Monthly Archives: August 2016

Customer interest for business jets rose in North and South America, Asia and the Middle East, according to the latest business jet index from UBS Equities. Pricing and inventories of pre-owned aircraft are still a drag on industry growth, however. The latest business jet market index from UBS Equities has taken a positive turn since flatlining for two months at the lowest level seen since 2009. This month the index came in at 31, up two points from the firm’s previous survey but still below 50, indicating a continued weak market. Results showed improved scores for customer interest, up 11 percent; 12-month outlook, up 14 percent; and willingness of dealers to increase inventory, up 19 percent. However, the index scores (which measure respondents' level of market optimism) were worse for aircraft pricing, down 8 percent, and inventory levels, which fell 11 percent as the actual inventory of aircraft for sale has increased. Regarding the latter, the survey found that inventory of young pre-owned aircraft (10 years old or less) is at its highest level in several years. Customer interest climbed in North America, rising 3 percent to an index score of 48; Latin America, +2 percent to 36; Middle East, +7 percent to 39; and Asia, +14 percent to 42. Meanwhile, customer interest in Europe declined 21 percent, to an index score of 33, “as some respondents noted customer concerns around the recentUK vote to leave the EU,” UBS aerospace analysts David Strauss and Darryl Genovesi noted. The financing score, which is not a component of the UBS index, increased 9 percent, to 54, indicating financing conditions have improved. UBS “regularly surveys” a group of U.S. domestic and international broker/dealers, manufacturers, fractional providers, financiers and other industry experts to come up with the

Phenom 100EV Today at EAA AirVenture 2016, Embraer Executive Jets announced an updated version of its Phenom 100E light jet with new avionics, slightly faster top cruise speed, substantially faster climb to altitude times, 43 pounds of more full fuel payload and better high/hot performance. The latter includes substantially shorter takeoff distances that shrink by nearly 1,000 feet. The $4.495 million Phenom 100EV will feature Prodigy Touch avionics built on the Garmin G3000 system and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F1-E engines that each deliver 1,730 pounds of thrust, 35 pounds more per side more than the PW617-Es on the 100E. Embraer Executive Jets president Marco Tulio Pellegrini announced that deliveries would begin in the first half of 2017 and that Mexican charter operator Across and the Emirates Academy would be the launch customers. He also held open the possibility that the engine upgrade could eventually be made available to existing Phenom 100 customers as an aftermarket option, though an avionics upgrade to the Prodigy Touch system would not be practical due to its high costs. Phenom 100EV Pellegrini also said that Embraer is contemplating an interior block change on the Phenom 100 at a later date, much like the one recently unveiled in the larger Phenom 300 on display this week at AirVenture. He said the Phenom 100E will likely be discontinued once the 100EV is introduced. “Once you have a better product, customers will go with a better product. We want to provide the best of everything.” Pelligrini said thePhenom 100EV achieved its increased performance through a combination of increased engine thrust and airframe weight reduction. He acknowledged that the market for entry-level light jets remains “upside down” but said that in the “medium term we are confident that