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

Turkey’s Genel Havacilik A.S. (GHA, Stand 398) is showcasing here at MEBAA its portfolio of aviation services and sharing news of plans for the coming year. GHA has facilities at Istanbul’s Atatürk (LBTA) and Sabina Gökçen (LFTA) Airports, and in addition to charter and management services for both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, performs interior refurbishment and maintenance. The company has five hangars at LFTA and a large apron area for its exclusive use, together encompassing 60,000 square meters (646,000 square feet), and two hangars at LBTA, where it also provides FBO and ground handling services. Construction will begin on a new general aviation terminal at LBTA in the coming year, a facility that will be under GHA’s management.
The company currently has 17 aircraft—five helicopters and a dozen jets under management, ranging from an Eclipse 500 to Falcon 900s and a Bombardier Challenger 850. All are available for charter. Another three aircraft are expected to join the fleet by year’s end, said Serdar Tamer, director, sales and marketing. Tamer noted that Istanbul is strategically located for charter operations, with 42 nations within a 2,000-nautical-mile (3,704-kilometer) radius.
Maintenance-wise, GHA is a Bell Helicopter Authorized Customer Service Facility, a JSSI Authorized Service Center, an Eclipse Aviation Platinum Service Center, and has EASA and other regulatory authority approvals to maintain aircraft including Hawker Beechcraft series 400s through 900XPs; Falcon 900 and 2000 series;
Citation 550/560; and Challenger 300s to 850s. A U.S. FAA-licensed A&amp;P technician is also on staff, enabling the company to service N-registered aircraft.
GHA’s interior refurbishment capabilities include work on carpet, sidewalls and leather, and it’s currently in the midst of refurbishing five Hawker 400s; the second has just been completed. 
Meanwhile, in answer to demand from the Middle East and Africa, the company plans to add aircraft painting to its offerings, using a portable paint booth that can be moved between its two Istanbul locations, and is currently working on approvals. 
Established by the Sulyak family in 1985, which clearly has aviation in its blood, GHA’s current CEO Ali Sulyak soloed at 12 years of age, and flies both business jets and helicopters.

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