Embraer President and CEO Frederico Curado told reporters in Washington last week that keeping E-Jet production levels stable in 2010 will be "challenging" owing to the global economic downturn. "The [economic] signals we're getting are too faint to be regarded as a recovery," he explained, adding, "There's the economic downturn that affects airline demand. And then there's the [tight] financing market. We are shooting for a flattish 2010. We do have a sales challenge right now to keep our production levels stable in 2010, and 2011 is still very foggy."

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker ratcheted up his rhetoric about Boeing Friday, telling reporters ahead of a meeting with the manufacturer regarding the airline's delayed 787 program that "a lot of heads would roll" if he were running the company, according to USA Today.

Aeroflot will defer delivery of two A320-200s from the 2010 first quarter to the first quarters of 2011 and 2012 and the delivery of three A321-200s from the 2010 third quarter to the first and third quarters of 2012, it said in a statement cited by Agence France Presse. "Given the current situation on the international air transport market, the board agreed to change the delivery schedule," SU said. Jat Airways announced plans to lease two 737-700s. It already has one 737-300 and one -400 on lease. No timetable for the -700s' arrival was announced.

787's structural design problem, centered on the upper wing join area, is more complex than originally outlined by Boeing and may result in first flight being delayed until next year, engineers told The Seattle Times. One engineer with knowledge of the problem claimed that it will take "at least 3-4 months just to get something installed on the 787," while a second, familiar with Boeing's construction methods, claimed that the fix first must be installed on the nonflying test aircraft in Everett and only will be applied to flight test aircraft if proven successful.

Thai Airways Chairman Ampon Kittiampon told reporters yesterday that the airline negotiated with Airbus to delay the start of its A380 deliveries to December 2012 from late next year, Reuters reported. "We want to postpone the delivery as far as possible to reflect the current market conditions," he said. Last month, two other Thai executives told reporters that the carrier was reconsidering its order for six A380s (ATWOnline, June 10).

Boeing reported a $998 million profit in the second quarter, up 17% from the $852 million earned in the year-ago period, and said it has identified a fix to the defect in the 787's upper wing join area that led to last month's first flight postponement and will release a new schedule for the flight test program before the end of September.

EASA issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring ATR 42 and ATR 72 operators to inspect or replace within 10 days cockpit forward side windows that have accumulated more than 2,000 flight cycles. The AD, which enters effect today, follows a recent incident during which the left forward side glass window on an ATR 72-212 "blew out" during a ground pressure test, EASA stated.

Air Seychelles took delivery of its fifth 767, a GE-powered, 220-seat -300ER on lease from ILFC. Executive Chairman David Savy said the aircraft "will primarily be a backup aircraft to our fleet, and also will assist during heavy maintenance checks of other aircraft so as to avoid costly leases. In the eventuality of opening up new routes, it will be able to assist and also add capacity when needed in peak times."