Embraer reports decline in half-year business jet shipments

Continued weakness in the global business aircraft market resulted in a 20% decline in Embraer's business jet output for the first half of 2017.

For the six months ended 30 June, the Brazilian airframer shipped 39 aircraft. These consisted of 27 light jets – 20 Phenom 300s and seven Phenom 100EVs – and 12 large jets: five Legacy 450s, four Legacy 500s, a pair of Legacy 650s and a Lineage 1000E.

This performance compares with 35 light jets – 26 Phenom 300s and nine Phenom 100s – and 14 large jets – eight Legacy 500s and six Legacy 650s – delivered during the first half of 2016.

Second-quarter output was more promising, with Embraer shipping 24 business jets between April and June, compared with 26 units during the same period in 2016. This was largely due to the absence of the Legacy 450 from last year's tally. The superlight business jet underwent a minor upgrade in the first half of 2016 to boost its range by 325nm (600km) to 2,900nm. Deliveries of the improved twinjet resumed last July, and 12 examples were handed over during the rest of the year.

The second quarter of 2017 marked the handover of Embraer's 1,100th business jet, a Phenom 300, 15 years after it informally entered the business aviation market with the shipment of a VIP-configured ERJ-135 airliner.