LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Flexjet Ltd., offering travelers access to the world’s most luxurious fleet of private jets, accepted delivery of the first Praetor 600 aircraft in its European-based fleet, marking a significant milestone in the expansion of the company’s global business. Flexjet is the only shared-ownership/fractional provider of the Praetor 600, part of a US$1.4 billion order for Embraer Executive Jets, a division of Embraer S.A. (NYSE: ERJ; BM&FBOVESPA: EMBR3), that was announced in October 2019.
European Managing Director Marine Eugène leads the team headquartered at Flexjet House in the Mayfair neighbourhood in the west end of London. In addition, Flexjet has opened facilities including a European Tactical Control Centre in the United Kingdom to coordinate flight logistics, an aircraft maintenance facility in Milan and Flexjet House, where an experience center envelops current and prospective Flexjet shared aircraft Owners.
“Flexjet has taken the time to lay the groundwork to properly serve those entering the shared aircraft ownership market in Europe,” said Eugène. “Now that we have the infrastructure in place, we are growing our fleet with the addition of our new Praetor 600 aircraft. The Praetor 600 will form part of our Red Label by Flexjet offering, bringing to European-based travelers a unique combination of innovative technology, luxury and premium service. Our objective is to give Owners the ability to travel not just in North America but throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East without leaving the safety and security of the Flexjet family.”
Currently, only 110 shared-ownership aircraft are providing more than 800,000 flight hours per year in Europe. In contrast, there are nearly 700 private aircraft supporting 1.2 million flight hours annually in the U.S. With its growing presence in Europe, Flexjet intends to meet the needs of a European market, underserved by existing flight providers, offering the personalized levels of service, consistency and attention to detail for which Flexjet is known.
The Praetor 600 will be part of the premium Red Label by Flexjet programme. The only offering of its kind, Red Label by Flexjet features flight crews assigned to a single, specific aircraft, custom cabin interiors and the youngest fleet in the industry as well as innovations established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Having the youngest fleet in the industry is just one of the ways that Flexjet is meeting the industrywide commitment to achieving its sustainability goals by 2050. To meet that target, Flexjet Ltd. has implemented a standard sustainability offering that goes far beyond carbon-neutral. All Owners’ flights will be fully emissions-neutral, compensating for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and also other non-carbon dioxide warming pollutants in aviation, such as water vapor, aerosol sulphate and nitrous oxides. This comprehensive programme requires offsetting an additional 300 percent on top of standard CO2 emissions, a truly innovative first in the sector.
As the fleet launch customer for the Praetor 600, Flexjet will add it to its existing European-based fleet of Embraer Legacy 500s and 600s. Announced by Embraer in 2018, the super-midsize Praetor 600 seats nine passengers plus a cabin server and offers class-leading capabilities that make it ideal for both business and leisure use. Its exceptional short-field performance enables it to fly into small airports – including London City (EGLC) – which reduces transit time both to businesses in city centers and to remote vacation locations. The Praetor 600 is the farthest-flying super-midsize jet in the world and has a range of more than 4,000 miles, making it easy to fly without stops from Paris to New York or London to Dubai.
In addition, the Praetor 600 is equipped with unparalleled high-speed satellite Wi-Fi connectivity and an industry-first touchscreen Upper Tech Panel that puts flight information and cabin controls at the passenger’s fingertips. In the cockpit, the Praetor 600 is the first super-midsize jet with full fly-by-wire technology, which powers the Active Turbulence Reduction that not only makes every flight the smoothest but also the most efficient possible. One of the distinctive features of the Praetor 600 is the enlarged winglets, roughly six feet high, which contribute to the aircraft’s fuel efficiency.
The aircraft air quality management system is comprehensive, with the ability to move 100 percent fresh air through the cabin and an additional HEPA filter that further improves air quality by filtering out 99.97 percent of all particles including bacteria, viruses and fungi. The Praetor 600 also has a cabin altitude of 5,800 feet when the aircraft is cruising at 45,000 feet. This pressure level, combined with higher humidity levels, means travellers will feel less fatigued and more active during the flight and better refreshed on arrival.
“With private jet service recovering much faster than commercial aviation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that travelers want to minimize their risk of exposure to the coronavirus, and private jets are a lower-risk way to fly in the COVID-19 era. That makes this the perfect time to bring both the versatile Praetor 600 and the Red Label experience to the European market,” said Flexjet Chief Executive Officer Michael Silvestro. “With Marine Eugène at the helm, we look forward to the continued growth and evolution of our European offering.”
Michael Amalfitano, President & CEO, Embraer Executive Jets, added “Flexjet is the fleet launch customer for the Praetor aircraft, continuing a two-decade-long partnership with Embraer. We are pleased that Flexjet is introducing the world’s most technologically advanced super-midsized aircraft, the Praetor 600, to the European shared ownership market and has the capabilities to thoroughly disrupt the business aviation market. We are confident that Flexjet passengers here in Europe will enjoy the ultimate experience in business and private aviation.”
Flexjet continues to be a leader in safety and the well-being of its Owners. Flexjet was the first private jet provider to decontaminate its cabins with anti-microbial treatments (MicroShield 360 in U.S.-based aircraft and Bacoban® on EU-based aircraft). Each Flexjet cabin also is equipped with MedAire’s Universal Precaution Kit containing tools to help protect both passengers and crew from possible exposure. Every Flexjet pilot or crewmember wears masks and receives a mandatory temperature check pre-tour and a second while on duty. In addition, each crewmember remains in compliance with WHO-recommended guidelines for social distancing both on the ground and in the air.
About Flexjet
Flexjet first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing. Flexjet’s fractional aircraft programme is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 21 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating and is IS-BAO compliant at Level 2. Flexjet’s fractional programme fields an exclusive array of business aircraft—some of the youngest in the fractional jet industry, with an average age of approximately six years. In 2015, Flexjet introduced Red Label by Flexjet, which features the youngest fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 40 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the Embraer Phenom 300, Legacy 450 and Praetor 500, Bombardier Challenger 350, the Gulfstream G450, G500, G650 and G700, and the Aerion AS2 supersonic business jets. Flexjet’s European fleet includes the Embraer Praetor 600, Legacy 500 and 600. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programmes and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Twitter @Flexjet and on Instagram @FlexjetLLC.
