Embraer delivered the first Praetor 600, a reworked Legacy 500, in 2019.
Two words of advice for anyone looking for a used Embraer Praetor 600: good luck.
Some 134 have been placed into service since first deliveries in 2019. Earlier this year just two were on the market and by mid-year—none. And prices? According to the Aircraft Bluebook, a 2022 model still fetches $21 million, virtually the same as when new. (Base price new in 2025 is $23.995 million.)
Fully 115 of the fleet are based in either North America or Europe. Fractional operator Flexjet is the largest fleet operator with 22. By the end of 2025 it will have 28. And the operator is buying more. Lots more. In April it announced a deal to acquire up to 182 Embraer executive jets of various models including the 600s. The deal, valued at $7 billion, begins in 2026 and runs for five years. Other customers are buying, too. Last year Embraer delivered 27.
Embraer first crashed the corporate jet party in 2002 with the Legacy 600, a reworked variant of its ERJ 135 regional jet. Toe in water, it quickly progressed to offer entry-level, light, midsize, super-midsize and large-cabin executive jet models. It built a state-of-the-art aircraft assembly plant in Melbourne, Florida, and hired away some of the top talent from competitors. By 2015, Embraer offered a full line of business jets and by this year will have delivered more than 2,000 of them by embracing a simple value proposition: more for less. Bigger cabins, more features, more performance, lower prices. In automotive terms, a BMW for the price of a Buick.
Top: The Praetor 600 features Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics. Bottom: Customers praise the Praetor 600’s cabin features, including the wet galley.
The Praetor 600 made its delivery debut in 2019, itself a reworked version of the now out-of-production Legacy 500 midsize that was first delivered in 2014. The 500 itself was no slouch—the first bizjet to offer fly-by-wire flight controls and a vacuum toilet to the midsize sector, as well as a comfortable, flat-floor cabin seating up to 12 and transcontinental range (3,125 nm, or 3,596 mi.). Compared to the 500, the 600 delivers 900 nm more range (to 4,018 nm) thanks to the addition of ventral fuel tanks and larger winglets, engines with 492 lb. more blow per side from the Honeywell HTF7500E turbofans, 400 additional lb. of full fuel payload and a redesigned passenger cabin with the latest amenities. A lot of additional capability, but Embraer only added $1 million to $2 million for it—option dependent. More for less.
The changes put the 600 squarely in the crowded super-midsize derby to face off with competition from Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault and Gulfstream. Last year the super-midsize sector accounted for nearly 26% of all business jet deliveries, according to data from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). People want these aircraft—and the competition is intense.
The 600’s updated cabin look that the Brazilian airframer unveiled in 2020, cleverly branded Bossa Nova, is a symphony of carbon fiber, piano black, gold accents, custom stitching, technology and comfort features ripped from the pricier large-cabin, long-range world. Other elements include air-to-ground and Ka-band high speed internet, reclining flat single seats, reduced cabin altitude (5,800 ft. at 45,000 ft.), larger cabin windows and a generously large galley in which you can cook meals from scratch. Not to mention the simply massive 155-ft.3 baggage capacity. Starlink will be available later this year via STC installation, and the Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics can be augmented with the addition of RNP AR 0.3 and HUD/EVS including E2VS. Popular seating options include the addition of a three-place divan, belted lav and single side-facing galley seat.
There’s a reason Flexjet wants more of these aircraft. “Customers love it for its range that delivers impressive mission versatility, yet it’s the cabin that earns enduring admiration. Owners frequently highlight how remarkably quiet the cabin is and how they enjoy touches like the presence of a wet galley—an amenity typically reserved for larger aircraft,” says a Flexjet spokesman. Flexjet puts its own imprint on its 600s with a custom cabin concept it calls LXi, in color and finish schemes it calls Driftwood and Dakota, but the bones of Bossa Nova are still there.
Embraer offers several maintenance plans under its Executive Care program, and 31 of its 70 authorized service centers are certified to work on the 600. It operates six company-owned service centers in the U.S. in addition to one at Paris Le Bourget and two in Brazil. Factory 24/7 HUMS monitoring is also available.
Is the 600 perfect? No. The Dassault Falcon 2000 LXS’s cabin is massively wider at 7 ft. 8 in., but its much heftier $35 million sticker price more rightfully puts it in the large-cabin category with the Bombardier Challenger 650. The Challenger 3500 has a lower cabin altitude and a 4-in. wider cabin; the narrow-cabin Cessna Citation Longitude is a couple knots faster and cheaper to operate; and the Gulfstream G280 also has a trenched center aisle cabin that is 4 in. wider and 3 in. taller. Compared to the 600 for all three of the latter, typical fast cruise speed is within 10 kt. of each other but the 600 wins the maximum range war—and it is not even close. It beats the G280 by 315 nm, the Longitude by 518 nm and the Challenger 3500 by 941 nm. And none of the others have full fly-by-wire flight controls for more precise handling and to smooth out turbulence.
The Praetor 600 delivers range, large cabin amenities, avionics and flight controls in a package that is value-priced and then holds its value incredibly well. It hits the super-midsize sweet spot.
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