Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer said on Tuesday that Gold Aviation Services, an air charter company based in Florida, had placed a firm order for five executive jets.
The order is for the Phenom 100, a small, luxurious business jet that Embraer is currently developing. The contract also includes 10 options for additional Phenom 100s or Phenom 300s, which are slightly larger. At list price, the deal would be valued at $14.25 million for the five firm orders.
The Phenom 100 and 300, which seat between eight and nine passengers, will be ready to go into operation in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Embraer, which gets about 70 percent of its revenue from commercial aircraft, has been seeking to diversify by branching out into the executive jet market - an area where its main rival, Bombardier Inc of Montreal, is already an aggressive player.