Embraer announced its latest quarter results on Friday, with overall aircraft deliveries up 33 percent year-on-year.
The Brazilian planemaker delivered 57 aircraft in the third quarter of 2024, including 16 commercial planes and 41 private jets. Deliveries of private jets increased significantly, up over 45 percent year-on-year and more than 50 percent compared to the same three-month period last year. The Phenom 300 continues to be the top performer (18 jets), followed by the larger, much more expensive Praetor 500 and Praetor 600 (19 jets), which together comprise nearly half of all private jets delivered in the third quarter.
Commercial jet deliveries were dominated by the newer, more fuel-efficient E2 family of aircraft (12 jets), although E1 aircraft (4 jets) did see a 5-percent increase year-on-year. The commercial aircraft backlog is also up, with a new order for eight E190-E2 planes from Virgin Australia bringing the orderbook up to US$11.1 billion in the third quarter.
[See more: Brazilian planemaker Embraer sees shortfall as supply chain issues persist]
Embraer is currently the third-largest plane manufacturer in the world, behind longtime leaders Airbus and Boeing. The Brazilian planemaker specialises in smaller, narrow-body passenger planes well-suited to regional flights and known for their efficiency, reliability and passenger appeal.
While the company faces many of the same supply chain issues and growing backlogs as its larger rivals, it has managed to gain ground in recent years – including in Boeing’s backyard. SkyWest, a regional airline under US giant United, is the world’s largest operator of Embraer E175s and an order for 90 E175 aircraft from American Airlines in March will make the company’s entire regional fleet Embraer by 2030.
There was also some reporting earlier this year that the Brazilian company planned to expand into larger aircraft with a model that could compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. While Embraer played down the reports, saying it had no plans for major investments at this time, studies show that the company has the know-how and manufacturing capability to make the leap. For now, an Embraer spokesperson told Reuters, “We are really focused on selling those [existing] products and making Embraer bigger and stronger.”
