NetJets Takes Delivery of Its First Embraer Phenom 300
NetJets took delivery of its first "Signature Series" Phenom 300 on May 1 at the Embraer Executive Jets' customer center in Melbourne, Fla. Taking part in the handover ceremony were (l-r) Embraer Executive Jets senior vice president of operations and COO Marco Tulio Pellegrini, Embraer Executive Jets president Ernest Edwards, NetJets CEO Jordan Hansell and NetJets senior vice president of aircraft management Chuck Suma. (Photo: Chad Trautvetter)

Embraer Executive Jets delivered the first of up to 125 “Signature Series” Phenom 300s to NetJets during a ceremony yesterday at the aircraft manufacturer’s Phenom assembly facility in Melbourne, Fla. In October 2010 NetJets placed a firm order for 50 of the specially outfitted light jets, with options for 75 more. Including all options, the order is worth more than $1 billion.

NetJets will take delivery of about two Phenom 300s per month and expects to have 18 of the Embraer twinjets in its fleet by year-end. All of these aircraft will be manufactured and outfitted in Brazil, but starting next year the jets will be assembled and outfitted at the Melbourne facility. Regardless of assembly origin, NetJets will take formal delivery of its new Phenoms in Melbourne.

Notably, the NetJets Phenom 300 is the first to include the recently certified Prodigy Touch Flight Deck, which is based on the Garmin 3000 suite and provides enhanced pilot interface and situational awareness. This flight deck is now an optional upgrade from the G1000 system for factory-new Phenom 300s. NetJets’ Signature Series Phenom 300 also has cabin features that were developed exclusively for NetJets to meet specific operating requirements and customers’ needs.

After a brief stopover at NetJets’ Columbus, Ohio headquarters, the just delivered aircraft–N302QS–flew to Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Neb., where it will be on static display over the weekend for attendees at parent company Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting.