Japan’s policy of impeding general aviation access to airports and airspace continues to be a source of “disappointment and frustration” to Bryan Moss, president of Gulfstream Aerospace and executive vp of General Dynamics’ aerospace group. Commercial airlines dominate Japanese airways, and access to key airports, such as Tokyo’s Narita, remains restricted and inconvenient.
“I say to them, it’s too late. There’s no reason in the world that the Japanese market shouldn’t be open to the benefits of general aviation,” Moss said. China, in contrast, has considerable long-term potential, being on “everybody’s radar.” Moss said although he “pleads guilty to conservatism” regarding short-term prospects in China, long term “the Chinese get it,” referring to the benefits of general aviation. Investors increasingly are traveling to China and they want to be on business jets, not riding around on commercial airliners.
Even without stellar sales in Japan and China, Gulfstream is having a banner year, with 2004 revenues reaching $3 billion. First quarter 2005 sales are up 24% compared with the first three months of 2004. More telling, earnings increased from $66 million to $101 million, comparing 1Q2004 with 1Q2005. Gulfstream’s G150, a wider derivative of the G100 [née Astra SPX], soon will start certification flight tests in preparation for 1Q2006 CAA-Israel certification, followed by FAR Part 25 type certification soon thereafter. Customer deliveries are slated for third quarter 2006. The G150 will offer all the performance of the G100, being able to fly four passengers 2,700 nm — that’s one-stop service from Paris to most U.S. cities.
As for Gulfstream’s Quiet Supersonic Jet program, Moss reiterated that the QSJ strictly is a research program. Before full-scale development can proceed, “the FAA’s prohibition regarding supersonic flight over land must be replaced with a rational rule,” Moss said. Additionally, building a QSJ technology demonstrator would take considerable time and money, resources GD is not ready to commit to such a high-risk program. Moss predicted that a supersonic business jet would not enter service for at least a decade. —Fred George
