[D33-PAC]

*Yawn* with all those talks about Bugattis, LaFerraris in India !

We have something much grander here. She's brand new and she just arrived in Mumbai from Iceland, which was a stopover from the San Francisco to Mumbai leg.

You simply can't top a Gulfstream G650ER when it comes to private jets, she's the king cobra, the elephant, the you get the point. Unless you can afford an Airbus A380 or an A320, there is simply nothing to match her.

New York to Mumbai non-stop in 13 hours.

Just to give you a time comparable - you can wake up at 6 AM in Mumbai and by the time it's dinner time for your folks in Mumbai who you left, you'd have arrived in New York without stopping. I get these statistics from Gulfstream - because they actually did push one to the limit when they brought one to Mumbai and flew it non-stop to New York just to see how fast they can do it.


Price tag: $45 - 60 million USD/ 200 CRORES INR . Not including recurring items such as parking fees, landing charges, hangar costs, fuel !

But don't worry fellas, you don't need to be a billionaire to use her. She's owned by Taj Air, so if you can afford to charter her, she's all yours.


Credits: Thanks to Mr.Tripathi of Taj Air for sharing.
*Please note the below plane log schedule isn't indicative of the bird at peak performance. Gulfstream did bring a G650 to India a while back and floored the throttle from Mumbai to New York non-stop just to see how fast they can do it. They set a record at ~13 hours non-stop with average speed of 900 KMPH.

[V.Narayan]

Thank you for sharing. Indeed it is a superlative machine in terms of both range and speed. Gulfstream make biz jets like Rolls Royce and with probably the highest reliability in the industry. Interestingly despite charging the earth and moon several biz jet OEM's suffer from poor handling of the customer and his representatives. In this too GS beat the rest on quality of customer service.

PS: the price I am familiar with is in the $60 to 70MM range.

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Interestingly despite charging the earth and moon several biz jet OEM's suffer from poor handling of the customer and his representatives. In this too GS beat the rest on quality of customer service.

Really ? For some reason Gulfstreams are a rarity in India. Dassaults are being bought left and right by all the big corporations. Gulfstreams are a minority in India anyway you look at it.

Extremely rare to see a Gulfstream in Mumbai's private jet lot, where Bombardiers and Dassaults are dominant. I always assumed it was due to Gulfstream's lack of servicing abilities in India that they lagged in Indian market share.

[AbelAFC]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is the 650ER a big change from the G650? I thought there was already a G650 in India.


Also, the registration of this G650 starts off with an N, which I think is the USA code? Does that come standard at delivery from Gulfstream, which then get re-registered in India? Can't this fly out of the US with an Indian registration code?

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is the 650ER a big change from the G650? I thought there was already a G650 in India.

G650ER = Extended Range. Improved change in range.


G650 already in India ? That was speculation and false leads. A G650 did have Indian registration before but at the last moment the buyer backed out - so it was Indian on papers only.

But this one is here to stay, to be used in India for Indians piloted by Indians. A record expense for any private jet operator in India. This is literally the Bugatti Veyron of private jets. The lack of commotion on this thread is appalling, I guess less plane lovers here on TBHP ?!

[Raj_RD]

Originally Posted by AbelAFC

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but is the 650ER a big change from the G650? I thought there was already a G650 in India.


Also, the registration of this G650 starts off with an N, which I think is the USA code? Does that come standard at delivery from Gulfstream, which then get re-registered in India? Can't this fly out of the US with an Indian registration code?

Yup the owner seems to be Bank of Utah trustee, not sure what that means.

This is like the holy grail of business jets. Sure it has an exceptional range.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

The lack of commotion on this thread is appalling, I guess less plane lovers here on TBHP ?!

Nothing like that. We cant really add anything more to this thread.

A lot of people must have read the thread and moved on without post (like me). What can we say?

"Oh wow. Amazing"

And then 4 minutes letter "Your post has been deleted as it doesnt add value to the thread"

There are enough and more plane enthusiasts on TBHP if you go through a few other aircraft related threads!

Just so that my post isnt deleted, let me try to add something of value.

So, the 13 hours thing was a one-off test by Gulfstream, but can this plane, with a full load of passengers do a Bombay-NYC direct flight? Even if it takes 16 hours instead of 13? Because 16 hours is still a massive improvement over the current 24-28 hours of commercial jets with a stop over.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Because 16 hours is still a massive improvement over the current 24-28 hours of commercial jets with a stop over.

Actually there are/were a handful of commercial flights that did Mumbai-NYC in 14-16 hours (non-stop).

I used to fly BOS-BOM regularly, and took the LGA-BOM once.

The tailwind makes about a 30-50 minute difference depending if you're flying heading East or West.


So that bring me to my questions for D33-PAC:

1) What would a 'sensible' (non-full throttle) time be from the G650?
2) If a commercial jet was going full-throttle, what would its time be (and would it have enough fuel to do this trip full throttle)?
3) In addition to the Extended Range, is the impressive thing about the G650 the speed? Or is it just that very few private jets can do such a long trip?


Link to the other thread from 2015 : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...mes-india.html

[androdev]

Folks, I have a very genuine question. I can understand someone buying some A320 class plane with a bedroom, meeting room, experienced pilot and proper maintenance regime, etc. Why should I buy these 6-8 seater private jets which offer less comfort and safety than flying commercial. I would any day prefer to travel by Emirates A380 fully flat bed business class with the knowledge that the pilot is very experienced, the plan is ultra safe and the maintenance is thorough. Or first class if I forgot to take bath at home. Exclusive, bespoke, etc. is all good but without a bed and an apprentice pilot?

[D33-PAC]

Originally Posted by androdev

Folks, I have a very genuine question. I can understand someone buying some A320 class plane with a bedroom, meeting room, experienced pilot and proper maintenance regime, etc. Why should I buy these 6-8 seater private jets which offer less comfort and safety than flying commercial. I would any day prefer to travel by Emirates A380 fully flat bed business class with the knowledge that the pilot is very experienced, the plan is ultra safe and the maintenance is thorough. Or first class if I forgot to take bath at home. Exclusive, bespoke, etc. is all good but without a bed and an apprentice pilot?

This is way too simplistic of a thought process Sirji.

1. First off, the people who can afford these planes aren't individuals. A doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, run of the mill people. So there's no point about speculating about the worth of this plane from an individual usage angle.

2. Most likely he's the Chairman of a big company, like Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal types.

3. Secondly, at their level, they have to do favors for a lot of people. So the plane is for people other than them. Lastly they move as a team, CFO/Secretary/assistant/executive staff.


You can't take an Airbus A380 Emirates first class from Kazakhstan to Orissa. A man like Lakshmi Mittal has plants in remote places across the world.

Once read a Forbes article about vice-chairman of GVK doing 350 flights in a year. that's almost one flight every day of the year. Imagine the time saved by skipping formal procedures !

[androdev]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

This is way too simplistic of a thought process Sirji.

Good points. My question is not about the money at all. Who am I to ask anyone what they wish to do with their money. I am only interested in this: what would I pick if I have two options: private jet G650 or commercial A380? I am not talking about monetary aspects, just comfort and safety aspects. Maybe it's just my flight phobia that prevents me from seeing the point of these small private jets.

[Raj_RD]

Originally Posted by androdev

Good points. My question is not about the money at all. Who am I to ask anyone what they wish to do with their money. I am only interested in this: what would I pick if I have two options: private jet G650 or commercial A380? I am not talking about monetary aspects, just comfort and safety aspects. Maybe it's just my flight phobia that prevents me from seeing the point of these small private jets.

You get your privacy. And it is as safe and comfortable compared to any other commerical airliner and not all aircraft can fly for 16 hours non stop.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by androdev

Good points. My question is not about the money at all. Who am I to ask anyone what they wish to do with their money. I am only interested in this: what would I pick if I have two options: private jet G650 or commercial A380? I am not talking about monetary aspects, just comfort and safety aspects. Maybe it's just my flight phobia that prevents me from seeing the point of these small private jets.

Also, the scheduling. For many of these people, time is of the essence. They cant hang around in lounges waiting for the flight to board. They cant be bothered with transit times, etc.

They cant change their schedule to suit Emirates' flight times. They need to be able to fly when they WANT to fly.

It's mainly the flexibility afforded by private jets/charter planes that these ultra ultra ultra high net worth people value.

And yes, like D33 mentioned, the fact that they can fly direct to their venue even if it's remote.

[androdev]

Okay, I will make my question even simpler. For a regular joe like me someone presents me two options to go from X to Y. Either this G650 or a business/first class commercial plane. I want to maximise my comfort and safety. Keep in mind safety is not just the equipment alone, it also includes pilot, maintenance (and as recently found in Kathmandu, pilot's familiarity with the runway, etc.). What should I pick? If someone gives me a Yacht to use for family holiday on a Switzerland lake, I will be thrilled. But if someone asks me to take my family on a holiday in a private jet, I am not sure how I will react to it. I am not trying to be argumentative, I would really like to know what others think.

[Turbanator]

For a regular joe like me someone presents me two options to go from X to Y.

But if someone asks me to take my family on a holiday in a private jet, I am not sure how I will react to it.

Androdev, You, me and most of the regular Joe's cannot think from the perspective of the intended customers/ users, so stop putting yourself in their shoes

Of course, for someone like we regular guys, traveling in a business class, whenever we can, makes a sense but as D33-PAC & Nikhil has explained, there are different requirements for some kind of peoples.