China Eastern Airlines Wuhan to buy Five ERJ 145s

China Eastern Airlines Wuhan's board of directors has approved the acquisition of five 50-seat ERJ 145 LR aircraft from Harbin Embraer, fulfilling the last required formality for the sales contract to take effect.

Deliveries of these aircraft will occur between November 2006 and June 2007. The deal will add to the five ERJ 145s previously acquired by China Eastern Airlines Jiangsu, and bring to ten the total number of ERJ 145 jets in China Eastern’s regional fleet.

Harbin Embraer is a joint venture established between Embraer and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) in 2002. With 180 employees, this facility is capable of producing up to 24 50-seat aircraft per year.

Harbin Embraer has delivered six ERJ 145s to China Southern Airlines and three to China Eastern Airlines Jiangsu. In 2006, two more deliveries to China Eastern Airlines Jiangsu are expected.

Embraer forecasts Chinese demand for 590 jets in the 30 to 120-seat category in the coming 20 years, with China accounting for seven percent of estimated global aircraft deliveries in this segment.

Currently, there are 18 Embraer jets flying in China, including 14 ERJ 145s, three EMBRAER 170s and one Legacy 600 business jet.

To support the company’s expanding customer base in China, an emerging market with considerable growth potential, Embraer set up one spare parts center in Beijing and one Full Flight Simulator for the ERJ 145 family in Zhuhai, under the administration of China Southern Airlines.

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