Smaller is bigger when it comes to jets nowadays.
Just ask Embraer (NYSE:ERJ). The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has more than 500 orders in place for its Phenom line of four- and eight-seaters. Practically, that means a Phenom jet ordered today wouldn't see service before 2012, according to aviation news site AIN Online.
But Embraer executives apparently think there's even more business to be had. Yesterday, the firm began accepting deposits for two new concept jets called the MSJ and MLJ.
"Concept" is the key word here, though. Embraer hasn't committed to building anything. "This is not a launch, it's a concept," CEO Frederico Fleury Curado said at this week's national conference of the National Business Aviation Association.
And yet there's every reason to believe Embraer will make good on whatever deposits it receives. Business jets are a, um, booming business. For example, Textron's (NYSE:TXT) Cessna just reported a record $11 billion backlog. Honeywell (NYSE:HON), meanwhile, is projecting 1,000 business jet deliveries this year, which is also a record. Who wouldn't want a slice of that ever-increasing pie?
Not you, Embraer, right?
