Tom Wolfe called them Masters of the Universe in his 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities – Wall Street plutocrats with wealth and influence to control every detail of their lives with a phone call, command, or flash of a credit card. For today’s Masters of the Universe – in and beyond the great financial centres – being able to fly on demand almost anywhere in the world, without stopping, and in total comfort and seclusion, is quite some superpower.
Tom Wolfe called them Masters of the Universe in his 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities – Wall Street plutocrats with wealth and influence to control every detail of their lives with a phone call, command, or flash of a credit card. For today’s Masters of the Universe – in and beyond the great financial centres – being able to fly on demand almost anywhere in the world, without stopping, and in total comfort and seclusion, is quite some superpower.
Gulfstream’s launch of the G700 at the NBAA convention in Las Vegas shows the industry still believes there is significant demand for the sort of mega jets that combine planet-shrinking range with cabins in which a principal can create a home from home in the skies.
Gulfstream
With a range that matches its G650ER stablemate and is only just shy of that of its rival, the Bombardier Global 7500 – but with a larger interior than both – the new Gulfstream flagship, to use a Sin City cliche, raises the stakes at the top of the market.
The G700 represents another significant industry development – a second application for the new Rolls-Royce Pearl, which already powers the re-engined Global 5500/6500. Until 18 months ago, after losing to Pratt & Whitney Canada on the G500/600 and GE Aviation on the Global 7500, the UK company looked finished in the large business jet market. The G700 sees R-R return as arguably the dominant player in the sector.
And for those Masters of the Universe for whom such types still lack a bit of whizz, there is always the prospect of travelling faster than the speed of sound.
Aerion, now backed by Boeing and GE, was talking up its AS2 supersonic jet programme, and ambitions to have an aircraft on the market in the next decade.
