Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA, which has a venture in China to assemble regional aircraft, said orders have not matched expectations as the country's airlines focus on bigger passenger planes.

The world's fourth-largest commercial plane maker and its Chinese partner won orders for 16 ERJ 145 planes since the venture started in 2002, Frederico Curado, Embraer's executive vice president for civil aircraft sales, said. He did not give details on Embraer's target for the venture.

"We certainly expected when we launched the venture a few years ago that the market would develop faster," Curado told reporters at the Asian Aerospace 2006 in Singapore. The venture will face a "commercial challenge" after mid-2007 when it completes deliveries of aircraft on its order backlog, he said.

Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil-based Embraer won orders for five of its 50-seat ERJ 145 planes in China last year, when airlines bought 238 single-aisle planes from Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. China's focus on larger planes has led to a shortage of pilots, hurting sales of regional aircraft, Curado said.

Embraer is committed to the venture as China's efforts to develop its remote areas, where airlines don't operate regular services now, will increase demand for regional planes, Curado said.

Airlines worldwide will need 7,950 planes with 30 to 120 seats in the next two decades, Embraer said. The planes have a total value of US$180 billion. China and other Asian countries will need 1,000 aircraft, or 13 per cent of the global total, Embraer said.

The plane maker has 13 customers in the Asia Pacific region, operating a total of 55 aircraft, Embraer said. Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd and India's Paramount Airways Pvt are Asian operators of the Embraer 170, one of four bigger models that Embraer is offering to broaden its product range.

By 2025, China alone will need 590 planes, of which 410 will be for aircraft that can carry more than 60 people, according to Embraer's forecast.

The company's venture with State-owned China Aviation Industry Corp II makes ERJ 135, 140 and 145 planes.

(China Daily February 23, 2006)