CRUISE CONTROL
As skies brighten after a turbulent two years in air travel, what lessons has private aviation learned and how will it make up for lost time? Gulfstream Aerospace president Mark Burns gives his long-range take
If you could go back to before Covid-19, what decisions would you make or change, given what we now know?
As soon as news of the pandemic first appeared,
we shifted our focus to protecting our employees,
their families and our customers. Thanks to that
vigilance, combined with our disciplined business
practices and unrelenting customer focus, we
really emerged from the pandemic stronger than
we were before.
The pandemic hit the travel industry hard – how did Gulfstream manage?
In the second half of 2020 we saw heightened
interest in business aviation and, specifically, in
Gulfstream. That momentum has continued to
build, and we are now experiencing record sales
of our aircraft across the product line.
What can we expect to see from Gulfstream in the next couple of years?
Our focus over the foreseeable future is
continuing to create and deliver the world’s finest
aviation experience. A major part of this focus is
to certify and deliver our new flagship Gulfstream
G700, which has the most spacious cabin in our
industry, and will be followed by the certification
of the Gulfstream G800, the longest-range aircraft
in the industry. We are also currently in the midst
of producing the flight-test aircraft for another
new programme, the Gulfstream G400, which is
the first new entrant into the large-cabin business
aircraft class in more than a decade.
At Gulfstream, we are operating at an
unprecedented pace. Each aircraft, from the
super-midsize G280 to the G650, G650ER and our
next-generation G400, G500, G600, G700 and G800,
have set new standards in terms of safety, highspeed
performance, environmental efficiency and
unmatched cabin experience.
What do you enjoy about what you do?
Getting together with customers face to face
is really what inspires me. With the recently
launched G700 world tour, we are doing just
that as we fly to more than 20 cities across six
continents. I love seeing customers' reaction to
both the flight-deck technology and the amazing
cabin flexibility and finish – you really do need
to see it in person to experience everything the
aircraft has to offer.
When buying a luxury or business jet, what one thing do people often get wrong?
I think people don’t always realise how much time
they can save by investing in a business aircraft.
Gulfstream aircraft are business tools – thanks to
the speed and range capabilities of our aircraft,
our customers benefit greatly from the time saved
and security gained.
On our next-generation long-range aircraft,
including the in-production G500 and G600, and
flight-testing G700 and G800, customers can fly
regularly at Mach 0.90 over long flights, and that
can help them save more than 50 hours of flight
time over the course of a year – there is nothing
more valuable than time.
What do you say to criticism of business aviation on sustainability grounds?
You can safely and
securely get people
around the world
more efficiently than
by any other mode of
transport. Our industry
is proactively leading
efforts to operate more
efficiently across the board with pledged goals of
carbon-neutral growth and a pathway to net-zero
emissions.
At Gulfstream specifically, we have long been
advancing and promoting the use of sustainable
aviation fuel and have invested research and
development to further those efforts.
Our focus on sustainability goes beyond
alternative fuels, as well. We have designed
aircraft both inside and out to perform more
efficiently – our latest next-generation G500 and
G600 are more than 30 per cent more fuel efficient
than their predecessors.
We are seeing a significant number of
customers looking to align their business jet
operations with their corporate sustainability
and responsibility goals, and, as a result, they
want to work with an aircraft manufacturer like
Gulfstream that shares that commitment.
What are three things you never travel without?
I always have with me my phone, passport and a
pre-packed essentials bag – with Gulfstream, you
never know when you will need to hop around the
world at a moment’s notice.