Embraer has announced that ABC Táxi Aéreo is the Latin American launch customer for its new Phenom 100 very light jet and Phenom 300 light jet. Deliveries of one Phenom 100 and one Phenom 300 are expected in early 2009 and 2010, respectively. ABC Táxi Aéreo’s Belo Horizonte headquarters was the launch site in August for a five-city Brazilian tour by the Phenom 100 full-scale mockup. Embraer will launch the North American tour of its Phenom 300 full-scale mockup in New York City, where it can be seen on September 5 at the New York Stock Exchange.

Embraer claims a backlog of “firm, non-refundable orders” for 235 Phenom 100s and Phenom 300s, with an aggregate value of about $1.25 billion. According to Embraer Executive Jets v-p Luis Carlos Affonso, the company expects Latin America to account for more than 50 percent of worldwide very-light- and light-jet deliveries by Embraer over the next decade. Embraer has also taken a firm order from a Middle Eastern customer for its first Lineage 1000, the executive jet version of the company’s new E190 airliner.