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 Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer has received the Type Certificate (TC) and the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its ultra-large Lineage 1000 executive jet.
The aircraft was also awarded type certification by Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil - ANAC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in December 2008. To date, over 20 Lineage 1000 jets have been sold worldwide.
The STC is for the jet's interior, which was designed, manufactured and installed by PATS Aircraft Completions, a subsidiary of DeCrane Aerospace, located in the United States.
"We are pleased to announce the certification of the Lineage 1000 by the FAA, confirming all the exceptional characteristics previously approved by ANAC and EASA," said Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President for Executive Jets. "One of the great achievements of this project regards to the maximum range of the aircraft, which was extended to 4,500 nautical miles, giving operators new possibilities for routes and destinations."
The maximum range of the Lineage 1000, originally projected to be 4,200 nautical miles (7,778 km or 4,833 miles) with eight passengers, or 4,350 nautical miles (8,056 km or 5,005 miles) with four passengers, has been extended to 4,400 nautical miles (8,149 km or 5,063 miles) with eight passengers, or 4,500 nautical miles (8,344 km or 5,179 miles) with four passengers, both with NBAA IFR reserves.
The cabin styling was developed in a partnership between Embraer and the UK-based design office Priestman Goode, of London. Besides elegant and relaxing ambiences, the Lineage 1000 offers a broad range of interior layouts for five different cabin zones, where passengers may enjoy privacy for meetings, resting, and meals.
There is also a private suite with a shower. The finely appointed cabin has three distinct temperature zones and a maximum altitude rating of 7,000 feet (2,134 meters), providing passengers with premium comfort.
Launched in May 2006, the Lineage 1000 is the largest and most refined executive jet in Embraer's portfolio. The aircraft is based on the EMBRAER 190 commercial jet, which was certified in August 2005. It is one of four members of the E-Jets family, which now operates in 35 countries and has flown more than 2.2 million hours.
The certification confirms the Lineage 1000's maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 120,150 pounds (54,500 kg), and authorizes the jet to operate under Extended Operations rules (ETOPS 120). This clearance demonstrates the aircraft's capability of flying routes that have a diversion airport up to 120 minutes from the flight path.
Therefore, the Lineage 1000 can fly long distances over oceans, deserts and other inhospitable areas, thus increasing its operational range, anywhere in the world.
Approval has also been granted for the newly designed auxiliary fuel system, which is compliant with the latest SFAR 88 safety requirements and is seamlessly integrated with the state-of-the-art Honeywell Primus Epic avionics suite, where automation reduces pilot workload.
The STC validates the modifications in the fully customizable executive jet interior, the inflight accessible cargo compartment, and the oxygen system.
TAM's Record
Brazilian Airline TAM set a new record of 112,568 passengers transported on domestic and international flights (including scheduled and chartered flights) in a single day, this past Sunday, January 4, on the return from the year-end holidays, according to preliminary company data. Airplanes were filled to 85% of capacity.
"We achieved this important milestone while maintaining excellent punctuality and regularity indices for our flights throughout the entire year-end holiday period - the result of the dedicated, competent work of our teams," said Captain David Barioni Neto, TAM's president.
The previous one-day record was set by the company on March 24, 2008, after the Easter holiday, when 100,500 passengers took domestic and international flights operated by TAM. Average occupancy that day was 81.2%.
TAM is currently the leader in both the domestic market and international flight segment operated by Brazilian airlines. In the period January-November 2008, TAM's market share for domestic flights was 50.4%, and for international flights, 74.3%.
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