Brings Full In-Production Fleet To Business Aviation Air Show In São Paulo

Gulfstream opened the Latin American Business Aviation Exhibition & Conference (LABACE) by announcing its fleet in Latin America has grown by nearly 70 percent since 2009. The company has its in-production fleet — the Gulfstream G650, G550, G450, G280 and G150 — at the annual air show in São Paulo.

“I am very proud to say that one of every four business jets based in Latin America is a Gulfstream,” said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. “That figure translates to nearly 180 aircraft.  Five years ago, we had 105 aircraft here. Such remarkable growth, in a relatively short amount of time, is a testament to our aircraft’s value in Latin America as a tool for conducting business. That is very gratifying for us as a company.”

The country with the largest Gulfstream fleet in Latin America is Mexico, with nearly 80 aircraft based there. Also, there are more than 30 company aircraft that operate out of Venezuela. Gulfstream’s popularity in Latin America is particularly evident in the country with the region’s largest size, population and economy — Brazil. Since 2009, the Gulfstream in-country fleet has nearly tripled, going from 14 to 40 aircraft. Nearly half of the large-cabin business jets based in Latin America are manufactured by Gulfstream, including 30 percent of the large-cabin jets in Brazil.

The demand for Gulfstream aircraft in Latin America was the catalyst for establishing a company-owned maintenance facility in Sorocaba, Brazil, near São Paulo in June 2012. The service center is located at Bertram Luiz Leupolz Airport. In July of this year, company personnel moved into a new, larger building at the same airport.

The nearly 38,000-square-foot facility, which includes a 34,768-sq-f hangar, has a team of nearly 20 employees and is fully operational.

“We have received substantial positive feedback from customers about how much better our location is at the Sorocaba airport,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “A more accessible hangar means faster induction and maintenance on the front end and quicker return-to-service times on the back end.”

Gulfstream’s Sorocaba site is overseen by general manager Adriano Andrade. On-site departments include Maintenance Operations, Materials, Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Finance/Accounting.

The Sorocaba service center, assisted by company personnel from other sites, supported operators during the recent FIFA World Cup in Brazil and has begun preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

(Images from file)

FMI: www.gulfstream.com