Embraer Hits $1.2 Billion Jackpot in Vegas

NetJets and Embraer arrived at the National Business Aviation Association's BACE event in Las Vegas with a blockbuster deal for up to 100 Phenom 300Es valued at $1.2 billion, further underscoring the resurgence of the business jet market. The deal continues the more than decade-long relationship between the Brazilian airframer and fractional ownership provider and calls for deliveries headed to both the U.S. and Europe beginning in the second quarter of 2023.

While Embraer is not revealing the mix of orders and options on the latest deal, Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano noted that his company's first contract from NetJets in 2010 called for 50 firm orders and 75 options and “we've now delivered those aircraft to them…they have had a consistent track record of taking every single option and firm order.”

With the white-hot business aviation market, NetJets has had to halt sales of its fractional shares in the light jet categories and jet cards because it has been selling out, Amalfitano said. “Now we're going to help them with this new order to continue to revitalize that segment for them, he said. “That's exciting for us because it continues to showcase their commitment to Embraer, but it's also exciting because many more customers are going to have access to the fastest, longest-range, single-pilot light jet in the marketplace.”

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Embraer is obtaining supplemental type certification from both the U.S. FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for the NetJets specifications, he said, noting that this is why deliveries are planned for 2023.

While he couldn’t project how far into the future the deliveries would continue, Amalfitano noted that the 2010 order spanned about 10 years. However, for the next batch, “more of those airplanes may move in sooner than previously because of the frothiness right now of the recovery in that segment,” he said. “They'll be taking many more deliveries in 2023 than they have historically done. So, I think the pace will probably be much faster than the previous cycle.”

The order continues the record year that Embraer has been enjoying. “A lot of it's been driven by the strength of the recovery of the marketplace overall, but Embraer is doing fantastic.”

The company has had a record sales year through the first half of 2021, reaching a book-to-bill ratio of 2:1, and momentum is continuing in the third quarter, he said. “We have sold out of our aircraft in 2022. We are now selling aircraft into 2023.” 

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Along with fleet providers such as NetJets, Embraer has received a bounce from first-time buyers. These newcomers tend to represent somewhere between 10 and 12 percent of sales, historically. But since the pandemic, that number has jumped to more than 30 percent and they represented 34 percent of Embraer’s business in the first half, Amalfitano said.

“That's a good statement for the marketplace, which means that the pie has actually gotten bigger with more folks coming into business aviation. That also drove down the preowned aircraft inventory to historic low levels across the brands,” he said.