By now, most people in our industry will have seen the news about the CAAC certification of the Gulfstream G650 and G650ER in China. This was a long time coming (the G650 entered service in the US in 2012). This delay self-evidently obliged a number of Gulfstream G650/ER’s, (already bought by mainland China buyers), to be registered in either in Hong Kong (the usual choice) or in some other offshore registry such as Bermuda or Cayman Islands….a number of these G650’s and G650ER’s were simply left on US registry (N).
All of the above-mentioned offshore registry options are viable, provided that the Gulfstream owner does not run (fly ?) afoul of the limitations regarding time-in-country. This could result in a very expensive and unexpected impounding of the G650.
In fact, Aviatrade has learned that at least one recent G650 order from Gulfstream was apparently rejected by its China buyer and languished on the Gulfstream factory ramp until quite recently. Perhaps the lack of CAAC certification had something to do with this scenario ? The fate of this G650 is not yet clear, but we do know that a major Chinese institution had financed this G650 and it was ‘looking for a home’. Aviatrade heard a price as low as $60MM to snag this deal.
A “white tail” Gulfstream G650 on the ramp…choose your own paint scheme !
Of course, the CAAC certification now means that any proud, Chinese, G650 or G650ER owner will be obliged to fork over to the Chinese government circa 22% in total tax duty on their shiny new jet, if they opt to import the Gulfstream to the China ‘B’ registry… the G650 and its longer-range sibling, the G650ER cost circa $70-72MM, when originally ordered. Twenty two percent of those numbers is quite an import hit !
The next hurdle for Gulfstream G650 and G650ER acceptance is access to the Aspen/Pitkin airport in Colorado…no small challenge… and Aviatrade has quite the story about this ‘stand-off’ for a future blog entry.
Onwards !
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