On the Record With
Luis Carlos Affonso, Senior Vice
President, Executive Aviation, Embraer
Embraer is turning up the volume on its new light and very
light jets as the mock-ups (with interior styling by BMW Group Designworks)
make their world premiere here at NBAA and the two aircraft receive their
official model names.
Observers have been taking bets on Samba and Bosanova, or
Santos and Dumont. "We analyzed several options, starting from the Embraer
company brand, and the image we wanted to transmit," Luis Carlos Affonso,
Embraer's svp for executive aviation, told Show News. The Embraer name gave
rise to its 170/190 family of regional airliners being tagged e-jets. Perhaps
the new pair will be b-jets.
All will be revealed here today at the 11 a.m. unveiling.
Affonso expects the NBAA celebration to fan the flames of an
already hot interest in the two new aircraft. The company has taken "a very
good number" of refundable $50,000 deposits from individuals who plan to fly
themselves, as well as from fleet operators, he said. These will be converted
into contracts with nonrefundable deposits in early 2006, when the design
configuration is finalized with suppliers and partners and engineering work
begins. The very light jet will enter service in 2008, and the larger light jet
one year later.
Embraer will take the opportunity of the NBAA Convention to
announce the suppliers and partners for the remaining systems on the VLJ,
including the avionics. "We have already been working together for six or seven
months on the most important definitions," Affonso said.
It will also announce sales leaders in Brazil, the U.S. and
Europe as it forms its factory-based global marketing team.
Some 300 engineers are now working on the VLJ in Brazil,
transferring to that project from airliner design as the 170 and 190 regional
jets enter service and the 195 approaches the same stage of maturity. This team
will grow, and a parallel team will start work in the new year on the light
jet. "We will have up to 800 staff working on the two aircraft by the end of
first quarter 2006," he said.
Differentiation
"Our two new jets [the VLJ and LJ] are very
differentiated—even our competition has recognized that. In terms of cabin
space, performance and reliability, they are unique at their price points. Why
are the products different? Because we have talked to the customers about what
is needed. That's what we did on the Embraer 170 and 190, creating a
differentiated solution through good listening and lots of creativity."
Customer Service
"We will offer a menu of outstanding services we call
Integrated Solution, designed to help the customer go efficiently from A to B.
These will include a service centers network, total care packages from tip to
tail, training—that is key—finance, insurance, and trade-ins. This is something
the market needs, and the customer is ready to pay for the service."
