NetJets Buying Up to 125 Phenoms

NetJets (Booth No. 170), the largest player in the fractional-jet-share business, has signed an agreement to purchase 50 Phenom 300 light jets from Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. The Berkshire Hathaway-owned NetJets, based in Columbus, Ohio, has an option to buy 75 additional Phenom 300s, which could bring the deal's total value to more than $1 billion (U.S.) at current list prices, according to Embraer. NetJets chairman and CEO David Sokol wouldn't say when his company will make a decision regarding the optioned jets but declared, "It is our hope to buy them all."