Plane Conversations

Reporting from Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, Embraer Factory

I am visiting Embraer in Brazil for the acceptance and delivery of a Phenom 100, Embraer Executive Jet. 

Serial Number 146 is poised on the floor of Hangar 300 ready for delivery to an owner in the United Kingdom.  This EMB-500 will be managed by London Executive Aviation and will initially be based at Stansted Airport about 25 miles northeast of London City.  

Although JetQuik accepts and delivers aircraft for customers around the world, the acceptance of this Phenom was accomplished by Dan Pope, an engineer from LEA.

Joining me in the delivery process is Neil Onions, a thirty-year aviation veteran and Head of Training for LEA.  Neil cut his teeth as an air traffic control engineer initially working in the Shetland Islands, and subsequently all over the UK.  He now lives in the Essex countryside among the ancient oaks, but near enough to The Butcher’s Arms to enjoy an occasional pint of bitters.

Patrick Margetson-Rushmore and George Galanopoulos, principals of LEA operate over 20 aircraft in charter and the Phenom 100 will be the 8th type joining their fleet.   As President of JetQuik I have had the pleasure of joining Patrick for several meetings both in England and Spain, where we have advocated for Executive Jet travel and for improvements in the world-wide air charter community.   Although this is the first Phenom 100 to join the LEA fleet, I am confident that more will be forthcoming.

Also growing their fleet is Corporate Flight Management in Smyrna and Nashville, Tennessee, now managing two Embraer Phenom 100s with plans to continually expand the fleet of Embraer Executive Jets.  Allen Howell, Chairman of CFM notes that they are “marvelously efficient aircraft that fulfill the need for light jets in our (CFM’s) fleet”.   Allen Howell also noted that, “Corporate Flight Management  has completed factory approved training for Phenom mechanics who help to ensure the high dispatch reliability of the Phenom 100.”

Here in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, the hangar 300 delivery facility is buzzing with activity. As I look out into the hangar from my delivery office, I see EMB 190s destined for Tianjin Airlines, TACA and jetBlue.  Out on Runway 15, an Air France by Regional EMB 170 just departed for Paris. 

The airliners in Hangar 300  are joined by six Phenom 100s and two Phenom 300s slated for delivery this week.  Much of the credit for the popularity of the Embraer Executive Jet family is due to the airline heritage that they share.  Built to airliner standards, the Phenom jets are rugged and dependable, fun to fly, and great to look at.   The latest Phenom 300 here in the hangar is a stellar example of clean sheet design and a perfect mix of beauty and practicality.

Tomorrow we begin our trip to London.  I hope that you will follow our progress as we “adventure our way” up through the Americas and over to Europe.

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Thanks to Forbes.com and Managing Editor Carl Lavin for giving business and private aviation a voice on their site.

Two weeks ago, Forbes.com started a new blog site called Wheels Up  to give a forum for conversations to those of us in the business of business aviation and to private aviators as well.

I was fortunate to be asked to contribute posts along with others including Plane Conversations and CFMCharter friends Clint White , Susan Friedenberg and new friends Jeffrey Reich,  and Jeremy R.C. Cox.

Other contributors so far include passionate private aviators Pierre de Fermor, Michelle C. Torres-Grant, and Carl Lavin weighing in from Forbes.com perspective.

This is great for our industry to get the opportunity to share our stories and engage in conversations with the Forbes readers about the value proposition of business and private aviation. Maybe we will no longer be the best kept secret?

The social media conscious people in our industry need to support Forbes efforts by promoting this new site with Tweets, Facebook and Linked In sharing of the posts, and most importantly, by engaging in the conversation through comments on the site. As we generate traffic and interest, and bring the conversation to the traveling public, we will all benefit.

From looking at the site daily it appears that we are getting some good traction and this is just the beginning.

Happy Fathers Day to all of you who are Dads. Being a father is the most important job we have! 

Have a great rest of the weekend.

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I have an interest in the development of aviation bio fuels. After riding through too many volatile price swings in aviation fuel (sometimes for reasons no one can explain),  I think it would be nice to one day wake up with some predictability in one of the majors costs to fly aircraft – fuel. And what if the solution happened to be much more carbon neutral? That would be a nice bonus!

Both General Aviation and the Airlines are subject to world price swings in fuel that can destroy profits overnight with no ability to control it on our end. The airlines who sell many seats far in advance are especially vulnerable to fuel price swings since they can not go back to the consumer and ask for more money when they have sold a seat on next months flight.

I have written a couple posts on our site about the development of bio fuels for aviation. Over the long haul this could provide an answer to the problem of price volatility. I also like the idea of our country becoming energy independent. It seems to make sense to not be reliant on other countries for a commodity that keeps the country running, especially since many of the countries we buy that commodity from are not our friends.

I have been to Brazil twice to visit the Embraer factory and on my trips I noticed that Brazil offers more choices to the consumer when you pull up to the gas station to fill your car up. On my first trip when I asked our driver about it he commented proudly that Brazil it energy independent.  The country has developed a variety of fuels for their cars and trucks including Liquid Natural Gas and Ethanol or Alcohol based fuel. They have cars that will run on multiple fuels so as not to be limited by supply of one fuel or the other.

So it does not surprise me that the country’s airlines, bio fuels producers and agricultural producers of the raw products for bio fuels have come together to form an alliance to develop bio fuels for aviation.

The blog site http://www.biomassintel.com reports on this alliance (Aliança Brasileira para Biocombustíveis de Aviação – ABRABA) in a May 20 post.

Quoting from the post:

According to a statement released by the alliance, ABRABA argues:

“The use of sustainable biofuels produced from biomass is key to maintaining the growth of the aviation industry within a low carbon economy.  The proven ability of Brazil to develop alternative energy sources, combined with its knowledge of aviation technologies, will result in a significant gain for the environment by minimizing the impact on economic development.”

The Bio Mass Intel site has a whole section on Aviation Bio fuels under the heading “Aviation 2.0” (link – . http://www.biomassintel.com/category/transportation/aviation-2-0/)  It is worth checking out.

This is part of the innovation that will be required to keep our industry sustainable into the future – both from an economic standpoint and environmentally.

Maybe our country should consider a national policy that orients development of bio fuels for aviation. I can’t see where anyone could complain about it in light of the mess we have in the Gulf of Mexico?

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Recently I was having a conversation with a Charter Operator’s team about possible ways to increase their visibility and market share.  I mentioned the use of customer testimonials as part of their advertising.  They responded, “But our customers won’t do it.  They feel like people will judge them negatively because they used a private charter.”

I haven’t been able to get that thought out of my head.

There is a stigma about general aviation- that somehow these planes are the wasteful toys of the “rich”.  To admit to flying one or utilizing one for business seems to be tantamount to admitting you have stock in Exxon, own a Hummer, or that you were involved in clear cutting a rainforest.  There’s a stigma.  And ironically it doesn’t matter if you’re flying a Cessna 172, a Cirrus, Baron, or a Phenom.  People will look sort of sideways at you and wonder if somehow you’re the clandestine “millionaire next door”

There are several things that we need to understand about “Plane Guilt” if we hope to overcome it:

The relative nature of the argument. When someone uses what is perceived as “rich toys” either for pleasure or as a part of their business, there is a judgment that happens in many people’s mind.   “Mr. Jones is so extravagant and wasteful to be using that business plane. ” And many clients/owners/operators are very aware of this stigma. The argument that aviation is simply an extravagant and wasteful tool for the wealthy is completely relative.  It’s relative based on one’s perception of affluence and wealth.  What is extravagant to one may not be to another.  In many ways Americans have blinders on and miss the fact we are, in general, an affluent people.  Consider the fact that Americans and Europeans  spend enough on ice cream and pet foods to provide  water, health, nutrition, and education for the entire planet.  Also, consider that 80% of the people on the planet live on less than $10 a day.1  Of course Americans are a generous people too.  Even in the economic hard times we are facing at home, over $200 million was raised in short order for the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. 2   But realize that this relief was only possible because we, as a people, are successful.  And never mind the crucial role, dare we mention it, that private aviation continues to play in that recovery effort.  Nonetheless, we need to understand the argument that somehow Aviation is more wasteful than something else is really to give in to a selective form of logic that ignores the larger picture.

In fact, most of the pilots I know are far from wealthy (including yours truly).   Most would fall into the middle-class.  They work hard, have families, and developed their flying hobby. Even professional pilots aren’t soaking up the dollars.  The  average salary for a new corporate pilot is $32,500.   Flight Instructors average about $25 per hour before taxes (at 30%).3  Of course these can increase with seniority, but very few are making anywhere near the six-figure income many people wrongly assume. Somehow people have gotten it into their heads that pilots and those involved in GA are wealthy (which equals ‘suspect’).   Those who work in the industry know better.  Flying has a wonderful cross-section of people.  Yes, there are celebrities and wealthy people, but by far most GA patrons and operators are not.

There are plenty of other expensive hobbies that consume thousands of dollars in discretionary income each year.  Is golf looked on with equal disdain?  What about bass-boat owners?  Or Harley-Davidson riders?  There was a time when it was a bit pretentious to have a cell phone (remember when they came in those gigantic brief-case-sized bags?)  Not that long ago to have more than one car or a flat-screen television was a sign of excess.  But times, and stigmas can change.

The Expense of Charter? Charter flying can be expensive.  But it can also be surprisingly affordable.  As I was working on this article I looked at what the cost difference was between airline and charter flights for a trip from Evansville, Indiana to Atlanta.  The average price for the airline ticket was $800.  The charter price was around $780 in a modest Cessna 310.  For a bit more speed, a King Air was $944.  Jet service in a  BeechJet was $1300.  This illustrates the idea that charter can be had for less than most people realize.  Perhaps that would be worth the cost to avoid the hassle and extra fees of today’s airline travel.

But it’s the perception, right?

Overcoming the Stigma by Stories How can we overcome the stigma of Charter/Corporate flying?  We tend to argue from the statistical side, particularly the cost and relative affordability of flying.  But there’s one critical feature missing: emotion.  People often pay for a good or service because of emotion and perceived value.  One of the most effective means of doing this is through the use of stories.

Aviation needs a Jared.

When Jared Fogle was a junior in college he weighed a whopping 425 pounds.  His father, a doctor, warned him of his weight and the dangers it posed to his health.  After his roommate noticed signs of edema (fluid retention that can lead to diabetes) Jared decided to get serious about losing weight.  He discovered Subway’s new line of low-fat sandwiches and developed his own diet based on eating one veggie sub for lunch and a turkey sub for dinner.  The rest is history and marketing genius by storytelling.  Most of us have seen Jared’s commercials and know that dropped to 180lbs.  The story caught on, despite the initial resistance of Subway’s marketing firm.

In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath make the point that this serendipitous campaign contains all the things necessary to be successful and “sticky”.  It is simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and given by a story.  They note, “Inspiration drives action, as does stimulation.” Later they note the surprise in the story, “[Jared's story] violates our schema of fast food…the guy who wore 60-inch pants is giving us diet advice!” (Heath and Heath, p222)

Can we find a story like Jared’s?  We need a story that violates the schema, the stigma, currently popular about flying.  Aviation has tended to depend on celebrities to make its case.  That has its advantages.  But perhaps a far more effective and change-inducing idea is to find the “ordinary person” who is utilizing and benefiting from charter aviation and has the courage to tell their story.

Because, we have a story worth telling.  Can we find our Jared?

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When we started our flight school, Wings of Eagles, ten years ago, we were looking for a new trainer that would be efficient, safe and fun to fly. We wanted to do something different and reach a different market of people interested in learning to fly by offering new aircraft with the latest technology.

At that time, most flight schools were using 20-year-old Cessna 152s and 172s as their primary trainers. I learned to fly in those aircraft and there’s nothing wrong with learning to fly in a 20 year old trainer; but, it is not the most inspiring sight.  When you are thinking about learning to fly, you’re not looking for an aircraft that has a worn down paint job, a ratty interior, and radios from a different era of electronics.  You’re looking for an aircraft that looks like the future, which is why we chose the Da-20 Katana because it represented just that – the future. When the Da-40 Diamond Star came out we were in line and bought one of the first ones made – serial number 42.

Through the last ten years, these aircraft have proven to be great trainers: so, we have kept Diamond Da-20s and Da-40s in the mix, even  as we have upgraded the fleet.

Like all general aviation aircraft manufacturers, Diamond has had a rough ride in the past two years, but they have hung in there, and now it looks like they are on the verge of some new, innovative aircraft that will keep them in the future game of private and general aviation. 

A post on Flight Global this past week written by Flight International’s Kate Sarsfield of Flight International says that Diamond Aircraft has secured an investor to help them complete the certification of the D-jet.

This is great news for the industry. There is room between the high performance piston aircraft (Cirrus) and the new light jets (Embraer Phenom and Cessna Mustang) for a single engine jet primarily focused at the market of owner-flown aircraft buyers.  

At a price of 1.9 million, which is roughly half of the Phenom 100, and nearly 1 million less than the TBM850, this aircraft would be positioned well in the market to sell.

Kate Sarsfield also mentions other innovations and product offerings that Diamond is working on:

Dries (CEO of Diamond) admitted at the show that Diamond has been forced to diversify its product line and widen its target market to “survive the economic downturn.” A number of projects are in the works, including: 

• Designing wing spar boxes for the Russian MC-21 airliner, which is set for service entry in 2017.
• Building a Mercedes-based V-6 turbo diesel engine for the DA50 DiamondStar piston single
• Designing and building a “future small aircraft” powered by twin turbo diesels. The six-seat variant will have twin 270hp (200kW) engines, while the eight-seat model will have two 400hp engines. Both aircraft will have fly-by-wire controls, an automatic landing system for use in case of pilot incapacitation and be available in pressurised and unpressurised versions.

• Developing two new V-8 turbo diesels – one with 350hp and the other with 550hp.
• Developing a light aircraft driven by a hybrid combination of a 55hp Wankel rotary engine and a 40-50kW electrical motor. Dries said an aircraft will make its debut at next year’s show.

Meanwhile, Diamond has European approval for its 170hp AE300 Austro engine powered DA40 piston single – now called the DA40NG.

Much of what is mentioned has to do with diesel engine technology for aviation. The diesel technology will eventually catch on in a big way for two reasons:

1. The supply of aviation gasoline is limited in most parts of the world and will probably not get better, but here is always an available supply of jet fuel and eventually a bio jet fuel will be on the market.
2. The diesel engine is more economical and eventually will be more reliable.

 So, hats off to Diamond for being forward-thinking and innovative.

 I look forward to seeing the D-jet and diesel variants of the Da-40 and Da-42 Twin star flying here in the US.

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And still delivering aircraft at a good pace….

Our company started operating the new Embraer Phenom 100 in November 2009. We now have two Phenom 100s in our fleet and have delivered six more to owner/ operators in the United States and Europe.

The new very light jet has had a few growing pains with reliability issues, mostly centered on the software that drives the diagnostics systems, but all in all it is a great aircraft. These type issues are typical of a new design aircraft in the first year and we expect that with the support being offered by Embraer, it will be a productive and efficient addition to our fleet.

Over the past few months, I have written several posts about Embraer and what they are doing in the business jet market.  Based on the March 19, Bloomberg online article by Fabiola Moura and Robin Stringer, it looks as though Embraer is still on track to become a world competitor in the business jet market while maintaining a strong position in the airline market as well. Excerpts from the article below state that they will deliver 137 business jets in 2010,  which is impressive in this economy.

Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA, the world’s fourth-largest aircraft maker climbed the most in two months after fourth-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates, boosted by a record delivery of 91 planes.

Embraer, as the Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil-based company is known, reaffirmed its 2010 forecast of $5 billion in net revenue and said it had a fourth-quarter profit of 167.5 million reais ($93 million). The 23 centavos a share profit compares with a loss of 40.5 million reais, or 5 centavos a share, under Brazilian accounting standards, a year earlier, Embraer said in a statement posted on its Web site yesterday.

Commercial aviation will make up $2.6 billion of sales this year, Embraer said. Executive aviation will provide $1.1 billion, with the remainder of its $5 billion forecasted net revenue coming from defense and other businesses.

Embraer aims to deliver 227 aircraft in 2010, including 90 commercial jets and 137 executive planes, and said it will invest $300 million in its operation this year.

The company’s backlog of airplane orders dropped to 265 last year from 400 in 2007. The company doesn’t expect plane orders to return to those levels until 2013, Executive Vice President Mauro Kern said in an interview last month.

This is a tough economy for aviation at all levels of the supply chain and especially for the manufacturers. Profitability in aircraft manufacturing takes tough decisions about overhead and costs control while still maintaining a competitive edge with investment in product development for the long future. I do not envy the leadership of this company managing in this economy.

Interestingly, as positive as the business jet delivery numbers are, because of fewer regional jet orders, the company does not see a return to 2007 aircraft delivery levels until 2013.

I would agree with that forecast.  Based on what I see happening right now, there are buyers for new aircraft and used aircraft, but the demand is nothing like it was three years ago. There is still a glut in the market of used aircraft and the prices have been depressed to the point where buyers must be looking more at used versus new. In the three decades I have been in this business, I have never seen used aircraft prices fall so hard.  Until the inventory levels of aircraft for sale drops significantly, the industry cannot see a recovery to the levels we have seen in the past.

The manufacturers who continue to innovate in product design and efficiency while controlling costs to deliver a better aircraft at a lower price point will be the winners over the long haul. It seems the guys at Embraer have that figured out so far.  If you’d like to see it for yourself and are in the Nashville, Tennessee, area on Wednesday, March 31, join us at the John C. Tune airport between 3:00 and 7:00 PM for an Open House, featuring the Embraer Phenom 300.

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I read this article in the Chicago Tribune, Another East Coast storm grounds planes, although cancellations likely fewer than prior storm, and it made me glad that I’m not working at the ticket counter anymore. 

It was 14 March 1993 and I was working in Lexington, KY.  I remember the date because our flights were all full or oversold due to the sold out SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, held that year at Rupp Arena downtown.  We all anticipated a challenging Sunday with lots of passengers and bags.  What we did not anticipate was the Storm of the Century.  Because of the treacherous roads, most of our agents couldn’t even get to work that day; so, if I remember correctly, about seven of us worked from 5:30 in the morning until about 11 PM, working flight after flight with the occasional snowball fight in between. Because of conditions at the hubs, most other airlines were grounded. Nashville was operational; so, we loaded up our little Jetstreams and off they went, mostly on time. 

On another day, tornadoes were in the area.  The passengers were already on the aircraft when a tornado was actually spotted.  Everyone deplaned and went to secure areas inside.  One passenger complained the whole way in about missing her connection.  In the list of our priorities, keeping her from harm came before making her connection.

One afternoon, we were about three minutes late pushing off the gate.  The aircraft went out to the taxiway, then came right back to the gate.  It seemed that a small aircraft was on final approach and was unable to extend their landing gear.  They were coming in gear up, which meant that, at best, they’d slide along the runway, closing it for a period of time.  That is what actually happened.  The aircraft was severely damaged, but no one was hurt.  The runway was closed for two or three hours.  One passenger complained loudly that if we had left on-time, they would not have been help up be this delay.  The truth of the matter is, that three minutes made no difference.  The airport was already preparing for this emergency arrival. 

I often talk about how much less stressful and efficient travel is on a private aircraft as opposed to an airliner, and, in  most cases, that holds true.  However, snow and ice hold the same problems for a Gulfstream wing that they hold for an Airbus wing.  Runway closures park Cirrus SR-22s as surely as it does Boeing 747s.

Delays and cancellations because of field conditions or weather are almost as much a pain for airline employees as they are for stranded passengers.  There is absolutely no way the agents can fix the situations, either.  From behind the counter, we always understood the frustration of the passengers who had somewhere they needed to be.  They often saw the gate or ticket agent as the impediment between them and their final destination.  The natural reaction in a situation like that is to try to remove the impediment.  However, verbally attacking or insulting the agent doesn’t work.  In fact, it is likely to completely shut down an agent who might otherwise have helped you.

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VIP is an acronym used often to describe Very Important People or those that, for some reason or another, are more important than other people. It is most associated with music stars, sports stars and the rich. But, let’s face, it: We all want the VIP treatment. It makes us feel special or important. And feeling very important? Well, that’s really cool.

 More than VIPs, I like the idea of MIPs. Most Important People. Who are the MIPs in our lives? Family first, best friends, and coworkers who are also friends.  We like spending time with our MIPs. When we are away from our them, we can hardly wait to get back to them.

 So for all of you Road Warriors, you business travelers I see in airports all the time with wearied expressions on your faces and Smart Phones in your hands, what is it worth to you to get more time with your MIPs?

With all the negative things that have been said and written about riding around in business jets (could be a propeller aircraft, as well)  – about the costs and luxury, the one thing the critics always fail to mention is the time private jet travel saves. Time - that finite resource we all possess and want to maximize.

 With travel by business aircraft you get security, privacy and, most importantly, you get time. Time not wasted in an airline terminal can be spent with your MIPs.

 So, like a lot of things we spend money on, methods of travel have different values to different people. If you don’t travel and like to stay home then a private jet doesn’t bring much value.  You are less likely to understand why anyone would spend that much money using that mode of transportation. But if you have been financially successful, you do travel and the your market values you highly, then you are more likely to understand the value proposition.

 As I have said in other posts, the way our industry will continue to grow is to find ways to bring the costs down so that more people can take advantage of the value proposition that we can provide.

For all of you road warriors out there riding on the airlines every week, going to sell your product, meeting your vendors any doing everything else you must do to grow your businesses, you deserve to get more time back – just like Oprah or any other VIP does.  To get that time back, you don’t have to ride around in a Gulfstream jet (even though it would be nice to do so). If  time is what you are looking for, then your options are numerous. You can charter an aircraft or you can learn to fly, renting or buying a small aircraft to get around. Flying yourself compares to using air mass-transit like driving your car compares to taking the bus.  In some cases riding the bus saves time (when you are in big city traffic) but in other cases driving yourself is more efficient.  Or maybe there isn’t even a bus to ride and driving the car is the only way.  It works much the same with airplanes.  In a lot of cases, the time savings of flying yourself versus flying on air mass-transit ultimately translates to monetary savings.

On one end of our business spectrum sits the Gulfstream G550 business jet and on the other end sits the small Cessna or Cirrus propeller aircraft.  The Gulfstream that requires years of piloting experience, but the Cessna and Cirrus can be flown by anyone who takes the time and effort to learn to fly. In between are a world of options that make sense at levels where the value of your time increases.

At the end of the day, the goal is to spend more time with your MIPs; so, I say go take a look at what our industry has to offer to help you achieve this goal. If you have to travel there is no other device invented yet that can save your time like the private aircraft.

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As of yesterday afternoon Embraer’s Phenom 300 gained full certification by the United States Federal Aviation Administration. This follows the Brazilian’s counterpart to the FAA – ANAC certification that happened a short two weeks ago.

I posted some of the basic performance numbers on December 8 when I said that I believe this aircraft will be a game changer for the charter industry over the next few years. Excellent performance, low operating costs and hopfefully the reliability that Embraer has been able to achieve in the airline world will make this aircraft an industry work horse for a long time to come.

Two, clean sheet design, new generation jets (Phenom 100 and Phenom 300) certified, in production and being delivered in the past 13 months is a pretty good launch into the world business jet market.

Congratulations to Embraer on US Certification of the Phenom 300!

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Tall and tan and young and lovely

The girl from Ipanema goes walking

And when she passes, each one she passes goes ”a-a-ah!”

She’s not tan and she’s not from Ipanema, but she is lovely and on the evening of October 30, 2009, a group of Corporate Flight Management staffers gathered on our Smyrna (TN) Airport ramp for a first look at this new plane from Brazil, an addition to the company’s charter fleet.  And each one of us went, “a-a-ah.”  She taxied in, bringing with her an exciting new future for CFM and our entire industry.   But, before continuing with this story a brief bit of history is in order.

Over the past decade NASA and corporate aviation trade associations proposed a “clean sheet” design process for business jets.  The VLJ (Very Light Jet) would be both fuel efficient and environmentally “green.”  The quest to establish market dominance in this new technology led to intense competition among the leading designers and builders of executive aircraft.  Additionally, new players like Honda (yes, that Honda) Adam and Eclipse joined the race.  Most of the established manufacturers’ VLJ designs were primarily based on smaller and lighter versions of existing products.  Two of the new entrants proposed radical departures from conventional airframes.

And then there was the Brazilian entry.

If you have flown on commuter airlines over the past 20 years, chances are that you have logged time aboard an Embraer turboprop or regional jet.  When procuring aircraft for their fleets, airlines demand fuel efficiency, dispatch reliability, low maintenance cost and passenger satisfaction.  For decades, Brazil-based Embraer produced a series of turboprops and regional jets that exceeded every airline standard.  Brazil’s entry into the VLJ competition would be built to the same demanding standards as their airliners.  Thus were born the Phenom 100 and 300, which brings us back to CFM’s Smyrna ramp and the exciting future for us and our industry. 

You see, the aircraft that taxied up that evening was a Phenom 100, fresh from the factory and ready to begin its life with a corporate operator in the U.S.  It is one of hundreds that will be going into service in domestic and global markets.   I asked our CEO, Allen Howell, for his impression of the plane from Brazil.  And he said: 

“The Phenom series of executive jets will be real game changers for charter operators and corporate flight departments.  As we grow our charter fleet and aircraft management businesses over the next 5-10 years, Embraer Business jets will be our number one choice.”

With Embraer’s range of business jets in development and production, the story should become very exciting, indeed.  Stay tuned.

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