Production Galaxy Makes Farnborough Debut

A production model of the Galaxy business jet is making its Farnborough debut, two years after a prototype appeared at the show.

The Galaxy on display is the third aircraft of its type to enter service, and the first to be based in Europe. Charter operator Lions Air bases the Galaxy in Altenrhein, Switzerland.

The Lions Air Galaxy arrived at Farnborough after a one-stop flight from the manufacturer's Fort Worth, Texas plant, where a new sound reduction package from vendor Flight Environments was installed.
Galaxy Aerospace president and CEO Brian Barents says four Galaxies are now in service, with two more slated for delivery before the end of the Farnborough show. Galaxy deliveries are proceeding at the rate of two aircraft per month.

"Building a completion organization from scratch has been a major undertaking for us, particularly at a time when the whole industry is showing capacity constraints in the completions area," Barents says.
"While our immediate focus is on delivering aircraft and continuing to strengthen our product support organization, we are also looking to the future regarding new models."

Toward that goal, Galaxy has retained aviation research firm ARG/US to survey operators on a worldwide basis, and assess market segments ranging from entry-level jets to regional and supersonic aircraft.

By Paul Richfield