Embraer is out in force at MEBA with three of its best-selling business jets in the region - the Phenom 300, the Legacy 650 and the Lineage 1000E - and announced its intention to deliver the first Legacy 500 to a Middle Eastern customer before the end of the month.
“The Middle East is a very important market for us,” says Embraer president and chief executive Marco Tulio Pellegrini. “We delivered our first aircraft [a Legacy 600] here in 2002 and now the fleet totals 33 - 20 Legacy 600s, ten Lineage 1000/EJet shuttles, which represents 40% of the world’s Lineage fleet, and three Phenom 300s.”
Embraer also issued its latest forecast at the show in which it predicts deliveries of 9,250 business jets between 2015 and 2024, valued at $265 billion. “The Middle East is expected to account for 230 shipments during this period – equivalent to 3% of the market – and with a value of $10 billion,” says Pellegrini.
The Brazilian airframer secured a 17% share of new aircraft deliveries last year globally and plans to grow this over the next decade with the introduction of the super-light Legacy 450, beginning next year, and the production ramp-up of the midsize Legacy 500, which entered service in October.
“We already have a worldwide fleet of over 800 aircraft,” says Pellegrini. “Not bad for a company who didn’t know anything about business aviation 12 years ago.”
Source: FlightGlobal.com
