One would be hard-pressed to point to a marketplace more competitive and more demanding of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) than business aircraft. Safety, performance, reliability, fuel efficiency, cockpit technology and cost of ownership are all very important, of course.
To the people who actually use these amazing productivity tools to conduct business, however, cabin comfort and all that encompasses may be the biggest differentiator that drives selection of one model over the other. Small wonder, then, that airframe builders are sparing no effort to create the optimum passenger experience.
Phenom 100 business jets make their way down Embraer's assembly line at Melbourne, Fl. The manufacturer is working toward a 20% improvement in cycle time from the first production station to customer delivery.
Initially the seats will be strictly for Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 jets, two of the best selling models across all classes of business aircraft. There are no plans to supply other OEMs with seats. “We intend to provide the best seats in the market, because we see it as a competitive differentiator,” said Mauro Kern, chief operating officer and former chief technology officer.
But the broad-based effort doesn’t stop at seats. Embraer is doubling down on the entire ‘passenger experience.’ To this end, it’s seeking to develop a better understanding and greater control of the technologies, costs and manufacturing processes associated with producing the highest quality, most distinctive cabin interiors—which in turn is leading Embraer toward vertical integration, according to Kern. “Other technologies will be required,” he noted.
A year ago Embraer opened a laboratory-stuffed engineering and technology center to support its growing aeronautical cluster in the region. The state of the art facility is focused in large part on how to be more innovative in the design and construction of cabin interiors specifically for business jets. “The passenger experience is really important, and we want to have a very solid capability to develop the best solutions,” Kern said.
