Gulfstream dashes G150 from lineup
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced Sept. 28 that it sold the last G150, ending a 10-year production run for the model that replaced the G100. Today a fleet of almost 120 G150s crisscross the sky for operators in the United States, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, and Asia, the company said.
When the Savannah, Georgia-based company introduced the G150 to the mid-size business jet market in 2006, it was hailed as a cost-effective speed demon with long legs that helped propel the aircraft to the head of its class.
A 2015 analysis for hourly operating costs of 45 business jets performed by David Wyndham of Conklin & de Decker found that the G150’s rate of $2,380.09 compared favorably within the medium-jet marketplace. The G150 clocked in at $500 per hour lower than a Cessna Citation Latitude and about $130 higher than Bombardier’s Learjet 70 and 75 models.
The company’s president, Mark Burns, had high praise for the G150: “The G150 has had a distinguished history, spanning more than a decade.” Burns also noted that the G150 “remains an important part of our business.”
The aircraft has a “dispatch reliability rate of 99.83 percent and is certified in more than 45 countries,” according to the manufacturer. Burns said that parts and support for the aircraft would be unchanged.
A 2015 Business & Commercial Aviation article complimented the G150 as “one of the fastest and most cost-effective mid-light business aircraft” with an ability to “fly four passengers 2,988 nm at its long-range cruise speed.” That range covered most nonstop coast-to-coast U.S. destinations and was a good fit for the aircraft’s intended mission.
The publication said the G150 was “very pleasant to hand fly” but cautioned owners about maintenance for starter-generators because of a heavy electrical load. The report noted a discrepancy between asking prices of $6 million to $8 million versus purchase offers of $4 million to $5 million for pre-owned models.
David Tulis
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