Embraer has begun assembly of the first Legacy 650 to be completed at its Chinese facility in Harbin and is on track to deliver the aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Only one example of the type will be manufactured at the plant this year, with three following in 2014, says the Brazilian airframer. These will be for Chinese lessor ICBC Leasing, which has ordered five Legacy 650s and has options for another five.
The company says that it is still working to seal more orders for the large-cabin, long-range jet to take advantage of the Harbin facility's eventual annual capacity of up to 20 Legacy 650s.
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| Siva Govindasamy/Flightglobal |
Embraer says there are no plans to assemble other business jets in the country. However, it continues to chalk up orders from Chinese customers and has just picked up another commitment for the Lineage 1000 - the Embraer 190-based aircraft that is the largest in its family of business jets. This gives it a total orderbook of 29 business jets in China.
It also believes there is plenty of potential in China for the in-development Legacy 500 midsize business jet, which is scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2014.
This will come as customers become "educated" about what they want and can get from their business jets, says Embraer China president Guan Dongyuan.
"There is definitely a market for smaller jets in China. Big aircraft are useful for international services and for companies, but more owners want the smaller aircraft for their own use or to travel within China. We are now seeing a trend towards smaller aircraft in the domestic market," says Guan.
"Many customers do not need the long-range aircraft, but they get them because their friends or competitors have them. We are working hard to promote the concept of a right-sized aircraft to meet their requirements."
Source: Flight International
