said. "But so far we have had no direct impact.
If this crisis goes on longer and deeper, then everyone will be
affected. But we will have to wait and see."
Fleury Curado added that the credit crunch is affecting airlines
the most. "We're seeing less impact on our business jets as those
individuals and corporations that we target have easier access to
credit, unlike the airlines."
One potential order on Embraer's short list may prove to be an
omen. The planemaker is still in negotiations to sell several of
its larger E-Jets to Aerolineas Argentinas, despite that carrier's
widely publicized financial straits.
Embraer very much wants to build an assembly plant in Argentina,
and hopes to sell the Argentine government about two-dozen Embraer
190s for the nation's two flag carriers, Aerolineas and
Austral.
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