Gulfstream has delivered the first G650-series business jet into the Chinese market, following the handover of an US N-registered ultra-long-range ER variant to local firm Minsheng Financial Leasing (MSFL).
Describing the move as "significant", Gulfstream president Mark Burns says: “It highlights the continued need for long-range business jet travel in China, the role MSFL has played in expanding Gulfstream’s presence in the region, and the continued strong performance of the G650ER.”
With a two-year backlog for the 7,500nm (13,400km)-range ER model, and the 7,000nm-range G650, the twinjet-family is one of the few types bucking the trend at the top end of the business jet sector, where falling international demand has triggered a decline in new orders for most models.
Gulfstream
Gulfstream has delivered more than 160 G650ERs since it first entered service in December 2012.
MSFL took delivery of its first Gulfstream type, a G450, in June 2010. Today, it has a fleet of 64 aircraft to support its leasing operation in the region. Chinese certification of the G650 series is expected “shortly” Gulfstream says, allowing deliveries of B-registered aircraft to begin.
Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer database records an inventory of more than 100 Gulfstream types in China.
Source: Flight International
