Embraer recorded a 21% fall in business jet deliveries for the first half of 2018, with the airframer shipping 31 aircraft, against 39 in the same period a year earlier. The slide was felt across the product line, with the Legacy 450 the only model to buck the trend.
For the six months ended 30 June, the Brazilian company shipped 23 light jets – six Phenom 100EVs and 17 Phenom 300s – and eight large jets, comprising six Legacy 450s, and one each of the Legacy 500 and Legacy 650E.
Embraer
This compares with 27 light jets in the same period a year earlier – seven Phenom 100EVs and 20 Phenom 300s – and 12 large jets: five Legacy 450s, four Legacy 500s, a pair of Legacy 650s and a Lineage 1000E.
Handovers during the second quarter were down by a similar amount, with Embraer shipping 20 business jets between April and June, compared with 24 units during the same period in 2017. This decline was due almost entirely to the poor performance of the Legacy 500, of which no examples were delivered over the three-month period. This compares with an output of three of the midsize jets between April and June 2017.
The second quarter of 2018 marked the delivery of the first Phenom 300E to a private South African owner and long-time Embraer customer.
Embraer
The handover of aircraft serial number 448 came just over five months after the launch of the upgraded business jet – the second iteration of the nine-year-old Phenom 300, featuring a redesigned cabin, restyled and improved seating and a high-end in-flight entertainment and cabin management system supplied by Lufthansa Technik. The type secured Brazilian, European and US validation in March.
Source: Flight International
