Gulfstream dashes G150 from lineup

When the Savannah, Georgia-based company introduced the G150 to the mid-size business jet market in 2006, it was hailed as a cost-effective speed demon with long legs that helped propel the aircraft to the head of its class.

However, when Gulfstream’s eight-seat, 482-mph G280 slipped into the long-range mid-cabin market in 2012, it brought a whopping 13,500-pound maximum takeoff weight advantage and bested the seven-seat, 470-mph G150’s four-passenger 3,018-nautical-mile range by nearly 400 miles.

A 2015 analysis for hourly operating costs of 45 business jets performed by David Wyndham of Conklin & de Decker found that the G150’s rate of $2,380.09 compared favorably within the medium-jet marketplace. The G150 clocked in at $500 per hour lower than a Cessna Citation Latitude and about $130 higher than Bombardier’s Learjet 70 and 75 models.

The company’s president, Mark Burns, had high praise for the G150: “The G150 has had a distinguished history, spanning more than a decade.” Burns also noted that the G150 “remains an important part of our business.”

The aircraft has a “dispatch reliability rate of 99.83 percent and is certified in more than 45 countries,” according to the manufacturer. Burns said that parts and support for the aircraft would be unchanged.

A 2015 Business & Commercial Aviation article complimented the G150 as “one of the fastest and most cost-effective mid-light business aircraft” with an ability to “fly four passengers 2,988 nm at its long-range cruise speed.” That range covered most nonstop coast-to-coast U.S. destinations and was a good fit for the aircraft’s intended mission.

The publication said the G150 was “very pleasant to hand fly” but cautioned owners about maintenance for starter-generators because of a heavy electrical load. The report noted a discrepancy between asking prices of $6 million to $8 million versus purchase offers of $4 million to $5 million for pre-owned models.