Embraer signs with Flexjet for US$1.4 billion deal
Embraer announced that it has signed a purchase agreement with Flexjet for a fleet of Embraer business jets, which includes the recently certified Praetor jets and the Phenom 300. The announcement was made at the 2019 National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas and is valued at US$1.4 billion at current list prices. With the signing of the deal, Flexjet becomes Embraer’s Praetor fleet launch customer. “We are very grateful for Flexjet’s renewed commitment to Embraer through this new agreement, which reflects the growth and the strength of our partnership over the past 16 years and symbolizes our ongoing support for their journey ahead,” said Michael Amalfitano, president and CEO for Embraer Executive Jets.
The partnership between Embraer and Flexjet dates back to 2003, when Flight Options, which merged with Flexjet in 2015, became the first fractional ownership programme to introduce the Legacy Executive jet into its fleet. Flight Options introduced the Phenom 300 into its fractional programme in 2010, receiving Embraer’s 100th milestone Phenom 300 in 2012, the first year in which the aircraft became the best-selling light jet. For the seventh consecutive year, the Phenom 300 has been the most delivered light business jet, according to GAMA (General Aviation Manufacturers Association). Also according to GAMA data, the Phenom 300 was the only business jet to reach the mark of 500 deliveries in the last decade.
Flexjet became the first fractional provider to offer the Legacy 500, in September 2015. In fact, Flexjet took delivery of Embraer’s 1,000th executive jet, a Legacy 500, in April 2016. The Legacy 450 joined the Legacy 500 in Flexjet’s Red Label fleet in August of that year, and both models became the first fly-by-wire Flexjet aircraft, offering performance and capabilities of larger aircraft with midsize economics.
The Praetor 500 and the Praetor 600, both of which have received FAA, EASA and ANAC certifications less than one year after they were first announced at NBAA-BACE 2018, are the most technologically advanced aircraft in their categories. The Praetor 500 surpassed certification goals, achieving an intercontinental range of 3,340 nautical miles (6,186 km) with four passengers and NBAA IFR Reserves. The Praetor 500 is the farthest- and fastest-flying midsize jet, capable of true North America corner-to-corner, nonstop flights, such as Miami to Seattle or Los Angeles to New York. Its sibling, the Praetor 600, is the farthest-flying super-midsize jet in the world, capable of nonstop flights from Paris to New York or São Paulo to Miami. With four passengers and NBAA IFR Reserves, the Praetor 600 has intercontinental range of 4,018 nautical miles (7,441 km).
