OCTOBER 2014
Embraer Executive Jets breaks ground on October 9 for an expansion project at its Melbourne (Fla.) International Airport campus that will allow Legacy 450/500 assembly to begin there in the second half of 2016. The expansion features a 42,000-sq-ft hangar and 35,000-sq-ft paint shop. The company plans to deliver at least one Legacy 500 from the facility in 2016 and has a planned production capacity of six per month. At the NBAA show in Orlando, Fla., FAA deputy associate administrator John Hickey hands Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Marco Túlio Pellegrini the FAA Part 25 type certificate for the fly-by-wire Legacy 500. Up to six Legacy 500s are expected to be delivered by the end of 2014.
NOVEMBER 2014
Embraer’s new engineering and technology center opens in Melbourne, Fla.
DECEMBER 2014
Embraer CFO Jose Antonio De Almeida Filippo is confident that a seasonal increase in fourth-quarter deliveries will help the company meet forecast performance for the entire year. At the MEBA show in Dubai, Embraer showcases three jets: the Lineage 1000E, Legacy 650 and Phenom 300. Embraer is focusing its efforts on bringing the Legacy 500 and 450 to market. The first Legacy 500 for a Middle East customer is undergoing its customer acceptance process, with the aim of being delivered in December. The $19.9 million Legacy 500 receives EASA validation December 16. The Legacy 450 is halfway through its 600-hour certification flight campaign, and is scheduled to enter service in mid-2015. Since delivering the first Legacy in 2002, Embraer has delivered 803 business jets, achieving its aim of becoming one of the industry’s primary players. NetJets converts options on 10 Phenom 300s to firm orders.
FEBRUARY 2015
J.P. Morgan notes that Embraer’s new Legacy 500/450 should drive deliveries for the year. The Legacy 500 is nominated for the 2014 Robert J. Collier Trophy, the National Aeronautic Association announces. Competitor Gulfstream’s G650 is also nominated, and was named the winner in March.
MARCH 2015
In 2014, Embraer had 116 deliveries worldwide, only three fewer than its 119 in 2013. The Phenom 300 had 73 deliveries, up 13 from the year before, while the Phenom 100 had only 19 deliveries (30 the year before). Three Legacy 500s were delivered in late 2014.
APRIL 2015
At the ABACE show in Shanghai, the Legacy 500 makes its China debut. Other jets on display are the Legacy 650 and the Lineage 1000E. The 14-passenger 650 (3,900 nm range) can fly nonstop from Beijing to Dubai. Movie star Jackie Chan was China’s first customer of the 650. The 1000E, Embraer’s largest executive jet, has a 4,600-nm range, enabling it to fly from Shanghai to Anchorage nonstop. Embraer expects to establish the first authorized service centers for the Phenom 300 and Legacy 500 in China by the middle of 2015. According to a new Embraer market forecast, China is expected to take delivery of 855 new business jets over the next decade. That projection would increase China’s current 2.8 percent share of the world’s business jet fleet to 9 percent. Embraer delivers the 100th Phenom assembled at its Melbourne, Fla., facility, just three years after the first light jet rolled off the line there.
MAY 2015
Embraer delivered 12 executive aircraft and 20 airliners in the first quarter of 2015, a figure consistent with 2014. The Brazilian airframer expects deliveries of its large executive jets to climb by at least 50 percent year-over-year now that the Legacy 500 is certified. At the EBACE show in Geneva, the Legacy 450 makes its European debut. Entry into service is expected in the fourth quarter. “The Legacy 450 is the first jet in its category to replace conventional controls with digital full fly-by-wire technology,” president and CEO Marco Túlio Pellegrini said. At EBACE, Embraer highlights its Phenom 100 and 300, Legacy 450, 500 and 650 and Lineage 1000. Embraer is transferring all Phenom assembly to its Melbourne, Fla., facility over the next year. The Melbourne facility can assemble up to 96 Phenoms per year. The plant in Botucatu, Brazil, will continue exporting wings and fuselages for the Phenom 100 and 300.
JUNE 2015
Embraer is doubling the size of its maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Paris Le Bourget Airport and moving it to a more convenient location. The new site will have street access and shorten the access time for customers. Up to 12 jets can fit in the new hangar. The facility should open in late 2016. A growing fleet in Europe and Africa, which has 19 percent of Embraer jets worldwide, prompted this expansion. There are 69 authorized Embraer service centers around the world. Many of them are ready to service the new Legacy 500 and the Legacy 450 when it enters service later this year.
JULY 2015
Embraer’s penetration of the Asia-Pacific region remains relatively shallow, prompting management to commit substantial attention and resources there. “We have significantly beefed up our human resources in our Singapore office to address that market,” Slattery said. The Legacy 500 is cleared to fly in China after the country’s civil aviation authority issues validation. Jackie Chan, a brand ambassador for Embraer, is set to take delivery of the first 500 by the end of the year.
AUGUST 2015
Embraer receives type certification for its Legacy 450 from Brazil’s civil aviation agency, Agência National de Aviação. The first delivery of this twinjet is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. FAA certification for the 450 is expected in the “coming weeks,” with EASA approval to follow.
SEPTEMBER 2015