Kate Sarsfield/LONDON
Galaxy Aerospace has selected Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas as the base for its new $12 million US headquarters. The aircraft completion and service centre, parts depot and corporate and marketing offices, are scheduled to open in 1998, to coincide with the delivery of the first "green" Galaxy super mid-size business jet.
According to the company, Alliance was chosen over 43 other US sites because of the accessibility provided by nearby Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, its proximity to the Latin American market and the large number of corporate aircraft based in Texas. Alliance already hosts several aviation enterprises, while Fort Worth, home to Bell and Lockheed Martin, has a skilled aerospace workforce, Galaxy says.
The company, which was formerly based in Princeton, New Jersey, will lease executive offices at Alliance Airport until the building work is complete. Product support operations will be transferred from Wilmington, Delaware to Alliance over the next few months.
Galaxy, a joint venture between Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and the Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt hotels chain, will install Pratt & Whitney PW306 engines on the Galaxy aircraft and design, fabricate and install interiors and paint exteriors for the Galaxy and Astra SPX corporate aircraft, which are both manufactured at IAI's headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Source: Flight International
