Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer faces the same type of supply chain slowdown that has impacted Boeing's 737 production and led Airbus to consider slowing A320neo deliveries.
Suppliers' delays have impacted Embraer's deliveries of first-generation E-Jets – not E2s – but issues are being resolved, Embraer Commercial Aircraft vice-president of marketing Rodrigo Silva e Souza says on 22 August.
"Yes, we had some delays in some deliveries, but… we are recovering from that, and we don’t see our guidance for the year, in terms of deliveries, being affected," he says. "We see signs of recovery, so we believe the issues are being addressed properly."
Embraer aims to deliver 85 to 95 commercial aircraft in 2018, including five to ten E190-E2s, it has said.
The company delivered three E190-E2s this year, all to Norwegian carrier Wideroe, according to FlightGlobal's Fleets Analyzer database.
"We are seeing, globally speaking, problems typically with engine and interior suppliers," Souza says. "We have been working with our suppliers," he adds.
He declines to discuss supply problems in detail, though insists supplier issues have not slowed deliveries of E190-E2s, which are powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1900G turbofans.
Zodiac Aerospace, which supplies seats for Embraer's first generation E-Jet, has garnered negative headlines in recent years for struggling to produce sufficient quantities of seats and other cabin products.
A joint company formed by Embraer and Zodiac called EZ Air makes the E2's interior components in Mexico.
An industrywide supply chain bottleneck became acute in recent years as the largest aircraft manufacturers – Airbus and Boeing – significantly hiked production.
Some suppliers, notable interior products providers and engine makers, struggled to keep up. Engine makers have also faced technical issues with new-generation engines.
In early August Boeing chief financial officer Greg Smith said during an investor conference that deliveries from Spirit AeroSystems and CFM International were behind schedule and would not catch up until the fourth quarter.
Spirit makes 737 fuselages and CFM, a joint GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines, makes CFM56 engines for 737NGs and Leap-1B powerplants for 737 Max.
In addition, Airbus had considered, but decided against, slowing A320neo production due to engine problems, the company's commercial aircraft president Guillaume Faury said in July.
Airbus suspended deliveries earlier this year of A320neos powered by PW1100G engines while P&W worked to address a high-pressure compressor problem.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
