SAVANNAH, Georgia — Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently enhanced its support for a growing number of Europe-based operators with new company-authorized maintenance sites in Austria and Germany.
The addition of two company-authorized maintenance sites, Jet Aviation’s service center in Vienna and Altenrhein Aviation’s new Berlin line maintenance operation, help support a fleet of more than 220 aircraft in Europe, including more than 30 based in the central section of the continent.
“We are always looking at ways to expand our depth and breadth of services for customers,” Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “Vienna and Berlin are very significant additions to our support network. Each is an economic, cultural and political center, which translates into business jet activity. We are focused on meeting our customers' maintenance requirements to ensure their safety and security.”
Europe is home to a wide range of Gulfstream aircraft. The large-cabin G650ER, G650, G550 and G450 have proven to be the most popular, representing more than 65 percent of the fleet.
“We are proud that customer response to our aircraft in Europe has been outstanding,” said Scott Neal, senior vice president, Worldwide Sales and Marketing, Gulfstream. “We are particularly gratified that our flagship G650ER and G650 have been so well-received. We have more than 30 of those aircraft based in Europe, more than double what we had there in the beginning of 2015.”
European-based customers have a convenient location from which to select an aircraft and its interior. The 5,500-square-foot/511-square-meter Gulfstream Sales and Design Center in Mayfair, central London, which opened in June 2013, includes a showroom where customers can select leather, veneer, fabric and carpet for their aircraft.
Gulfstream operators from the United Kingdom to Russia and beyond can rely on a vast network of service and support resources in Europe, including Gulfstream’s service center at London Luton Airport, which opened in 2003. Gulfstream Luton has grown to nearly 280 employees and had its busiest year ever in 2015, with more than 1,300 on-site aircraft visits.
Gulfstream Luton is a certified European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration repair station and holds EASA Part 21 design organization approval, which authorizes its technicians to install and repair avionics equipment and cabin interiors for Gulfstream aircraft registered in European Union (EU) countries. The facility includes a 75,000-sf/6,968-sm hangar and also has maintenance approvals from 19 other civil aviation authorities, including Azerbaijan, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Gulfstream’s EASA-certified service centers — Luton, Savannah and all other U.S. service centers — recently earned EASA approval for the following retrofits:
In 2015, Luton technicians and members of Gulfstream’s European-based Field and Airborne Support Teams (FAST) performed more than 750 road trips to customers in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. These missions, which are coordinated by Luton, include assisting customers in aircraft-on-ground situations.
Along with a growing number of operators, Gulfstream’s large presence in Europe includesits European Parts Distribution Center, which opened in September 2014 near Heathrow Airport in west London. The combined parts and materials inventory in London, Luton and Basel, Switzerland, is nearly $120 million.
Gulfstream’s strong European presence includes factory-authorized Jet Aviation service centers in Vienna, Basel, Geneva and Moscow. Altenrhein Aviation Ltd. in Altenrhein, Switzerland, and Berlin are Gulfstream-authorized warranty facilities.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business-jet aircraft. Gulfstream has produced more than 2,500 aircraft for customers around the world since 1958. To meet the diverse transportation needs of the future, Gulfstream offers a comprehensive fleet of aircraft, comprising the Gulfstream G150TM, the Gulfstream G280TM, the Gulfstream G450TM, the Gulfstream G550TM, the Gulfstream G500TM, the Gulfstream G600TM, the Gulfstream G650TM and the Gulfstream G650ERTM. Gulfstream also offers aircraft ownership services via Gulfstream Pre-Owned Aircraft SalesTM. We invite you to visit our website for more information and photos at www.gulfstreamnews.com.