• Embraer's Phenom 300 topped the delivery figures each year from 2013-2015. (Embraer Executive Jets)
    Embraer's Phenom 300 topped the delivery figures each year from 2013-2015. (Embraer Executive Jets)
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Jet manufacturers Embraer and Cessna are experiencing greater demand for their larger single-pilot jets than the smaller models, according to the 2015 General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) delivery figures.

Embraer's 10-seat Phenom 300 has swept all before it in the executive jet market, topping the sales list every year for the past three years.

In 2015, the Brazilian manufacturer turned out 70 jets, eclipsing all including their own six-seat Phenom 100, only 12 of which found their way into service.

Over in Wichita, Kansas, traditional market leader Cessna saw similar results on the delivery sheets: the nine-seat Citation M2 has consistently out-sold the smaller Mustang.

Bundled together, deliveries of the larger jets out-numbered the smaller jets at a ratio of 5.5:1. With the world's trembling economy having a significant impact on all aircraft deliveries, it would be fair to expect the ratio to favour the cheaper options.

Analysis also shows an upward trend in sales of both the Phenom 300 and Citation M2, with the Phenom 100 and Mustang trendlines flat.

When the M2 first entered the delivery race in the last quarter of 2013, it immediately out-sold both the established Mustang and Phenom 100 products. It's almost as if the market was waiting for it.

The reason for the popularity of the larger aircraft is the way they are being used rather than what people want to pay for them. According to Embraer, Phenom 300 customers want them for fractional-ownership programs, charter services, corporate flights and owner-pilots.

Marco Pellegrini, President and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets, attributes the Phenom 300's success to meeting customer demands.

"Then Phenom family's design was based on the highest industry requirements, combining the attributes of a best-in-class aircraft," he explained.

"To have the most delivered business jet in the world for the third consecutive year is a true recognition that we have achieved our commitment to design game-changing products to meet our operators' needs."

With customer demand for the Phenom 100 averaging only 15 per year, and the Mustang eight per year, the future of these two aircraft must be under some consideration, especially given the impending certification for the Cirrus SF50 Vision.

Once the innovative Cirrus jet is certified–thought to be due in July–and customer deliveries begin, the industry will be able to gain an accurate appreciation of its place in the market. If Cirrus are right and the SF50 does take significant share, that share will likely come out of the sales figures of the Phenom 100 and Citation Mustang, catching those two airframes in a no-man's land between the charter and private markets.

But the baby Phenom and Citation both have an advantage over the Cirrus: a second engine. Right now, there is conjecture that charter customers will continue to demand twin-engine aeroplanes, eschewing the obvious cost benefits of running only one turbofan. That would restrict the market penetration for the SF50, and may encourage Embraer and Cessna to hang in there.

However, Cirrus doesn't miscalculate very often, so both Embraer and Cessna have some thinking ahead, and one of the option must be to concede the low end of the jet market to Cirrus and continue to consolidate their shares of the charter and executive transport business.

 

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