Gulfstream Aerospace will deliver its 50th GV in August, as the growth in ultra-long range business aircraft accelerates, with rival products being fielded.
Bombardier delivered the first Global Express in early July and the first Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) is expected to emerge from the completion centre in August.
Gulfstream, the first to enter the ultra-long range market, holds the lead in orders and deliveries. By the beginning of July, the company had sold 146 GVs - 24 of them to Executive Jet's NetJets fractional ownership programmes in the USA and the Middle East.
By the start of July, Bombardier had booked orders for 105 Global Expresses, including 22 for the Canadian company's FlexJet fractional ownership programme. First delivery was delayed for seven months by certification and completion issues, but another 17 aircraft are in the final stages of interior installation.
Boeing declines to update the order backlog figure of 46 aircraft released at last year's US National Business Aviation Association convention, but says that nine BBJs have been sold to NetJets. The company says it will have delivered 37 aircraft to completion centres by year-end. The first BBJ will be handed over to Boeing Business Jets joint venture partner General Electric in August.
Airbus, meanwhile, handed over the first completed A319 Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) in May, and is lining up a second delivery for the fourth quarter of this year.
Source: Flight International
