What It’s Like Aboard the New Embraer Phenom 600E
Clean-sheet business jets tend to be a novelty because of the costs of design, technology and certification. Most new models are iterations of previous generations, built around proven platforms, sometimes with new engines or avionics. More likely, the changes involve interior design, which can be more cosmetic than meaningful. Real game-changers are rare.
Embraer’s Praetor 600E super-midsized jet is unusual in that regard, built on the Praetor 600 platform introduced 12 years ago. But its interior promises to set a new benchmark after it’s certified and delivered to its first customers in 2029. The company today revealed the new 600E and its smaller sibling, the new 500E, announcing the two would be available for new orders going forward.
Last week, Robb Report became the first media outlet to take a flight aboard the 600E at Embraer Executive Jets’s headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, following a presentation by officials regarding the aircraft’s key features.
Inside the cabin of the Embraer Phenom 600E.
Embraer
“How do we unlock the greatest potential in the super-midsize category and go beyond?” asked Alvadi Serpa Junior, vice president of market and product strategy for the Brazilian airframer. That kind of Powerpoint intro is usually filled with business jargon and empty superlatives, but Embraer introduced new features that promise to put enormous pressure on its competitor in the super-midsize category—a popular jet type thanks to its speed and range, interiors that seat and sleep up to eight passengers, and, compared to larger-cabin jets, relatively inexpensive operational costs.
Features like the Phenom 600E’s “Smart Window,” all-electric well-engineered seating, streamlined air vent system, exterior cameras that connect to cabin monitors, thousands of light hues, and voice-activated apps are typically found on large-cabin or even the ultra-long-range jets at business aviation’s pinnacle. These were enthusiastically presented during the presentation and actually lived up to the hype during the hour-long flight along the Florida coast.
The Embraer team are a scrappy group, led by Serpa Junior and Jay Beever, the division’s vice president of design, along with a design team in Melbourne and engineering support at Embraer’s commercial-aircraft headquarters in Brazil. Our group of five gathered around the Smart Window, a 42-inch monitor co-designed with Lufthansa Technik, on a center bulkhead, surrounded by seats and a divan across the aisle. The monitor is touchscreen, curved to match the bulkhead, and connected to an exterior camera to give a sense of transparency to the wall.
“The divan middle seat goes from the least preferred seat to the best, because it’s the one attached to the Smart Window,” says Jay Beever, vice president of Design Operations, who held positions at Ford Automotive and Gulfstream before coming to Embraer a little over a decade ago. He refers to it as an oversized PED—personal electronic device—since it handles movies, video games, video conferencing, or just watching the landscape below via the exterior cameras.
The 600E is offering up the brand’s next-gen seating.
Embraer
The 600E’s other primary feature are the seats, a leap forward from the previous generation. They were designed and built in-house. “That gave us control over the features while staying within budget,” says Serpa Junior. The seats have no levers but are controlled by three buttons on both sides of the armrests, with dual lumbar supports and three levels of cushioning for comfort, and the ability to pivot multiple ways, tilt back and drop down into a berth. The forward-tracking headrest shows the thought that went into the design.
An hour didn’t allow for a nap, but the seats swiveled easily in multiple directions and felt comfy. Embraer is offering multiple types of stitching, leather colors and even custom trim like carbon-fiber accents offered in three “collections.”
Several other features may fall in the gee-whiz category, but reflect Embraer’s intent to elevate the super-mid into a different category. The RGB mood lighting can change the appearance of the cabin by voice activation or pressing buttons depending on time of day, or activity, or even nationality—they have a USA red, white and blue, or Brazilian green, yellow and blue options. Even more interesting were the redesigned air vents above each seat, which previously had gaspers (the bulbs you twist on and off), but now push air through narrow slats controlled by your app armrest or the panel on the armrest. It might seem like a minor detail, but the result is a more comfortable experience, a streamlined panel, and really clever engineering. It shows how Embraer is using design to address ergonomics in the very limited confines of a business jet, where every millimeter, every ounce, counts.
The redesigned galley includes a larger working space and streamlined appliances that Embraer designed in house, and there’s also a crew lavatory up front. At 4,108 nautical miles, the 600E claims the longest range in the super-midsize category but the new aircraft will also have a larger payload for takeoff and landing.
The Praetor 500E won’t have the Smart Window because of the more compact size of its bulkhead, but it does share the seating and other design features of the larger 600E. Both aircraft will see single-percentage price increases, with the new 500E having a baseline price of $21,645,000, and the Praetor 600E for $25,795,000.
