Aviation Week Show News - November 11, 2007 - (Page 5)

BUSINESS AVIATION D U B A I 2 0 07 Embraer Expects to Triple Regional Presence Embraer is set to triple its fleet of business jets in the Middle East as it delivers on a flood of new orders to be unveiled here. There are currently 12 Legacy jets operating in the Middle East region. Sales campaigns over the last number of months have won firm orders for at least 28 aircraft including Legacies, the Phenom 100 and 300 light and very light jets, and the E190 airliner-based Lineage 1000. The order book for the Lineage, which boasts a five-zone cabin longer than either an Airbus A318 Elite or Boeing BBJ (though not so wide) for a flyaway price of just $41 million, includes Middle East customers. Embraer has maintained since the launch of the Lineage 1000 it that has “about 10” orders for that aircraft, including some in the Middle East. It has declined to name any of them to date, but United Aviation of Kuwait, which operates three Legacies, told Show News last February it will be one of the first operators. “The Middle East is a very important market for us in particular, and the demand for the Legacy and the Lineage is very high in that region,” said Claudi Galdo Camelier, vp-market intelligence at Embraer Executive Jets. “We already have a number of Legacy jets flying there and we expect to have some Lineage’s flying there in the near future. “Right now we are not disclosing the number of customers for the Lineage, but we do have some orders from the region,” he added. Camelier added that many major factors have made the Lineage popular in the Middle East: its very long cabin, latest technology including fly-by-wire, and a basic range of 4,200 nmi. The first Lineage flew for the first time on October 26, and first delivery after certification is slated for the second quarter of 2008. Embraer is showing the Lineage cabin mockup “The Middle East is a very important market for us in particular, and the demand for the Legacy and the Lineage is very high ” —Claudi Galdo Camelier, vp-market intelligence at Embraer Executive Jets. The Lineage 1000 large cabin jet (above) is pictured here taxiing out for its first flight on October 26. here for the first time, as well as the BMW Group DesignworksUSA interior for the Phenom 300. Previously disclosed orders from the Middle East include: • United Aviation of Kuwait: One Phenom 100 and one Phenom 300; • Arab Wings, of Amman, Jordan: One Phenom 100 and one Phenom 300, which it will use for on-demand charter as well as professional pilot training at the Royal Jordanian Air Academy. Middle East, Africa Bizjet Business Booming In its 16th annual Business Aviation Outlook, Honeywell’s operator survey found that up to 25% of all new jet purchase plans worldwide will come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions for 2008 through 2012. In the Middle East and Africa, five-year purchase expectations are very strong at more than 50% growth. This increase is supported by the increasingly global nature of the industry, says Honeywell. International buyers now account for about 5 50% of new aircraft deliveries projected over the next five years. Purchase expectations trended up in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and rose strongly in Europe. Aggregating all regions, five-year purchase expectations were well above the 24% average recorded over the last six years. Between 2008 and 2012, the survey forecasts demand for 4,600 aircraft globally, not including that from fractional ownership or branded charter start-up businesses. 2007 marks the fourth year of industry expansion since the last trough in 2003. To date, the number of aircraft delivered this year is up almost 11 per cent compared with the same point in 2006, and industry-wide sales are up over 12%. This year, Honeywell Aerospace forecasts deliveries of over 1,000 new business jets for the first time in history—up from 861 in 2006. Deliveries in 2008 are expected to approach 1,300. New jet orders have risen over 100 per cent above first-half 2006 levels. “Industry growth has moved into unparalleled territory,” said Rob Wilson, Honeywell’s president, Business & General Aviation. “2007 is a record year for the industry, and order intake across most business jet categories remains very strong, with little discernable affect from recent stock market fluctuations. “With backlogs exceeding twoand-one-half years’ worth of deliveries, 2008 will likely be another banner year for the industry.” November 11, 2007 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Aviation Week Show News - November 11, 2007

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