Boat International — January 2018

boatinternational.com

01/2018

small,thatarecomingtomarketandbreakingnew

ground on safety, efficiency and comfort. There

hasneverbeenmorechoiceinwhattobuyorhow

and where to fly.

Embraer Executive Jets’ newest business aircraft

are the 8-12 seat Legacy 500, which costs up

to£19million,andthe7-9seatLegacy450,that

starts at £14.5 million. The new planes will, the

firm claims, “redefine the essence of the midsize

andmid-lightexecutivejetsectors”.“Cleansheet”

designmeansEmbraerhasintroducednew

technology and comforts usually available on

larger,moreexpensiveaircraft.Theseinclude

full fly-by-wire systems and a head-up display

with an enhanced vision system to increase

safety and fuel efficiency for pilots and operators

as well as comfort for passengers. High strength

alloys and composites save weight, improve

performance, drive down operating costs and

guarantee a lifespan of 27,500 hours, or more

than 50 years, with typical use. They also have

afullstand-upcabin.

The new jets can fly non-stop routes like San

Francisco to Hawaii, New York to Los Angeles or

Riyadh to Cannes. The average hourly operation

cost (fuel and maintenance only) of the Legacy 450

is £2,600 and the Legacy 500 £2,800. Charter rates

are £5,500-£8,500 an hour, based on market-

standard calculations of aircraft ownership and

operation, published byBCAmagazine and Conklin

&deDecker.

New to the NetJets stable is the £13 million

CitationLatitude,madebyTextroninWichita,

Kansas. It can manage short runways and high

altitudes and its lean-burn engines and improved

aerodynamics mean it can travel for up to seven

hours.ItisequippedwithInmarsat’s

SwiftBroadband, a satellite-based Wi-Fi system

accessible across the globe, as well as an in-flight

entertainment system manufactured by Gogo and

customised by NetJets. A new pressurisation

system delivers a class-leading cabin altitude of

around 5,000ft. NetJets Europe offers a 25 hour

card for €137,000 in the £6m Phenom 300, which

equates to £4,840 per hour. This would compare

with spot charter rates for similar aircraft of

between£3,000and£5,500perhour.

And, of course, the transocean reliables from

Gulfstream, Dassault and Bombardier keep on

flying higher and leaner. The £49.5m Gulfstream

G650 is extremely well liked since no other private

jetallowsyoutoflyasfastorasfarinsuchcomfort.

The 6,000 mile range

of the Bombardier

Global 5000, above,

meansyoucanreach

London from New York

YOUSIGNUPANDPAY

A JOINING FEE AND

SUBSCRIPTION, RATHER

LIKE A GYM MEMBERSHIP

>>

AVIATION66