Embraer to Invest $750 Million in Two New Business Jets

Brazil’s Embraer said its board had approved plans to invest $750 million to develop two new business jets, its latest foray into one of the fastest growing niches of the aviation market.

The jets, which will fall into the mid-light and midsize categories, will seat between seven and 12 passengers plus two crew members, Embraer said in a statement.

Embraer, which got its start manufacturing military aircraft and is now one of the world’s top producers of regional jets, has been investing heavily in private planes since 2002 in a bid to diversify its revenue base.

With the new jets, temporarily dubbed the MLJ and the MSJ, Embraer will boost its lineup of executive jets to six. The new MSJ midsize jet will be ready to take to the skies in the second half of 2012, while the MLJ mid-light model will go into operation a year later.