Gulfstream Shipments Projected To Reach New High

Aircraft deliveries at Gulfstream Aerospace are projected to reach 170 units in 2024, topping the company's previous high-water mark of 156 shipments in 2008, Phebe Novakovic—the chairman and CEO of parent company General Dynamics—said during a recent fourth-quarter investor call. Deliveries this year are expected to marginally increase to 124 aircraft—up from 119 last year—due to supply-chain restraints, and then climb to 148 units in 2023 before increasing further in 2024, she said.

The 119 Gulfstreams handed over last year represented a decline of eight aircraft from 2020, largely the result of fewer super-midsize G280 deliveries. Last year’s mix included 103 large-cabin jets and 16 G280s, compared with 105 large-cabin jets and 22 G280s in 2020.

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According to Novakovic, demand for Gulfstreams remains robust, with the backlog for in-production large-cabin aircraft—the G600, G650, and G500—in the “sweet spot” of 18 to 24 months. She said there is “solid demand” for Gulfstreams going forward and noted that the book-to-bill ratio is expected to remain at least 1:1 even as the aircraft manufacturer is set to ramp up production in the coming years. Book-to-bill last year at Gulfstream was 1.7:1, and backlog grew 40 percent year-over-year.

General Dynamics’ aerospace unit, which includes Gulfstream and Jet Aviation, “will be a significant growth engine [for General Dynamics] in 2023 and 2024,” Novakovic concluded.