GALAXY AEROSPACE has narrowed its choice of a US location for its completion and service centre to two sites - Dallas,Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida. A decision is expected "soon", says Galaxy president Brian Barents. The company also reveals that it is looking into the fractional-ownership market for its aircraft.
Astra SPX and Galaxy business jets built by Israel Aircraft Indus-tries (IAI) will be completed and serviced at the chosen US site, which will be the new headquarters of Galaxy, a joint venture between IAI and the Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain.
The first flight of the "super-mid-size" Galaxy is planned for the fourth quarter of 1997, leading to certification and first deliveries to the completion centre by the end on 1998.
Galaxy, meanwhile, is stepping up marketing efforts by offering operating costs "-guaranteed to be equal to or lower than those of any mid-sized jets traded in for the new Galaxy". A similar promise is being made for the SPX, which the company is also offering as an interim aircraft, with a guaranteed trade-in price on delivery of the customer's Galaxy.
Anticipating increased demand for the SPX, both in its own right and as an interim step to the larger Galaxy, IAI is stepping up production of the aircraft by 35%, from 11 this year to 15 in 1998. Any eventual move into fractional ownership could further boost production of both the SPX and the Galaxy, the company says.
Source: Flight International
