Gulfstream G400 shines and NBA scores own fleet

opinion

by Fayaz Hussain

September 17, 2024

A century ago, maiden flights of aircraft were very different affairs. The aircraft would be pushed out of the hangar while the pilot downed a brandy and pulled on their goggles. Everyone watching would hold their breath until it landed. They are completely different now. But just as important. Gulfstream Aerospace flew its new G400 for the first time last month.

The manufacturer will have got a lot of data from the 2 hour 54 minute flight with the aircraft reaching Mach 0.85 and flying at 41,000 feet (12,497 metres). It has also encouraged a new wave of customers to start buying the aircraft.

Gulfstream announced the G400 back in October 2021. Not surprisingly, it was a little overshadowed by the G700 and G800. But it is getting more attention now that testing has started.

This week DC Aviation, one of Germany’s leading operators, announced an order for the first G400 dedicated to charter. “Clients want the latest, state-of-the-art aircraft,” Marc Ambrosius, managing director, DC Aviation Group told us at the signing yesterday.

Gulfstream is also seeing strong interest in the aircraft both in the US (especially from corporate flight departments) and internationally. The $42m aircraft can fly 4,200 nautical miles/7,778 kilometres at Mach 0.85.

The G400 will fly between Munich and Mumbai; Zurich and New York; or Geneva and Dubai. “It is a great aircraft for Europe and able to fulfil so many key city pairs,” said Mike Swift, group vice president of sales for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, Gulfstream. “Our customers also like the commonality with the G500 and G600 and the Symmetry Flight Deck.”

Gulfstream has announced new international hires to sell its aircraft internationally. Benoit Defforge, the former CEO and president of Airbus Corporate Jets, has joined as division vice president of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa in Dubai. David Taylor is taking on the same role in Singapore. Taylor worked with Swift at Bank of America before selling aircraft at Embraer and for brokerage Burrows Aerospace. Gavin Thompson, in Gulfstream’s London office, has been promoted to senior regional sales manager of worldwide sales.

The manufacturer has announced other moves. Jack McGowan, who worked at Gulfstream customer Flexjet, is now regional vice president of sales for Northern Europe. Scott Butcher has joined Gulfstream from Starflight Aviation charter service as a regional sales manager for Europe and South Asia. Jessica Gagen has joined as a sales engineer in London. Swift is seeing demand across the EMEA region. “Speed and range have always been important,” he says. “But they are even more important now when you have challenges with airspace restrictions.”

Swift is seeing demand across the EMEA region. “Speed and range have always been important,” he says. “But they are even more important now when you have challenges with airspace restrictions.”

Gulfstream is now hoping that the G400 can have an uneventful certification. Certification has also changed a lot in the last 100 years.

Exclusive: NBA sourcing 13 A321neos, Comlux adding VIP interiors

All sports leagues say player welfare is a top priority, but the National Basketball Association is demonstrating this by creating its own fleet of business jets to transport teams.

The average height of an NBA player in the 2023/2024 season was 6 feet 6.74 inches (2 metres) so flying on Southwest is not ideal. But even with charters, travelling still takes its toll.

Research shows that even with flights of less than six hours there is a greater risk of players performing badly and getting injured when playing. Some 54% of injuries in the NBA happen when teams are not playing at home. Teams flying west also tend to lose more games than when flying east.

Airbus and Comlux did not wish to comment on the story (which can be read here), but other sports leagues will be looking on with interest. Now could be a good time to call the World Darts Federation. Its members are fed up of getting stopped at security.