Etihad Airways’ flight college has selected the Embraer Phenom 100E to fulfill a requirement for a jet-powered training aircraft. A purchase agreement has been signed for four of the light jets, with three more on option for a combined value of around $30 million. The new aircraft will be delivered from the first quarter of 2016, and will join a fleet of 16 single-engined propeller aircraft at the college at Al Ain, Abu Dhabi.

Richard Hill, Etihad’s COO, commented that, “The Phenom 100E’s airline-grade technology, performance and reliability make it an ideal training platform to prepare cadets for line operations.”

In other Embraer (Booth Z073) news, the OEM has appointed ExecuJet Aviation Nigeria in Lagos as an authorized service center to provide line maintenance for the Phenom 300 in West Africa.