Story ID: 370Gulfstream
Gulfstream Still Growing Strong in China
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Gulfstream’s market share in China is now more than 65 percent for large-cabin business jets.
Word Count: 463
Gulfstream Aerospace’s Greater China fleet has grown to 166 airplanes, with more than 100 in mainland China, up from 30 in 2010, company senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing Scott Neal said on Monday at ABACE 2016. “We have experienced tremendous growth in Greater China,” he said, and this includes the latest delivery: an ultra-long-range G650ER now based in Beijing.

“We have more than 65 percent of the market share for large-cabin aircraft in China,” he added. “That speaks to the performance, reliability and comfort of our flagship, the G650ER, along with the G650, G550 and G450, as well as the world-class service and support we give our owners and operators.” Here at ABACE Gulfstream brought four jets to the static display: a G280, G450, G550 and G650ER.

“Orders during 2015 were strong for every model, driven heavily by the G650 and G650ER,” Neal said. “Sales during 2015 were 55 percent in North America and 45 percent in the rest of the world.” The Asia Pacific market is Gulfstream’s largest international market, he noted, with nearly 300 Gulfstream aircraft in the region, which is more than 10 percent of the worldwide Gulfstream fleet.

More than 50 Gulfstreams are based at Hong Kong International Airport, including eight G650/G650ERs. This is also the location of Gulfstream’s product support Asia office and its Asia customer support contact center, with services that include computer maintenance program analysis, technical system support, over-the-counter parts sales and warranty assistance. At Hong Kong Gulfstream’s factory-authorized service center, sister company Jet Aviation and authorized warranty facility Metrojet provide maintenance services for Gulfstream operators.

Gulfstream (Chalet 4) stores parts worth approximately $65 million in Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore. Recently the company signed its first China-based customer for PlaneParts. This cost-per-hour maintenance program helps Gulfstream operators realize predictable costs for replacement parts for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events.

The company’s Beijing service center at Beijing Capital International Airport, which is a joint venture with Hainan Group, saw 134 aircraft visits in 2015 and a total of 540 visits since the facility opened in 2012. There are now 52 employees, including 24 technicians, at the Beijing service center. It has field service representatives in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, and Gulfstream has placed rapid-response Field and Airborne Support Team technicians in Hong Kong and Bangkok to get operators flying quickly again during aircraft-on-ground situations.

“As we’ve seen the fleet grow [in China],” said Gulfstream president of product support Derek Zimmerman, “we’ll watch that growth, and there may be a point where another factory-owned service center might be practical.” Gulfstream will continue working with Jet Aviation and its authorized service center network to serve customers in the region. “We want to be very responsive,” he said.