Embraer Eyes ERJ 170-Based 'Legacy II'

"I'm excited about EBACE." So said Sam Hill on the eve of the show, as the Embraer corporate vice-chairman and executive vp in charge of corporate aircraft got ready to show Europe the Legacy, which is the Brazilian airframer's entry into the business aviation marketplace.

Embraer's beginning to talk about a bigger business jet too.

"The show has tremendous value," Hill says of EBACE, predicting that at least a pair of Legacy orders will be signed here in Geneva (although perhaps not publicized).

European business has been better than in the U.S. since the events of September 11, Hill reports, and there is the historical disparity between the relative sizes of the European and U.S. economies and their numbers of business aircraft. "We feel that Europe is coming," he says.

Embraer's pitch is that Legacy, priced at $20.4 million, offers a cabin comparable to aircraft selling for $10 million more. "We give you a lot of airplane for what you pay," says Hill. "We're able to come to the market for this price because we've got 600-plus other airplanes with the same airframe flying," he says of Embraer's successful line of regional jets.

Design costs have thus been largely amortized by airliner sales, making the derivative business jet a far cheaper development proposition. "We're able to pass that saving along to the customer," Hill says.

Embraer as of last week had logged 167 orders for the new business aircraft, including 73 firm commitments and 94 options.
Legacy is based on the ERJ 135/145, but has additional fuel tanks for extra range and winglets for enhanced performance. To be available later this year is a more powerful engine, the "E" variant of the Rolls-Royce AE3007, which is also used on Embraer's new ERJ 145XR.

The AE3007E will cut a fully laden Legacy's runway takeoff requirement from a longish 6,350 feet to 5,750 feet. "This opens up many more airports," Hill says.

As for a Legacy II, "The 170 platform looks very inviting," Hill says in reference to the new Embraer 170, a 70-seat regional jet that made its first flight on February 19. "We've had several inquiries," he says.

"The inquiries are coming from corporations who are looking to this as an alternative to airline travel." A strong possibility is an Embraer 170 furnished with 40 seats in an "all first-class" configuration.

 

Legacy Certification Said Imminent "It's not anybody's fault, it's just the world we live in today," says Embraer corporate aircraft vp Sam Hill about delays in FAA and JAA certification of the Legacy business jet, which got the nod from Brazil's CTA this past December. "It's taken an extraordinarily long time," he says, for the Americans and Europeans to sign off on the airplane. "We've had airplanes sitting on the ground waiting to be test-flown by various authorities," Hill told Show News, explaining that priorities have changed in the months since September 11, which is why approvals that should have been in hand perhaps two months after the CTA action are still awaited. A Legacy certification announcement at EBACE this week? Not likely. "We're hoping to get it next month," Hill says. Legacy deliveries can then commence. Swift Aviation/Swift Air of Phoenix, Arizona is the lead customer, having ordered 25 Legacies and taken options on 25 more. A 25-25 order by Chicago's Indigo was disclosed in December. The Hellenic Air Force in Greece is the lead European customer.