Author Bright Ibeawuchi

November 29, 2012 — Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has announced that it has officially opened its aircraft service center in Beijing "Gulfstream Beijing" after recently being approved as a Part 145 maintenance facility by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The certification authorizes the facilities technicians the to work on aircraft registered in China.

The Gulfstream Beijing licensing process began in February 2012. In September, the joint enterprise was granted a Chinese business license. The CAAC completed an audit of the joint enterprise in October and certified the center in November.

Gulfstream Beijing is a joint venture between Gulfstream and two subsidiaries of Hainan Airlines Group, Hainan Aviation Technik and Deer Jet. Deer Jet is China’s principal business jet charter provider in addition to currently having the largest Gulfstream fleet in China.

Deer Jet began providing charter services in December 2008 its fleet consisted of Airbus A319s and various business jets. The airline was authorized by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to operate scheduled air services in 2009.

Deer Jet Airlines was divided into two companies on May 4, 2010. While the charter operation has reserved the Deer Jet branding,the scheduled operations using Airbus aircraft were renamed Beijing Capital Airlines. The fleet of corporate jet aircraft currently operated by Deer Jet includes:

• 3 Gulfstream G550
• 2 Gulfstream V
• 1 Gulfstream VI
• 4 Hawker 800XP
• 2 Hawker 850XP
• 1 Hawker 900XP,
• 2 Hawker 4000
• 1 Boeing BBJ

Gulfstream’s business relationship with the company originated in 2004, when the charter operation leased a pre-owned GIV. 

Hainan Aviation Technik provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services throughout China and Asia.

Gulfstream Beijing is conveniently located at Beijing Capital International Airport. The center comprises of an 82,000-square-foot hangar and 22,000 square feet of offices and shops. Kay Ardalan, a veteran Gulfstream Product Support executive serves as the facility's General Manager.  The facility is staffed by factory-trained Gulfstream and Deer Jet employees, and is equipped with a broad range of ground support equipment and tooling.

The facility has direct access to a more than $50 million parts and materials inventory strategically located at warehouses in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Product Support. Commented “We are proud to be the first business jet original equipment manufacturer to offer MRO services for its customers in China,” Burns added “Gulfstream Beijing is a result of the excellent cooperation between Gulfstream, our Chinese partners and CAAC.  We are very pleased to be able to provide our world-class customer service and support much closer to the home base of more than 100 Gulfstream aircraft.  Our main goal is to ensure the safety and reliability of these aircraft every day. With the growth of business aviation and our fleet in Asia, we expect this to be a prosperous partnership for many years to come.”

“This is a logical and important step for Hainan,” said Zhang Peng, chairman of Deer Jet. “We have built our charter and management business through close cooperation with Gulfstream. Many Chinese customers gain their first exposure to Gulfstream on a Deer Jet aircraft. We will be able to strengthen our position and Gulfstream’s through this added maintenance component of our business. It will reduce our maintenance expense, increase our aircraft availability and demonstrate to the Chinese market our unrelenting commitment to provide the very best in business jet services. We are delighted to be teaming with Gulfstream in this effort.”

The center will service Deer Jet’s Gulfstream fleet, in addition to other Gulfstream aircraft and a small selection of non-Gulfstream models. preliminary support will be for the large-cabin G550 and G450, the most popular Gulfstream aircraft in China. MRO capability will extend to Gulfstream’s other models, including the new G650 and G280, in the near future.