First Fractional Provider To Offer The New Midsized Business Jet

The first of several Embraer Legacy 450 business jets has been delivered to fractional operator Flexjet, which becomes the first fractional fleet provider to take delivery of the Legacy 450.

The Legacy was certified by the FAA in August 2015. Additional deliveries of the airplane are scheduled for later this year, with a total of five expected to be in the Flexjet fleet by the end of 2016.

“The Legacy 450 will become the mainstay of our midsized program, which has been growing rapidly in response to increased demand for aircraft of this size,” said Michael Silvestro, Flexjet’s Chief Executive Officer. “Not only does the Legacy 450 offer the capabilities and performance of larger aircraft, but fractional Owners can access it at an investment level more commonly associated with much smaller aircraft. The addition of the Legacy 450 will allow us to dominate the midsized category.”

The Legacy 450 has digital flight controls based on Fly-by-Wire technology and is powered by a pair of Honeywell HTF7500E engines, the most environmentally friendly in their class. A clean sheet design, this aircraft offers outstanding performance metrics, with a cruising speed of 536 mph/862 KM/H and a cruising altitude of 45,000 feet. The Legacy 450 requires a minimum runway length of just 3,825 feet/1,166 meters, enabling it to take off from the short runways of many smaller airports, greatly expanding the number of destinations it can reach directly.

A recent FAA-approved range extension gives the Legacy 450 an outstanding range of up to 3,337 statute miles, sufficient for nonstop travel between all city pairs within the continental United States as well as such distant city-pairs as Los Angeles-Honolulu, New York-San Francisco and New York-Dublin, Ireland.

“The size of the Legacy 450 places it and its sister aircraft, the Legacy 500, in the center of our fleet, between the super light Learjet 75LXi and the super midsized Challenger 350,” Silvestro said.

“The Legacy 450 will join other Embraer aircraft in our fleet including the Legacy 500 and the Phenom 300, both of which have become Owner favorites,” said Silvestro. "In fact, our fleet expansion has been very strong over the past 24 months. We will close 2016 with 52 new aircraft delivered in a 24-month period.”

(Image provided with Flexjet news release)

FMI: www.flexjet.com