Embraer deliveries jumped by 47 percent in the second quarter, with both its executive jets and commercial aircraft shipments logging notable increases, the Brazilian manufacturer reported last week. Deliveries for the quarter ended June 30 reached 62, 38 of which were executive jets and 24 commercial aircraft. This compares with a total of 47 delivered in the second quarter of 2022, including 30 executive jets and 17 commercial aircraft.

With the spike in deliveries, the backlog ebbed—but only slightly—to $17.3 billion at the end of June. This compares with $17.4 billion at the end of March. During the most recent quarter, Embraer scored some significant deals, including from NetJets for up to 250 Praetor 500 jets. If all options are exercised, the deal would be valued at more than $5 billion with deliveries beginning in 2025.

Embraer Executive Jets chief commercial officer Steve Friedrich said he is “very pleased with overall results” and with Embraer’s strong share in Latin America and Brazil, where buyers appreciate “the value proposition of new aircraft” in a market previously skewed to preowned jets.

The Phenom 300e, which Embraer is displaying at LABACE along with the Praetor 600, has a 30 percent market share in the region. Along with the smaller Phenom 100, the company is “pushing a 40 percent market share for light jets in Latin America.” There are 275 Embraer business jets based in Latin America.

For the quarter, Phenom deliveries were up by six units to 25, Praetors by two to 13, E175s by two to 12, and E195-E2s by five to 12. Phenom 300s accounted for the bulk of the light-jet second-quarter deliveries at 22, while the Praetors were nearly evenly split between the 500 (six shipments) and 600 (seven).

Stable Path Ahead

The 300e remains popular, and, said Friedrich, the company “can’t make them fast enough.” Orders for all Embraer business jets taken today are set for delivery in the third or fourth quarter of 2025. That is “creating opportunities, creating backlog,” he said. “Customers are planning ahead for their transportation needs.”

One advantage for customers placing advance orders is that Embraer keeps adding upgrades. “We future-proof these aircraft,” Friedrich said, and this includes upgrades of avionics for the fast-evolving area of airborne connectivity. “We continue to see evolution of antennas and of satellite coverage,” he added.

“Global markets have weathered shocks quite well,” he continued, and he is optimistic not only that markets will remain stable but that growing global prosperity will create a strong market for business and for aviation. While business aviation essentially shut down at the start of the pandemic, he added, “in 2023 we’re seeing a more normalized market. We’re confident of hitting our guidance.” One benefit of the pandemic, he said, is that “the addressable market grew. People saw the utility of business aviation.”

Fractional-share operator Avantto and helicopter charter firm Helisul have both announced large purchases of Eve Air Mobility eVTOL aircraft. Eve is a subsidiary of Embraer that is developing advanced air mobility aircraft.

Melbourne HQ

Friedrich works at Embraer’s U.S. headquarters in Melbourne, Florida. “Melbourne continues to be the center of Embraer’s business aviation, and we continue to grow our footprint here.” Eve is also headquartered in the Florida city. Asked whether South American purchasers would pick up their jets in São José dos Campos, Brazil, he clarified, “All deliveries come out of Melbourne,” adding, “We make the Phenoms here. The Praetors fly green from GPX [Gavião Peixoto]” to Melbourne where outfitting is completed. “Embraer has grown outside Brazil,” with some assemblies coming from its component manufacturing operations in Portugal, for example.

Eve recently announced that its first manufacturing facility will be built in Taubaté, between São Paulo and São José dos Campos. 

Asked whether Embraer’s position as the “best value proposition” rests on lower-cost Brazilian manufacturing, Friedrich said that idea is “outdated.” More important to Embraer’s competitive advantage, he added, is “engineering expertise, and understanding of the entire operating system of aviation.” The strength of Embraer’s roots lies in a superior educational system and “high-quality talent in Brazil. We use that expertise, and spread it globally.”