Sales Continue Their Shift From North America To
International
Gulfstream President Joe Lombardo said in a media conference at
EBACE Monday that Gulfstream continues to see strong and growing
demand from countries outside North America, even as its home
market in the U.S. recovers. "Although about 70 percent of sales in
the last quarter were international, with about half of those
coming from Asia, corporate customers in the U.S. are returning to
the market as well," he said. "Additionally, we are seeing
positive market indicators, including Gulfstream fleet hours, which
have just about returned to 2008, pre-recession levels. We remain
optimistic and are committed to our investment plans, which will
position us well for the future."
Lombardo cited a $500 million expansion plan launched in
November 2010 to enhance its Savannah, GA, campus with additional
research, production and product support facilities. The expansion
will add 1,000 jobs over seven years.
Lombardo also provided updates on the company's two aircraft
development programs, saying that both the G250 and G650 remain on
track for certification this year. He noted that flying on the G650
program has been temporarily suspended, but that all other
flight-test activity, engineering and production continue as
normal. He reaffirmed the company's plan to deliver 12 green G650s
this year, bringing the total for all models to approximately 105,
up from 99 the previous year, with the mix skewed more toward the
large-cabin segment.
"The geographic distribution of our aircraft continues to
shift," he said, "with more and more aircraft located farther from
our corporate facilities in Savannah, Georgia. For example, we now
have about 60 aircraft in Hong Kong and mainland China, with most
having entered the market in just the past few years. We are
growing our worldwide support organization to respond to this
trend. We already have a third of our company - 3,300 employees -
devoted to customer service, and have $1.2 billion in spares
located strategically around the world. We will be placing more
resources around the world as time goes on.
"Our number one job is to make sure our customers, wherever they
are, have the best support in the world.
"We expect to be at EBACE next year with two new certified
products, the G250 and G650," he said. "They will keep Gulfstream
in the forefront of the market. And even as these two new aircraft
enter service, we will continue to invest in the future of the
company and the future of business aviation."