After 15 Years, a New Private Jet Is America’s Most Popular

Brazil’s Embraer SA just toppled Textron Inc.’s Cessna as the producer of the most-flown private jet in the US after a 15-year reign.

The Embraer Phenom 300, a medium-sized jet that seats as many as nine passengers, had more than 360,000 takeoffs and landings at US airports during the trailing 12 months through August, about 1,400 more than the Cessna Citation Excel family of jets. The Excel had been the most operated private jet for about 15 years, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s monthly report of business jet operations.