From the moment you board a Gulfstream aircraft, the cabin enchants you. Everywhere you look, everything you touch, you find craftsmanship and a high attention to detail. The gleam of the finishes on the ledges and tables. The sparkle of the goblets and flatware. The high-definition quality of the video equipment. Each element of the Gulfstream interior is exquisitely designed for one purpose – to impress.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. is undoubtedly known not only for its engineering excellence, but also for its amazing interiors. For the second time in as many years, Gulfstream has been recognized for its design worl. Their Interior and Industrial Design teams recently earned 2018 International Yacht & Aviation Awards for the all-new Gulfstream G500 and Gulfstream G600 seat and cabin designs.
“This recognition speaks to the creativity, craftsmanship, quality and customer-centric design focus inherent throughout the Gulfstream product line,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream.
“The Gulfstream G500 and Gulfstream G600 showcase our ongoing commitment to a high-quality customer experience that is tailored precisely for our customers’ productivity, comfort and design aesthetic. I am incredibly proud of our very talented team for winning these awards.”
The fully outfitted G600 test aircraft earned the Private Jet Design award for its three-living-area cabin with crew rest, which demonstrates the flexibility that is part of the Gulfstream design DNA. A central focus of the winning G600 design is the mirrored mid-cabin bulkhead, a literal reflection of the customer experience and cabin versatility. Reflection continues in subtle ways, from the layered, mixed grain on the mocca oak veneer that catches the light with understated elegance to the geometric carpet pattern that mimics the herringbone design of the seats’ perforated and quilted inserts. The four-living-area G650ER won the same award in 2017.
Gulfstream’s mission-specific seating, created for the G500 and G600, took home the seating award in the Product Category. The seat styles feature three design aesthetics, Sport, Classic and Minimalist, that serve as starting points for customization. The seating was created in Gulfstream’s Research and Development Center, where industrial and interior designers, the engineering team and upholstery shop collaborated on the aesthetics, ergonomics and functionality that led to the final design.
- The Classic seat aesthetic offers an elegant design with mid-level bolstering that creates a blend of strong support and generous freedom of movement.
- Sport provides robust bolstering that evokes high-performance standards and is ideal for long periods of sitting. The Sport seat includes a contoured mattress insert for berthing.
- The Minimalist seat provides the least amount of bolstering in favor of a comfortable conversion to berthing for the passenger who desires a greater focus on the sleeping surface for long-range flights.
The individual tailoring of all three seat styles starts with additional design details such as quilted inserts; decorative stitching; seat arm accents in leather, fabric, veneer or lacquer; and Gulfstream’s wide variety of fine leathers and upholstery, all custom-crafted for each aircraft.
The G600 interior and seats have been tested as part of Gulfstream’s rigorous flight-test programs for the G500 and G600 to ensure the aircraft perform as they should long before customer deliveries, which are expected later this year and in 2019, respectively.
This award is only one recognition of Gulsftream’s focus on customer centric design. The brand is also known for its exclusive sales and design center in London, the company’s first such facility outside the United States, that gives international customers more convenient access to Gulfstream’s sales and design staff.
“Because of London’s stature as one of the world’s financial and cultural capitals, many of our customers and potential customers worldwide have business interests there and visit frequently or have a residence in the area,” said Scott Neal, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Gulfstream.
“They’ll now have a convenient Gulfstream facility in London where they can go through the aircraft selection and cabin-design process easily and efficiently.”
The nearly 5,500-square-foot (511-square-meter) center, located in the Mayfair district of central London includes a showroom filled with leather, veneer, fabric and carpet selections along with conference rooms and customer offices.
As in the Savannah and Dallas centers, customers can use Gulfstream’s new state-of-the-art visualization software called DesignBook™, which displays a highly realistic image of a cabin in real time on a touch-screen monitor or tablet computer screen. The rendering includes cabin configurations, colors, fabrics and furnishings.
The London sales and design center is staffed by sales executives and support personnel, including Trevor Esling, Gulfstream regional senior vice president, International Sales, Europe.
