So much for not fixing what isn’t broken. At the National Business Aviation Association’s Aviation Conference and Exhibition this week in Las Vegas, Embraer Executive Jets introduced the Phenom 300E, an enhanced (thus the E) version of the top-selling Phenom 300, a $9 million light business jet.
The Phenom 300 entered service in 2009 and has been the most delivered business jet each of the last four years. Embraer Executive Jets, the Florida-based business-jet arm of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, delivered 63 last year and 20 through June of this year for a total of 286 since 2013. Many of the deliveries have been to fractional providers NetJets and Flexjet.
The aircraft’s popularity notwithstanding, Embraer Executive Jets decided it was time for an upgrade, and so the 300E features a redesigned cabin that includes a new cabin-management and inflight-entertainment system by Lufthansa Technik. The system is contained in a panel that runs along the centerline of the aircraft’s ceiling and includes two 7-inch swing-down displays. All the components of the system can be easily removed for maintenance purposes. Reading lights and fans have been moved into the panel to create more headroom above the seats. The panel also includes new ambient lighting.
Deliveries of the Phenom 300E are scheduled to begin early next year. The price is $9.45 million.
The aircraft’s cabin design is based on the new interiors of the midsize Legacy 450 and Legacy 500. According to Embraer, the design creates more space, specifically more aisle room (in addition to the aforementioned extra headroom), while also adding larger seats—ones with retractable armrests. The seats have broader backs and extendable headrests and leg rests. Embraer offers a variety of pattern choices and color options for the seat upholstery.
“Our quest is to improve the value of our products, for which our customers reward us,” says Jay Beever, vice president of interior design at Embraer Executive Jets. “We want to fascinate our customers and continuously elevate their flight experience as well as their ownership experience.”
Like the Phenom 300, the 300E will be configured to seat six passengers, but a seventh can sit in the copilot’s seat because the jet is certified for single-pilot operation. The cabin is 17.2 feet long, 5.1 feet wide, and 4.9 feet tall, and it features unusually large windows, including one in the lavatory in the aft section of the aircraft. The new aircraft has the same range and high cruising speed as its predecessor: 2,270 miles and 521 mph.
