Aircraft
New Legacy models fill the gap in Embraer's business jet lineup
At last year’s NBAA Convention, Embraer tested the water, so to speak, for two new aircraft it described as a midsize jet and a “mid-light” jet and began a

At last year’s NBAA Convention, Embraer tested the water, so to speak, for two new aircraft it described as a midsize jet and a “mid-light” jet and began accepting “letters of interest,” along with $90,000 and $70,000 refundable deposits, respectively. But it stopped short of an official program launch.

Eight months later, however, at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) show in Geneva, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer made it official, unveiling the midsize jet as the Legacy 500 and the mid-light as the Legacy 450, two twinjets bridging the market gap between Embraer’s  Phenom 300 light jet and its large-cabin Legacy 600. At that point, Embraer began accepting “letters of intent” (LOIs) from customers and, according to Embraer Executive Jets executive v-p Luis Carlos Affonso, more than 100 flooded in.