Gulfstream Aerospace announced on January 6th, 2025, that two more G700 aircraft have been delivered to Qatar Executive, the private aviation arm of Qatar Airways. These deliveries take the total number of G700s in Qatar’s fleet to six, with four more scheduled to arrive in the near future.
Mark Burns, president of Gulfstream, praised his team for the swift delivery of the new aircraft to Qatar, noting that “the unprecedented speed with which the team has been able to deliver this remarkable aircraft is a true testament to the quality and maturity of the G700 program.”
Qatar Executive took delivery of a pair of G700s in May 2024, introducing them into service the following month. It is the first carrier to offer the G700 as a charter aircraft, and while the uptake isn’t publicized by Qatar, it has previously said that interest in the new aircraft was ‘high.’
The gamechanging Gulfstream G700
The G700 is the evolution of the highly successful G650 private jet, with a three-meter longer fuselage, allowing for up to five separate areas inside. More efficient Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines make it 2-3% more efficient, with a range of 7,500 NM.
Akbar Al Baker, former CEO of Qatar Airways, at the Paris Air Show in 2023 described the G700 as the ‘pinnacle of business jet travel.’
“The technological advances, innovation, flight instruments, cabin configurability and environmental performance make the G700 a genuine game changer,” Al Baker added.
Al Baker’s tenure at Qatar Airways came to an end before the aircraft was delivered. His successor, Badr Al-Meer, had the pleasure of welcoming the first two to the fleet, noting that he was “proud to enhance our existing fleet of 15 Gulfstream G650ER aircraft to include the pinnacle of business aviation excellence.”
Qatar Executive’s G700s have bespoke designed cabins, including a private rear stateroom with a fixed double bed and en suite bathroom. It features the industry’s lowest cabin altitude and 100% fresh air, replenished every two minutes. Alongside this is an all-new, Gulfstream-developed lighting system that mimics circadian rhythms, aiming for a more pleasant passenger experience.
Rolling out the G700 despite challenges
The G700 was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in March 2024, with deliveries to US customers starting just a month later. The aircraft has now been certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and in another 10 nations, most recently by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Since first taking flight, the G700 has picked up dozens of speed records for various city pairs, including Los Angeles to Sydney in just 14 hours and 26 minutes. In all, it exceeded more than 65 city-pair records, showcasing both its range and high-speed capabilities.
But the introduction of the G700 hasn’t been without its challenges. Gulfstream had projected to deliver between 50 and 52 units of its new jet in 2024 but was forced to slash its projections as supply chain issues continued to hamper the rollout. By September 2024, it had handed over just four G700s against a target of 15 to 16.
During the third-quarter earnings call in October 2024, chief executive of Gulfstream’s parent company General Dynamics, Phebe Novakovic, blamed poor performance on issues such as the late arrival of the Pearl 700 engines and other supply chain issues. The executive also noted that the intricacies of the highly customized interiors led to longer-than-anticipated supplemental-type certification processes.
Re-aligning its projections with the current climate, Gulfstream settled on a target of 42 G700 deliveries in 2024. With a full-year earnings report due in the next few weeks, it remains to be seen if that target was achieved.