Canadian fractional ownership company AirSprint took delivery in December of the country’s first Embraer Legacy 450 business jets. Two examples of the superlight type were handed over to the Calgary, Alberta-based operator from a July 2016 order for 12. Another aircraft is scheduled for delivery this month.

“We plan to have five Legacy 450s in the line-up by the end of year, with the remainder of the aircraft joining us over the next few years to meet expected demand,” says AirSprint president and chief operating officer James Elian.

AirSprint Legacy 450

AirSprint

“The aircraft will replace our five Cessna Citation XLS as the top-end offering. This model simply doesn’t have the range to satisfy many of our customers’ mission requirements, particularly those who want to travel across the country from say Montreal to Vancouver.”

The XLS has a range of 2,100nm (3,890km) – 800nm less than the Legacy 450, which underwent a minor modification last year to boost its range by 325nm.

“The introduction of the Legacy 450 also allows us to expand our service offering to include Hawaii for the first time,” Elian says. The company completed its inaugural service to the archipelgago in December.

“AirSprint also operates eight CJ3+ and 2+ light business jets as its entry-level offering. We plan to expand these numbers too,” Elian says.

Source: Flight International