Chinese joint venture Harbin Embraer rolled out and flew the first ERJ-145 to be produced in China under the manufacturing licence, on 16 December. Harbin Embraer was formed in early 2003 by Embraer and two companies controlled by China's AVIC II entity. Launch customer for the aircraft has yet to be named although Sichuan Airlines - which already operates five Brazilian-built ERJ-145s - has been tipped to take the jet. Facilities in China have been refurbished and re-equipped to handle the manufacturing process.
Source: Flight International
