Embraer’s president of executive jets, Ernie Edwards, greeted journalists on a rainy Wednesday morning to present a status update on Embraer’s bizjet business. While this AirVenture appearance by a jet maker would have been unheard of a decade ago, the group of reporters on hand included several who work for outlets that exclusively write about the bizjet business.
In his detailed rundown of the jet business, Edwards said that Embraer’s market share in the overall bizjet industry continues to grow. Market share, he said, is the best way to measure progress in a down cycle. He noted that the entry-level Phenom 100 was now the best selling business jet in terms of units sold, that the company was indeed looking into building an ultra-long range jet, and that its Chinese operations are going well, with more than 100 jets (most of them ERJ 145 regional jets) already delivered. Edwards said that Embraer was looking forward to building both the Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 large jets, which are both based on the 145, in China soon.
