Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Legacy 500 First Flight
After a brutal few years, Embraer has finally made it passed a huge milestone. On November 27th the Legacy 500 made its first maiden flight and the manufacturer is expecting to begin deliveries in 2014. "This remarkable airplane symbolizes the future of executive aviation and is the product of the innovation, talent and dedication that is part of the Embraer culture," said Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer President and CEO. Follow the following week to view more: http://www1.embraerexecutivejets.com/en-US/jets/legacy-500/Pages/first-flight.aspx
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Executive AirShare rolls out business jet leasing program at NBAA
Executive AirShare, which was founded in Wichita, showcased a new program at this year’s National Business Aviation Association’s annual convention.
The regional fractional ownership company, headquartered in Kansas City, is introducing a leasing program allowing members to lease, rather than buy, a percentage of an Embraer Phenom 100 business jet.
The company is dedicating a portion of its fleet to the program, called Launch.
In a “soft” rollout of Launch, Executive AirShare signed eight customers in the first 30 days. That’s better than expected, said Keith Plumb, the company’s president and chief operating officer.
“It’s been a very well-received product that has a lot of potential,” Plumb said.
Members have access to the airplanes, which are flown by Executive AirShare pilots, for up to 25 days or 60 flight hours during the two-year term of the lease.
They also will be able to switch to one of the company’s King Airs.
The lease program “provides all the same benefits of a fractional ownership program, but at a lower entry price,” Plumb said.
There is also an hourly rate, which is slightly higher than the rate for a fractional owner, he said.
The Launch program serves as a bridge for customers to eventually move to fractional ownership.
“Within the Launch agreement, there is an incentive for when the Launch member is comfortable, they can covert to ownership at very good terms,” Plumb said.
The company expects its Launch business to eventually make up about 20 percent of its total revenue.
“It’s a good way to get people flying our airplanes, getting to know us and our products,” Plumb said.
The program’s introduction is good timing he said, because people are still unsure about the economy.
The Launch program takes aim at competitors that offer jet cards, which allow a customer a specified number of flight hours for a set fee.
The Internal Revenue Service categorizes the flights as charter flights, subject to a 7.5 percent excise fee, Plumb said. The IRS, meanwhile, considers fractional flying noncommercial and not subject to the excise fees.
The Launch program has created more demand and more jobs for Executive AirShare, Plumb said. It’s adding eight pilots by the end of the year.
It currently employs about 130, including about 70 pilots.
The company also plans to add additional King Air and Phenom 100 aircraft to its fleet.
The company allots 1/16 of a Phenom 100 to each customer of the lease program. When 7/8 of a plane is sold or leased, the company adds another aircraft.
The company’s fractional ownership business has been steady, Plumb said. It has picked up some former CitationAir customers after CitationAir, a subsidiary of Cessna Aircraft, announced it was ceasing fractional jet sales to focus on its jet card and jet management business.
“It really stimulated our business,” Plumb said.
Executive AirShare has more than 140 shareowners, up from more than 120 a year ago.
It has 26 airplanes in its fractional fleet and manages 16 more.
The company is expanding into Austin, San Antonio and Houston – and hiring two Texas-based sales directors.
It currently serves Wichita, Kansas City, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth and Dallas in Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y.
Its fleet includes Phenom 300, Phenom 100, Beechjet 400A, King Air 350 and King Air C90B aircraft.
“We’re setting up for significant growth,” Plumb said.
Embraer sees China buying 15 pct of world regional jets by 2031
Brazil's Embraer SA, the world's largest maker of regional jets, expects China to buy 15 percent of new 61- to 120-seat aircraft by 2031 as a growing middle class bolsters travel between second-tier cities.
Embraer released the regional aviation estimate at an air show in Guangdong Province on Tuesday, forecasting 1,005 new jets in the segment over the next 20 years. Last year, Embraer forecast 975 new regional jets in China by 2030, representing 13 percent of global demand.
The company also said it sees Chinese demand for 650 business aircraft by 2022 worth $24 billion, making up 9 percent of global deliveries by value.
Embraer has delivered 120 commercial jets in China since 2000, capturing 77 percent of the Chinese market for aircraft smaller than 120 seats and diversifying away from U.S. and European Markets that have struggled in recent years.
The planemaker also got clearance in June to begin producing its Legacy 650 executive jet in China, reducing the cost and inconvenience of selling planes requiring import licenses.
From 2012 to 2031, Chinese airlines are likely to receive some 455 jets with 61 to 90 seats and 550 jets with 91 to 120 seats, according to the planemaker's estimates.
(Reporting by Brad Haynes and Cesar Bianconi in Sao Paulo;editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
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