SAVANNAH — A sleek and shiny Gulfstream G700 sat at the far end of a maintenance hangar Friday morning, all by its lonesome.
Just three-and-a-half months ago, models of Gulfstream’s newest flagship jet populated several corners of the aircraft manufacturer’s sprawling campus adjacent to the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. Changes to the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification process led to delays in regulatory approval for the G700 to enter service, delaying deliveries of the first 19 G700s to roll out of the assembly facility.
The FAA gave its blessing on March 29 — nearly two years after the initial certification target — and those early aircraft are now with customers, along with several more. Gulfstream President Mark Burns said Friday that deliveries have gone “extremely well” and G700 business jets are now in service in the United States, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand.
More detailed numbers will be released next week during a quarterly earnings call by Gulfstream’s parent company, General Dynamics. In the last quarterly report, General Dynamics officials forecast 50 deliveries of the G700 in 2024 and 160 business jets overall, which would be a company record.
Burns said the prolonged certification process — prompted by revisions enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2020 following crashes of two Boeing commercial airliners — has resulted in the “most mature aircraft” that Gulfstream has brought to market in his 41 years with the jet maker.
“I’ve been part of delivering 12 different (models of) airplanes, and this has been the smoothest entry in the service we’ve had,” Burns said. “I’m extremely pleased.”
The newest model has a capacity of 19 passengers, but is typically outfitted to transport fewer people.
Burns offered the G700 update during a ribbon cutting for Gulfstream’s latest maintenance facility expansion. The company invested $150 million in the Gulfstream Service Center East and now boasts 1.1 million square feet of maintenance space in Savannah. The overall facility is the largest private aircraft service center in the world.
The newest hangar has been open for several weeks, according to Burns, and a handful of Gulfstream jets were undergoing maintenance there Friday while the ceremony took place on one end of the cavernous space. A flight test model of the G700 served as a backdrop for the ribbon cutting.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones delivered remarks at the event and said Gulfstream’s growth over its nearly five decades in Savannah is a model for the rest of Georgia.
“We like welcoming new companies to Georgia but we’re also excited about those that have succeeded and continue to grow in the state,” Jones said. “Gulfstream is a company I point to that has it figured out.”
Gulfstream is in the midst of a transition, with two more models — the G400 and G800 — in development. In addition, the certification of the G700 prompted Gulfstream to cease taking orders for the iconic G650, which made its debut in 2012 and now has more than 500 jets in operation.
Burns said “several dozen” G650s are on order and could not provide a timeline for when the last of the line will be completed. He did note the G650 assembly facility, located in the original factory space that opened in 1967, will be refitted to manufacture aircraft furniture and parts once the last G650 is completed.
“It’s a great space, but it’s an older facility, and it’s just not conducive to these modern airplanes,” Burns said.
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