GainJet, the Athens, Greece-based charter specialist, arrives at MEBA riding high on the back of a recent delivery of a brand-new Gulfstream G650.
The ultra-long-range aircraft was handed over on 7 October and has already been attracting considerable interest from the firm’s customers, says president Capt Ramsey Shaban.
“A number of clients want to try out the new plane. We tell them it will be more expensive, but they want to see what it has to offer – they are very excited about the product.”
Shaban cites the speed of the G650 as a major selling point, with GainJet’s pilots regularly operating it at around Mach 0.92 in high-speed cruise. He cites a recent trip from London Luton to Dubai which was completed in 5h 55min and overtook and Emirates-operated Airbus A380 on the way.
GainJet is currently in negotiations to add a second G650 to its fleet by year-end, having recently secured long-term financing from an unnamed institution to enable it to grow its operation.
The aim, says Shaban, is to double its nine-strong fleet by the end of 2016, with the focus on the ultra-long-range and large-cabin segments.
It already operates another Gulfstream, a G550, and Shaban is keen to deepen its relationship with the US airframer and may consider ordering the recently launched G500 and G600 long-range, large-cabin jets. However, Shaban points out that they would not enter its operation for another three to four years.
So far this year, business has been brisk, says Shaban, and is an improvement on 2013. “We have building leads and working on our plan for the last year and a half, and it is bearing fruit now and we expect an expansion over the next year or two.”
Source: Flight Daily News