Finnair is facing up to three months' delay to its Embraer 190 deliveries, although the Brazilian manufacturer is striving to tackle its production backlog.
Last year Embraer fell 15 aircraft short of its 145-strong delivery target. It is seeking to get back on track by the end of 2007 through a 30% production ramp-up, which will take it to 165-170 deliveries this year.
"The aim is to recover that in 2007. It is challenging, but doable," says Embraer chief executive Frederico Fleury Curado.
Finnair is a victim of the shortfall. The airline's assistant vice-president for fleet management Maunu Visuri says that Embraer "had problems at the end of last year and now we are facing delays of one to two months per aircraft. Embraer has kept us well informed."
Visuri says that Finnair is unhappy about the situation, but "can manage". He adds: "They expect to catch up the delay in 2007 so they are back on track next year. For Finnair eight aircraft will be delayed by between one and three months."
Curado says he hopes that by the second half of this year, in this semester, we will be back on schedule.
Source: Flight International
