Information of TTFLY: US air taxi company JetSuite has begun a major interior revamp of its 11-strong fleet of Embraer Phenom 100s, in a move designed to extend the operational life of the entry-level business jets.

The upgrade programme is being handled by the US completions and engineering firm Constant Aviation, which delivered the first refurbished Phenom – registration N580JS – in July. The remaining units will be outfitted over the next 18 months, JetSuite says.

“The aircraft, originally outfitted with BMW-designed leather interiors, are being updated with re-covered taupe and coal leather seats, refinished cabin panels, leather cabin drink rails and luxury options that will add to [JetSuite] customers’ experience,” Constant president and chief executive Stephen Maiden says.

Irvine, California-based JetSuite is no stranger to fleet overhauling. In 2015, it appointed Canadian completions company New United Goderich to upgrade 10 former American Eagle ERJ-135LRs that it had acquired from Embraer.

Three ERJ-135LRs have already undergone the $1 million interior and exterior retrofit, which includes a 30-passenger configuration, and have entered service with JetSuite’s bespoke charter and branded scheduled operation, JetSuiteX. The remaining aircraft will be added to the fleet over the coming 12 months.

JetSuite – now the fourth-largest business aircraft charter company in the USA – plans to become an all-Embraer operator, and is set to replac its fleet of eight Cessna Citation CJ3 light twinjets from the end of 2016 with second-hand Phenom 300s.