A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Athens-based VIP charter operator GainJet Aviation (Booth 5218) announced at EBACE 2014 it is opening GainJet Africa, a new charter base in Kigali, Rwanda next month. Offering the African market ultra-long-range VIP charter service, GainJet will base a 14-passenger Gulfstream 550 equipped with satellite TV and high speed broadband in Kigali. The G550 is capable of nonstop flights to the East Coast of the U.S. or Southeast Asia, from many African capitals. 
“We want to bring to Africa the excellent service that we have been supplying to Europe and the Middle East,” said GainJet president Ramsey Shaban. “Kigali is a natural aviation hub, which sits at the center of the continent, and the Government of Rwanda has offered us the right incentives.”
A founding member of the African Business Aviation Association, GainJet has been planning the African expansion since 2011, Shaban said. He believes the association has been achieving success in its mission to create a better environment for business aviation across the Continent. “This is the why we believe it is the right time to start GainJet Africa,” he said.

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