Citation Latitude’s PW306D1 Engine, Embraer and NetJets Phenom 300 Orders, Chicago Tribune’s Mischaracterization of Business Aviation

JetOptions Private Jets is a member of NBAA – Ed.

When the Chicago Tribune ran a recent Bloomberg article about pets flying aboard business aircraft, NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen offered a realistic, fact-based view of business aviation in a letter published in the paper’s Dec.24 edition.

Read the letter on the Chicago Tribune website.

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Offices in the sky

Dec. 24, 2014

Your recent article “Luxury jets pamper pets with pilaf, room to roam” offered only a caricature to suggest who typically uses business aircraft and why they do so.

Let’s be clear: The vast majority of entrepreneurs and businesses using these aircraft are doing so to increase their efficiency and productivity, meet face-to-face with customers and clients, and reach far-off markets where opportunities can be found. The aircraft are typically used by small and mid-size companies, and the most common passengers are not CEOs but salespeople, middle-managers, and technical specialists.

There’s a good reason why business aircraft are needed in today’s highly competitive, global environment: They are like offices in the sky, with cabins set up so employees can discuss projects, collaborate on presentations and stay connected through email, Web access or teleconferencing. The use of this competitive asset, in this manner, has proven benefits: Studies have repeatedly shown that companies using business aircraft outperform comparable companies that don’t use the aircraft.

Pratt & Whitney Canada has received Transport Canada approval for its PW306D1 turbofan.

The 5,760lb-thrust (25kN) engine will power Cessna’s new midsize business jet, the Citation Latitude, which is scheduled to enter service next year.

Canada approves Citation Latitude’s PW306D1 engine

US validation of the PW306D1 – the latest iteration of P&WC’s PW300 family, which also powers Cessna’s Sovereign+ – is expected before the end of March 2015.

Embraer Executive Jets and NetJets® Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company and the worldwide leader in private aviation, have signed an agreement to convert 10 Signature Series Phenom 300 purchase options into firm orders. At current list prices, this addition to the contract is worth US$ 89.55 million, which will be included in the backlog of the fourth quarter of 2014. In October 2010, a purchase agreement was signed for 50 firm and 75 options. The total value of the deal may exceed US$ 1 billion, if all options are exercised.

Embraer and NetJets signed firm order agreement for 10 Signature Series Phenom 300

“NetJets’ addition of 10 aircraft to their order reaffirms the success of the Signature Series Phenom 300 and of our relationship,” said Marco Tulio Pellegrini, President & CEO, Embraer Executive Jets. “The Phenom 300’s market acceptance continues to grow in the fractional and corporate markets, having recently become the most delivered business aircraft.”

Embraer has now delivered 36 Signature Series Phenom 300s to NetJets. These aircraft operate in the NetJets fleet, with fractional owners in the U.S. and Europe. Deliveries of the 10 additional aircraft will begin as of January 2016.