A panel discussion at the EJOA convention
Boosting the Embraer community, two organizations highlight and elevate the Phenom ownership journey: The Embraer Jet Operators Association (EJOA) and Phenom Pilots. EJOA seeks to improve the experience of owning and operating an Embraer Executive Jet aircraft. Similarly, the Phenom Pilots organization brings together like-minded individuals to share the joy of aviation and the experience of flying the Phenom 100 and 300 models.
Embraer Jet Operators Association
The Embraer Jet Operators Association, founded in 2010, is a 501(c)7 organization with over 400 members across the Phenom and Praetor model families. The leadership team consists of four directors, who collectively own two Phenom 100s, a Phenom 300, and a Praetor 500.
Jamie Rogers is the current executive director of EJOA, joining in September of 2023. As we talked, she provided additional details about the organization’s goals and purpose.
“As your advocate, EJOA works with Embraer, its suppliers, and other industry leaders to influence the economics of ownership and operation in a positive way, to offer the resources and motivation to improve the safety of your operation, and to improve the efficiency and pleasure of owning and operating an Embraer Executive Jet.”
One of the most notable ways the group benefits its membership is through its longstanding relationship with its namesake OEM. This relationship benefits both sides, allowing the manufacturer to have a sounding board to help drive positive change and owners of the aircraft to do the same.
“EJOA was founded to make the entirety of the ownership experience as positive as possible. They did this by providing information and communication directly with Embraer. One of the biggest strengths that the association has is our connection with Embraer, which enables us to help serve the membership,” Rogers explained that “to be able to directly connect with the airframer with any questions, feedback about the aircraft, or things they would like to see is important.”
There are four categories of membership, all of which are between $250 and $500 per membership ($125 per additional qualified representative). Owner members must own at least 25% of a qualifying aircraft directly or through other ownership structures. Corporate flight departments must have between one and five Embraer aircraft but cannot be charter companies. There are also ‘Product and Service Providers’ and ‘Embraer Executive Jets Employees’ membership options for individuals and organizations that support these aircraft. Additional details surrounding membership tiers and requirements can be found on EJOA’s website (www.ejoa.aero).
Outside of a close relationship with Embraer, there are other distinct benefits that EJOA provides, including access to an online forum, contact information for vendors, and a directory of product and service providers. The association also maintains a robust owners and operators directory. Members get discounts from partner organizations that are a part of the organization. A highly anticipated benefit is the organization’s annual conference, which will be held this year in Salt Lake City on May 17th and 18th.
Rogers provided an overview of this event, noting Embraer’s involvement. The topics of the hosted sessions are all relevant to owner-operators of Embraer aircraft, including safety and other key concerns. “The EJOA conference will feature a superb keynote speaker as well as an excellent exhibition hall where attendees will have ample opportunities during breakfast, lunch, and breaks to visit with our sponsors and learn the latest information about their products and services. The day will continue with
educational, informative, and entertaining breakout sessions. The evening will conclude with a dinner reception with delicious cuisine from the talented Grand America Hotel chefs and an exhilarating live auction.”
Phenom Pilots
Marcus Adolfsson (featured in Twin & Turbine’s December 2022 issue) created the Phenom Pilots organization in 2020. Before ascending to the Phenom 300, he owned an Eclipse 500, for which he noted there was a highly passionate group of owners. Adolfsson hoped to replicate a group explicitly focused on owner-flown Phenoms.
Like many other formally organized ownership groups, the Phenom Pilots organization offers similar benefits – including attending member-only events, networking with fellow pilots, and learning about ownership topics through an online forum. Dissimilar to most, though, is the cost for owners and potential owners to join. The proliferation of Facebook groups helped sway him to make membership no-charge for those who can contribute to positive dialogue about Phenoms.
Someone who needs to receive access to the Phenom Pilots forum only needs to complete an application form on the group’s website (www.phenompilots.org). Some recent topics discussed amongst the membership include ‘Phenom 100 GPU issues fix below 30V,’ ‘Cabin Noise & Available Improvements,’ and ‘Flaps 3 or full?’. Users also have access to a performance calculator for both Phenom models.
“Jump into the forum and start asking questions, or do a lot of reading. You can gain so much knowledge by just coming in and reading the thousands of posts that are in there – good and bad,” he began.
“You always need to be mindful that for every successful flight we have, we will not necessarily post about it. Right? We are going to post when we have problems. But that may be every few hundred flights. But I think someone in the market of buying a jet knows that there will be more complaints than praise in a forum like ours. But you want to find out how Embraer deals with those problems. Because there’s nothing worse than dropping that much money on a plane and having it sit in the hangar for weeks or months because you can’t get a part, and unless you had access to a forum like ours, you wouldn’t know. There’s so much that I’ve learned from my fellow members.”
Adolfsson explained that another functionality of the website resulted from a commonly asked question – ‘Why should I buy a Phenom?’ He contends that aircraft model-type organizations are responsible for advocating for their represented airframes in a way that the OEM, brokers, and other providers cannot.
“Then, because it is such a common request, we have a ‘Talk to an Owner’ button on our home page. You click on that and fill in your information and your specific request. Then, that automatically gets posted in the forum for members to review and respond to. For the intenders (potential Phenom buyers), I know we have helped sell planes because people have been able to research the plane, get more honest feedback, and make better-informed decisions. It helps sell more [Embraer] airplanes than it turns people off.”
