Latin America is a relevant and resilient business aviation market place; with an installed fleet of more than 2,100 business jets, close to 10 per cent of the global fleet, it houses two of the top three largest business jet fleets in the world. Amid the ups and downs of its economic cycles, the steady demand for business aviation in the region continues to create opportunities for growth in any niche, from small piston aircraft and single engine turboprops up to the transcontinental business jets, and presents a promising business jet market forecast of US$ 11 billion over the next 10 years. Embraer Executive Jets VP of sales Gustavo Teixeira takes a look at the reasons behind this consistent and relevant demand.

First of all, as an unbeatable productivity tool, a business jet provides entrepreneurs and executives of the region the desired flexibility to reach more destinations and do more business, avoiding the limited commercial airport infrastructure of the region. In Brazil, for example, due to continuous economic expansion out of the major cities like São Paulo and Rio, important new economic centres have been poorly served by the airline industry. While only slightly more than 100 Brazilian cities are served by airlines, a business jet might allow connections to about four times more cities.

Not surprisingly, the most prominent business jet categories in the region are the ‘entry-level’ and ‘light-jet’ segments. Embraer witnessed the strength of the LATAM entry-level segment when, back in 2009, the first Phenom 100 entered into service in the region. Ten years later, now in its third generation as the Phenom 100EV, with improved performance and new avionics, it flies more than 1,000 hours per month at an operational cost lower than an equivalent size turboprop. Former turboprop owners, piston operators or even first time buyers have migrated to the Phenom 100, making LATAM the home for more than 110 units and accounting for almost 30 per cent of the global Phenom 100 fleet.

The light jet category also has a strong demand in the region. In the first half of this year, six new Phenom 300Es have been delivered in LATAM. It reaches smaller and less congested airports with more passengers than previous, older or entry-level jets, while keeping a low direct operating cost, making it more economical to operate than an equivalent turboprops or light jet.

As customer mission profiles expand, as in the case of large Latin American groups doing business in the US, we see a constant need for longer non-stop city pairs such as São Paulo-Miami, Mexico-NY or Bogotá-Chicago. This demand drives the moves from entry-level and light categories to the midsize and super-midsize categories, such as the Legacy 450/500 and Praetor 500/600. This category also sees demands from customers implementing a 'right sizing’ strategy from larger aircraft, which are much more expensive to operate. For example, moving from a large cabin jet to a Praetor 500 will allow customers to benefit from innovations in technology without any loss of comfort or amenities. Embraer’s Full Fly-By-Wire technology with Active Turbulence Reduction, unprecedented in aircraft below the US$ 50 million price tag, along with the most advanced avionics suite in this category render greater cost efficiencies while expanding operational envelopes at smaller airports.

Customers appreciate this operational flexibility. The Praetor 600 operates efficiently on very small runways, such as the 913m Angra dos Reis runway in Brazil, and delivers a range of 900 nm with four passengers. It can also accommodate long direct flights from Rio to Fort Lauderdale or Recife to Madrid.

Last, but not least, customer support is mission-critical here. As a traditional and demanding market, customer experience must not lag, which is why a strong and local presence is a key differentiator for Embraer’s own and authorised service centres throughout Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and México. Embraer has honoured the Latin American saying: ‘Mi casa es tu casa’.