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Corporate jet sales are taking off

ORLANDO, Fla. — The biz jet business is finally taking off after a decade of trying to clear out the problems left from the recession in 2008.

Corporate jets, from small ones selling for a few million dollars, to the big boys going for tens of millions, are once again hot sellers.

"Clearly the global economy is very strong right now. Particularly, the U.S. and business aviation tends to follow the economy.  So, this is a particularly good time that we are seeing for the aviation industry," said Ed Bolen, president of the National Business Aviation Association.

After business jet sales lost altitude a decade ago, the recovery has been slow, mainly because a glut of used planes held down demand for new ones. That's no longer the case. Demand is climbing.

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Embraer's new Praetor 600 jet, for example, is attracting heavy interest. "We already have sales for the Praetor 600, Praetor 500. So we are starting to see the momentum for our customers. Not only our existing customers, but new customers coming to the brand, especially corporate flight departments," said Michael Amalfitano, Embraer's CEO.

The corporate tax cut and deregulation under the Trump administration have also convinced more companies it's time to get a new jet. The latest models can fly further, with more connectivity and features attracting a wider array of buyers.

"It has been individual buyers, it has been private companies, small companies, large companies, I think everybody is benefiting from that and I think you will see that over the next couple of years," said Mark Burns of Gulfstream.

Historically, corporate jets are a boom and bust industry, with jet makers overbuilding in the good years. But this time, industry leaders say it will be different and the biz jet business will stay strong for years to come.