Flexjet adds maiden Embraer Legacy 450

Flexjet LLC, offering travelers access to the world’s most luxurious fleet of private jets, today accepted its first Legacy 450 midsized business jet from Embraer (NYSE: ERJ). Flexjet becomes the first fractional fleet provider to take delivery of the Legacy 450, which the FAA certified in August 2015. Additional deliveries of the Legacy 450 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.

With a cabin that is six feet tall and nearly seven feet wide, a flat floor, room for up to eight travelers and 150 cubic feet of combined baggage space, the interior of the Legacy 450 is more in line with aircraft a category up. Beyond being the most spacious in its category, the Legacy 450 also is the most comfortable aircraft in its class, with fully reclining club seats that may be converted into lie-flat beds. Seven sound-reduction design elements of the Legacy 450 keep the cabin extremely quiet and reduce passenger fatigue.

As part of Flexjet’s Red Label offering, the Legacy 450 also provides access to the world’s newest shared jet fleet, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and Flexjet-exclusive artisan interiors that are the most distinctive ever offered to travelers by a fractional provider. Red Label bridges the gap between traditional fractional programs and whole-aircraft ownership, providing a premium level of comfort and customization, giving fractional Owners the feeling that they are flying on their own plane.

“We are proud to introduce the Embraer Legacy 450, which is among the world’s most technologically advanced business jets, to the fractional marketplace,” said Silvestro. “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. 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.”

To celebrate, Flexjet will be touring the country with the Legacy 450 this fall. The nationwide tour will include a series of static displays of the aircraft and exclusive aircraft-related events for current and prospective owners.