Looking Back: Embraer

December 2016

Embraer Executive Jets delivered the first Legacy 450 assembled at its Melbourne, Florida plant. The fly-by-wire midsize jet was delivered to an undisclosed U.S. customer, who traded up from an Embraer Phenom 300. At this time, a second Legacy 450 was on the Melbourne assembly line and was scheduled for delivery to its customer in this year's first quarter.

Embraer announced it was expecting a slight dip in the market worldwide and relatively flat growth in the Middle East in 2017, with stronger growth not coming until after 2018.  Claudio Camelier, v-p of sales, Asia-Pacific, said Embraer expects 8,400 jets valued at $244 billion will be delivered from 2017 through 2026. The Middle East is expected to account for 2 percent of the world market during the forecast period and 3 percent of the value.

February 2017

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) named the Embraer Phenom 300 the best-selling business jet. It beat the number-two seller—the super-midsize Bombardier Challenger 350—by just one shipment. Overall, the company logged 63 deliveries in 2016.

Embraer tapped business aviation finance veteran Michael Amalfitano as the president and CEO of its Melbourne, Florida-based executive jets business unit. Amalfitano joined Embraer with 35 years of experience in business aircraft finance, having held several leadership positions at equipment leasing companies such as Stonebriar Commercial Finance, Banc of America Leasing, Fleet Capital and GE Capital.

March 2017

Embraer predicted its business jet deliveries for 2017 will remain largely on par with, if not down slightly from, the 2016 results. Officials placed the deliveries in a range of between 105 and 125 for the year.

April 2017

Embraer reported in April that it delivered 33 aircraft in the first quarter of 2017—18 commercial airliners and 15 executive jets. The figures represented a 25 percent drop compared with the 44 aircraft delivered in the same period of 2016 (21 commercial jets and 23 executive jets). As of March 31, Embraer’s firm order backlog was valued $19.2 billion, 12 percent down on the $21.9 billion figure for the first quarter of 2016.

Embraer Executive Jets handed over the 400th Phenom 300 from its Melbourne, Florida facility. The milestone light jet, S/N 400, went to EliteJets, a new Naples, Florida-based charter firm that planned to start on-demand service in May. EliteJets also took delivery of another Phenom 300, S/N 403 at the same time, bringing its all-Embraer fleet to four of the light jets and one Legacy 500.

Embraer Executive Jets delivered the first Phenom 100EV to an undisclosed U.S. customer. The aircraft, which was announced at EAA AirVenture in 2016, is an upgraded Phenom 100 with a Prodigy Touch flight deck based on the Garmin G3000 and more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F1-E engines.

May 2017

Embraer delivered its 1,100th business jet in May, some 15 years after delivering the first Legacy 600. The milestone aircraft—a Phenom 300—was handed over to fractional provider NetJets at Embraer Executive Jets’s customer delivery center in Melbourne on May 5.

Embraer Executive Jets appointed JF Service its new authorized service center for Legacy 450s and 500s in Russia. The Moscow-based company will support operators of Embraer midsize jets with local and EASA registrations. The company also reported that the FAA approved Embraer Executive Jet Services at Paris Le Bourget as a Part 145 repair station.

At EBACE, Embraer announced that German air charter operator Air Hamburg became the launch customer for the Legacy 650E when it inked a $77.7 million (€69 million) order for three of the super-midsize business jets. The company also announced that deliveries will begin in the third quarter.

July 2017

Embraer flew its first Legacy 500 midsize jet assembled at its assembly facility in Melbourne, Florida in July, eight months after the first Legacy 450 mid-light jet assembled in Melbourne took flight. The Legacy 500 was the fourth business jet model to be assembled at Embraer’s Melbourne facility, after the Legacy 450 and Phenom 100 and 300. 

An increase in shipments of the Embraer’s larger business jets along with a surge in commercial deliveries drove a 29.5 percent jump in revenues in the second quarter even though the company’s business jet deliveries decreased compared to the same quarter last year. Overall, Embraer’s revenues increased to $1.77 billion in the second quarter, compared with $1.36 billion for the second quarter of 2016.

Embraer handed over the first of five Phenom 100s to Affinity Flight Training Services. The entry-level twinjets would be used to provide fixed-wing flight training under the UK Ministry of Defence’s Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) program. In addition to the firm orders for five Phenoms, the contract included support and options for follow-on aircraft.

August 2017

At LABACE 2017, Embraer debuted its upgraded Legacy 650, the 650E. The manufacturer created a unique paint scheme because the event marks the first time the aircraft has been displayed at any air show. The aircraft was the central feature of the static display at São Paulo’s Congonhas Airport, where LABACE was held.

September 2017

Embraer named West Star Aviation’s MRO facility at St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Illinois an authorized service center for the Embraer Legacy series. The facility can provide services for the 450, 500, 600 and 650, as well as the Lineage 1000 and 1000E bizliners.