Gulfstream projects fewer deliveries in 2016, ups G650 production

Gulfstream’s parent company General Dynamics has said it will deliver fewer aircraft in 2016 than it did in 2015.

During the company’s fourth quarter investor relations call, General Dynamics CEO and chairman Phebe Novakovic said that Gulfstream had already adjusted production rates on the G450 and G550 lines during 2015.

“During the (fourth) quarter, we took down the production rate of the G550 to what will be the sustaining rate through 2016. The G450 will come down modestly in the first quarter of 2016.” said Novakovic, “By the same token, the production rate of the G650 and G650ER were taken up during the second half of 2014 and will be taken up again in 2016 to reflect current demand and our sizable backlog. The production rate on the G650 and G650ER is clearly sustainable for this year and next.”

Although Novakovic didn’t say how many more G650 / G650ERs will be built during the year, she did note that the next available slot for a new order is the first quarter of 2018.

Gulfstream delivered 147 aircraft in 2015, with the split working out in the favor of large cabin jets, where 112 aircraft were delivered, three fewer than in the previous year. Although the company doesn’t split delivery figures further than aircraft size class, the fall was mostly due to a lower amount of G450s being delivered.

The company did however deliver a higher number of mid-size cabin jets during the year, where the 35 aircraft shipped was an increase of 6 aircraft versus the previous year.

Gulfstream also saw good order activity during 2015, with Novakovic saying that they saw an upturn in orders from Asia Pacific; “More than 50% of our orders for the year were from North America. I should also point out that, despite the hand-wringing by some, our orders from Asia Pacific improved by more than 60% over 2014. In short, this market is not ebullient, but it is steady from our perspective.”