Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has more than tripled its Asia-Pacific fleet in the last six years, with the bulk of the growth coming from large-cabin aircraft, which have increased in the region from 50 to 169.
“Asia, particularly China, remains our leading export market,” Gulfstream president Larry Flynn said this week at the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition in Shanghai.
“As investors and businesses look around the globe for opportunities, the need for rapid, long-range transportation increases. The capabilities of our aircraft easily allow Chinese operators to reach markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East and beyond.”
All of Gulfstream’s large-cabin aircraft — the G450, G550 and G650 — are manufactured at Gulfstream headquarters in Savannah.
Less than 10 years after its entry-into-service, the 400th large-cabin, ultra-long-range G550 entered service. The G450 fleet recently surpassed 200,000 flights, less than eight years after the first aircraft entered service.
In addition, the G550 maintained a dispatch reliability rate of 99.9 percent or greater for each month in the past year. A 99.9 percent dispatch rate means that, on average, the G550 fleet successfully launched 999 out of 1,000 flights within 30 minutes of the scheduled departure time.
Dispatch reliability is measured to the published National Business Aviation Association standard.
“The entire organization works very hard to ensure all Gulfstream aircraft achieve the maximum dispatch rate possible to provide the optimal experience for our customers,” said Kevan Jackson, Gulfstream’s G550 program director.