General Aviation Gulfstream delivers first international G500 to Qatar Executive

Qatar Airways´ executive subsidiary took delivery of the state-of-the-art aircraft. Two aircraft have been ferried from Savannah, Georgia to Doha in Qatar. Both jets will enter service in early 2019 for the first time.

In July last year, the G500 received its U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certificate for type and production. The first ever G500 entered service back in September. The fast delivery was made possible because the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority validated Gulfstream´s type certificate in October.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “We are truly delighted to be the international launch customer for the all-new Gulfstream G500 jet. This state-of-the-art aircraft will set a new industry benchmark and will offer our passengers an unrivalled flying experience.”

The two G500s will join the current fleet that already exists of five Gulfstream G650ER business jets. In 2019 however, Qatar Airways is set to receive five more G500s and one additional G650ER.

Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream, added: “Gulfstream and Qatar Executive have been good partners since we announced the G500 and their intention to be its international launch customer [...] We are proud to deliver these aircraft just four years later and after the most rigorous flight-test program Gulfstream has conducted.”

“Qatar Executive and Gulfstream share a special and strong relationship, one which has grown over the years based on confidence and mutual understanding. This relationship emphasizes Qatar Executive’s commitment to provide an industry-leading product and service,” concluded Al Baker.

During the certification process of the G500, Gulfstream send out a testbed aircraft to tour the world. This world tour saw the aircraft fly nearly 130,000nm (240,760km). Moreover, Gulfstream broke various city-pair seed records.

Qatar Executive was founded in June 2009 and is based at Hamad International Airport. Currently, 15 business jets belong to the fleet, including the five G650ERs, both G500s, three Bombardier Challenger 605s, four Global 5000s and one Global XRS.