=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/n/a/2005/04/25/financial/= f135155D87.DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, April 25, 2005 (AP) Saudi Arabia Orders 15 Embraer Jets By ALAN CLENDENNING, AP Business Writer (04-25) 13:51 PDT SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Saudi Arabian Airlines has placed a $400 million order for 15 mid-sized jetliners made by Brazil's Embraer in the biggest purchase for the state-owned airline in a decade, the companies said Monday. Embraer, the world's fourth-largest commercial jet maker, said the contract for the purchase will be signed in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Wednesday. While the companies used the list price of the jetliners for announcing the deal's value, most airlines negotiate big discounts on major orders. But the order is the largest for the airline since 1995, when it announc= ed a $6 billion deal for much larger Boeing and McDonnell Douglas jetliners. The Embraer 170 jets will be used for domestic and short-haul regional flights in the Middle East. While the planes can carry up to 78 passengers, the version for the Saudi carrier will be configured for 66 passengers to include a six-passenger first class section. "Embraer's new jet will provide Saudi Arabian Airlines with the possibility to expand our domestic and regional aviation activity," said H.E. Dr. Khaled A. Ben-Bakr, the airline's director general. "By right-sizing our fleet with the Embraer 170, we are aiming at better serving our domestic and regional markets." The carrier will use the planes to set up regional hubs in northern and southern cities in Saudi Arabia, Ben-Bakr said. The sale is the first to a Middle Eastern airline for Embraer, whose full name is Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA. Delivery of the first Embraer 170 to the carrier is scheduled for December. Embraer, which competes with Canada's Bombardier Inc. in the regional jetliner market, expects to deliver 145 aircraft in 2005. The company delivered 148 aircraft in 2004, surpassing its forecast by three jets, and currently has a backlog of orders totaling nearly $10 billion. Analysts said the order was good news, but is not likely to translate in= to a significant uptick in business for the company. "For the long term, I think the impact is limited," said airline analyst Carlos Albano of Unibanco. "This doesn't prompt any change in Embraer's long-term expectations." In trading Monday, U.S.-traded Embraer's shares fell 11 cents to close at $29.89 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $23.20 to $35.47. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 AP