Mexican charter operator Across is to replace its entire fleet with a mix of eight Embraer Legacy 500s, eight Phenom 300s and seven Phenom 100Es. Today at EBACE, the company signed a contract with the Brazilian airframer covering $260 million in firm orders.Embraer has already delivered the first two Phenom 300s and one of the Phenom 100Es, and a second is set to arrive next month.

The remaining deliveries will be made over the next five years. The new aircraft are replacing Across’s existing all-Textron fleet, consisting of a mix of Citation Mustangs, CJ4s, CJ3s, Xs, Sovereigns and XLSs, as well as Caravans. Across is Embraer’s authorized sales representative in Mexico.

Formed in 2009, Across also runs an FBO at Toluca Airport, which is part of the Signature Select chain. It will offer the new Embraer fleet for both charter and fractional ownership services.

Across CEO Pedro Corsi Amerlinck told AIN that his company has an option to double the size of the order. He said that the strong dispatch reliability of the Legacys and Phenoms, combined with the manufacturer’s customer support commitment and the low maintenance requirements of the aircraft, was a big factor in the company's decision to take its business to Embraer.

“The Mexican market is big and growing fast,” Amerlinck said. “About 30 percent of our charter flights are to and from the U.S., 10 percent are within Central America and all the rest are local.”

The new firm orders were included in Embraer’s backlog for the first quarter of this year. “This fleet order reflects our growing presence in Mexico and confirms the long-term relationship we are building with Across,” said Marco Tulio Pellegrini, president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets. “The Mexican market has a solid business aviation utilization culture and Embraer’s portfolio is perfectly suited to fulfill the increasing demand for more efficient and reliable aircraft in the region. We are glad to support Across in expanding its best-in-class services.”