Embraer announced the delivery of its first Praetor 500 midsize business jet to launch customer Flexjet on Monday. The aircraft is part of a $1.4 billion fleet agreement announced by the companies at the 2019 NBAA convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition to Praetor 500s, the 64-aircraft agreement includes an unspecified number of Praetor 600s and Phenom 300s.
“As the Praetor Fleet Launch Customer, Flexjet, once again, will lead the fractional ownership market with the introduction of the most modern midsize aircraft,” said Embraer Executive Jets CEO Michael Amalfitano. “It is with much gratitude and pride that we deliver our first Praetor 500 to Flexjet, confident that Flexjet Owners will enjoy the ultimate customer experience in business aviation.”
The Honeywell HTF7500E-powered Praetor 500 is an updated version of Embraer’s Legacy 450. The nine-passenger business jet has a range of 3,340 NM range, top cruise speed of 466 knots and full-fuel payload of 1,600 pounds. As previously reported by AVweb, the Praetor 500 was certified by Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) last August and received its FAA and EASA type certificates in September.
