Story ID: 
Citing Demand, Flexjet Accelerates G450 Deliveries
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Flexjet placed an order for up to 50 Gulfstreams last October, which includes the G450, G650 and the new G500.
Word Count: 555
Under an accelerated delivery plan in response to “heavy market demand,” fractional-share operator Flexjet will place six G450s into service by the end of the year. Flexjet placed an order for up to 50 Gulfstreams in October 2014, which includes the G450, G650 and the new G500, for which Flexjet “will be the North American launch customer and exclusive fractional provider,” according to the company. 

“Since we took delivery of our first Gulfstream G450 in June, the response to these new long-range aircraft has been so robust that we have asked Gulfstream to move up delivery of our next two G450s to this fall, rather than mid-2016, as previously agreed to,” said Flexjet CEO Michael Silvestro. “Our [year-over-year fractional share] sales for the year are up 20 percent and the marketplace clearly is hungry for extended-range products from Gulfstream.” 

Flexjet’s first G650 is slated for delivery early next year, and the first G500 is expected in 2018. The Gulfstream order originally was for 22 firm (10 G450s, six G650s and six G500s) and 28 options. Two of the options were moved up to accelerate the G450 deliveries, so the order now stands at at 24 firm and 26 options, according to Silvestro. “We still have flexibility in options across those three fleet types. Gulfstream was accommodating in the types we felt were most desirable.” 

“In the fractional jet industry, you hear a lot about orders for new airplanes being delayed or cancelled, not accelerated,” said Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci. “Not only have we had strong demand for the Gulfstream G450, but we also are seeing tremendous enthusiasm for the G650.”

The company’s Gulfstreams, Learjet 75s, Challenger 350s, Global Expresses and Legacy 450s and 500s are or will be equipped with Flexjet’s customized LXI Cabin Collection configuration.

The first Embraer Legacy 500 delivery is scheduled for September, and Flexjet will take five this year. Legacy 450 deliveries begin in June 2016. “We’re excited about [the Legacy 500],” he said. “It really rounds out our fleet, and I can’t wait to get it in the program.” 

The new aircraft are expected to expand the Flexjet fleet by at least 50 percent, if not more, from about 85 earlier this year “to the low to mid 100s,” according to Silvestro.

Recently Flexjet has re-registered some Phenom 300s operated by its sister fractional-share provider Flight Options with Flexjet N numbers. Silvestro explained that the two fractionals’ fleets aren’t being merged but that Flexjet was selected as the brand for new deliveries. “That’s the theme of Flexjet,” he explained. “As we thought about the fleet, the Phenom became the product that would be more aligned with the Flexjet brand, and that’s why new deliveries of Phenoms are coming on as the Flexjet brand, and we did start converting some Phenoms to Flexjet.”

Silvestro sees Flexjet as having returned to a growth mode. “I’ve been at this sort of strategic planning mode the better part of a year and a half, and we started to execute in 2015; 2014 was more of a transition. I’m excited that the marketplace has responded. The third and fourth quarter are [typically] the most robust, and we’re headed into the busiest part of the year with great momentum.”