Brazil's Embraer Is Looking Good As Smaller Private Jets Become Popular

As the private-jet business bounces back, the company is introducing a new plane, the Legacy 500.

According to Bloomberg's Christiana Sciaudone, "[t]hat's good news in a niche where deliveries fell 62 percent from 2008 through 2013."

Embraer points out that the Legacy 500 is a "clean sheet" design - an all-new aircraft. The company asked customers what they wanted in a mid-size business jet and then built that.

As Sciaudone notes, the $20-million Legacy 500 is the only jet in its class that has "fly-by-wire" technology. "You can get it on other aircraft," Embraer says on its website, "if you want to spend $60 million."

The idea here is to offer performance and amenities that are similar to what customers might get in a bigger jet, at a much lower price. There are some compromises. The Legacy 500 is advertised as having New York-to-Los Angeles range, but Sciaudone reports that bigger planes can fly twice as far.

Still, the Legacy 500 offers an attractive package for its price, and the upsurge in the mid-size market is vindicating Embraer's decision to focus on this segment.