Executives from Gulfstream Aerospace were clearly starting to relax about the economic situation at a Dubai Airshow press conference here this week. The business aircraft manufacturer is banking on an upturn to ensure that its two new jets–the G250 and G650–prove real winners. Both aircraft have been rolled out in recent weeks and are being prepared for their first flights and test campaigns ahead of 2011 and 2012 entries into service, respectively.
“In the last 90 days, we’ve seen lots of awakening on the new aircraft sales side as well as on the services side of the business,” said senior v-p sales and marketing Larry Flynn. “In the last two quarters we have seen net positive orders versus cancellations. Large aircraft have definitely been stronger. With midsize the market, it has hit the bottom. There are a lot of white tails and pre-owned [aircraft in the marketplace] that have to clear themselves. [Meanwhile], we are not interested in lowering prices. With the large cabin [aircraft] we are already seeing pricing improvement.
