Executives of the Savannah-based company say they are poised to reap the benefits and entering a growth period.
A Gulfstream G700 private jet is on display at McCollum Field in Kennesaw in 2023. Gulfstream Aerospace — long considered the industry’s gold standard — dates to the dawn of the jet age, and has been based along the Georgia coast since the late 1960s. (Natrice Miller/AJC 2023)
SAVANNAH — Gulfstream Aerospace, the secretive company making some of the most elite planes in the world, has been on a journey, billions of dollars and nearly three-decades in the making.
The business jet brand — long considered the industry’s gold standard — dates to the dawn of the jet age, and has been based along the Georgia coast since the late 1960s.
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A sleeping area inside Gulfstream’s G700 aircraft is on display at Gulfstream Aerospace’s showroom in Savannah. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
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A G700 aircraft sits inside the Gulfstream Aerospace’s showroom in December. Georgia’s aerospace sector has risen along with Gulfstream. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
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Scott Neal, senior vice president of worldwide sales, shows their aircraft models on a screen at Gulfstream Aerospace’s showroom in Savannah. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
A new ‘family’
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Gulfstream’s jets can be customized to the extreme, like this luxurious custom interior of its G700 aircraft. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
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Gulfstream employs about 22,000 people worldwide, including more than 13,000 in coastal Georgia. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
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Gulfstream manufactures product lines of G500 and G600 aircrafts at their facility in Savannah. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
Largest Savannah employer
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A worker tends to Gulfstream’s product lines of G500 and G600 aircrafts. The company has invested nearly $800 million on manufacturing facilities in recent decades, most prominently at its Savannah headquarters. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
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Scott Neal, senior vice president of worldwide sales, speaks to a visitor at Gulfstream Aerospace’s showroom on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Savannah. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)
Gulfstream’s service strategy
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Lor Izzard, senior vice president of customer support, speaks inside Gulfstream Aerospace’s showroom in Savannah. His team has grown to become about a fourth of Gulfstream’s total workforce. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
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Civilian aircraft and related parts were Georgia’s top export to the globe in 2025, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, totaling $16.4 billion. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
What’s next?
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As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
