Gulfstream has delivered its 550th G550, to an undisclosed customer, 14 years after the large-cabin business jet was introduced.

Company president Mark Burns says the milestone “affirms the continued demand for the G550, as one of the most dependable and sought-after aircraft in the world today”.

Citing the aircraft’s 6,750nm (12,500km) range and 19-passenger payload, he says the twinjet “has earned a lasting reputation as a versatile aircraft for business aviation and

[is] an ideal platform for special missions”.

The G550 is positioned in Gulfstream’s six-strong product line between the super-midsize G280 and developmental, clean-sheet G500.

G550

G550

Despite analyst predictions that the G550 will bow out in 2019 when its larger-cabin stablemate, the G600, enters service, Gulfstream remains committed to the programme.

Speaking during a first-quarter earnings call in April, Phebe Novakovic, chief executive of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, said that demand for the G550 remains strong and that the aircraft’s orderbook would “remain open for the foreseeable future”.

Deliveries of the Rolls-Royce BR710 C4-11-powered G550 have taken a hit in recent years, however: Flight Fleets Analyzer records 49 shipments at its 2011 market peak, falling to 37 units in 2015 and 20 in 2016.

 

Source: FlightGlobal.