A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Minsheng Financial Leasing (MSFL), Asia’s largest business jet leasing firm, announced nearly $3 billion in orders with Gulfstream and Bombardier today at ABACE 2014 in Shanghai. It placed the orders from both OEMs in the fourth quarter.


The order for 60 Gulfstream business jets–40 firm and options for 20 more–spans from the super-midsize G280 to the ultra-long-range G550 and G650. It is believed to firm up an <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ainalerts/2011-07-07/china-minsheng-leasing-inks-mou-gulfstreams">MoU for 50 aircraft worth an estimated $2.6 billion signed between the two companies</a> in July 2011.


Deliveries are expected to begin next year, and the order is “one of the largest in our history, affirms the valued partnership between our two companies,” said Scott Neal, Gulfstream’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Together we are committed to seeing business aviation grow throughout China.”


Minsheng’s order with Bombardier is for 10 super-midsize Challenger 350s worth approximately $259 million. The first aircraft, an upgrade of the Challenger 300 with a greater wingspan and more range, is expected to enter service in the second half of this year.


MSFL was founded in 2008 by China Minsheng Banking and Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone Investment.

Minsheng Affirms $3B Blockbuster Bizjet Order

Deal covers 60 super-midsize and large-cabin Gulfstreams and 10 Bombardier Challenger 350s.

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