Gulfstream Sees Strong U.S. Demand Amid Drag from China in Business Jet Market

12 November 2025

Paul Bowen / Paul Bowen Photography Inc.

When Gulfstream Aerospace’s president, Mark Burns, surveyed the global business-jet landscape at the recent Paris Air Show, he found the U.S. market humming with activity, even as China’s slowed demand signalled a new wrinkle in the industry’s story. In a sector defined by luxury, speed and corporate agility, the private-jet maker part of General Dynamics announced plans to ramp up production through 2029, buoyed by robust domestic demand and several new models poised to enter service. However the firm also issued a rare caution: escalating trade tensions with Beijing have clouded its outlook in the Asian region.

For the U.S. business-jet market, the story has largely been one of vitality and widening opportunity. The pandemic’s ripple effects pushed affluent buyers and corporate flight operations into private aviation, seeking convenience, safety and flexibility. Burns noted that U.S. demand especially from Fortune 500 companies remains strong, and earlier in the year more than 82% of S&P 500 firms beat third-quarter earnings expectations, up comfortably from historical norms.

Central to Gulfstream’s growth strategy is its new “super-mid-size” G300 jet, a model aimed at carrying up to ten passengers and positioned to compete with rival machines such as the Bombardier Challenger 3500. With certification still pending, the G300 anchors Gulfstream’s push to expand both capacity and market share. Burns emphasised that the company’s supply-chain infrastructure is now sufficiently robust to support scheduled production increases through 2029. He added that corporate jet sales have come to share characteristics of traditional commercial aircraft programmes, large scale, multi-year commitments, and global strategy.

Yet while the U.S. outlook remains upbeat, the company was frank about the headwinds in China. With about 150 Gulfstream jets flying in that market, Burns said bluntly that “trade tensions do create some slowdown in that marketplace.”

He expressed cautious optimism that recent meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would lead to relief in trade frictions, but he also noted the global nature of the business-jet market means such international markets cannot be taken for granted.

Behind these corporate statements lie broader themes reshaping business aviation. The convergence of wealth concentration, corporate mobility, and globalised asset ownership has elevated the private jet from rarity to stratified infrastructure. In turn manufacturers like Gulfstream now operate less as niche builders and more as industrial firms managing complex pipelines, certification processes and international sanctions. Their decisions are influenced not only by luxury-buying trends but by trade policy, supply-chain resilience and geopolitical shifts.

Gulfstream’s assertion that it will increase output reflects confidence in those structural tailwinds. Its plan assumes that demand remains robust in the U.S. and that supply-chain constraints can be mitigated. The firm said it is backing that forecast with investment in its production base and its global service-network infrastructure. At the same time the warning about China reminds investors and analysts that luxury markets are not immune to macro-economic turbulence or diplomatic friction.

For smaller aerospace competitors the message is clear: scale matters, and global diversification remains risky if trade frictions escalate. Gulfstream, by virtue of size and legacy, is attempting to ride out these pressures, whereas smaller makers may struggle if one key market falters. The Chinese market’s setback signals how sensitive aerospace is to export policy, currency risk and regional geopolitics even when the end product serves elite buyers.

Gulfstream’s results and forecast may also shed light on investor sentiment in the broader economy. Corporate jet orders are often viewed as a barometer of upper-end business confidence and corporate mobility ambition. In that sense Gulfstream’s bullishness on the U.S. suggests that while broader consumer cycles may be under pressure, firms at the top end are still investing in mobility and capital equipment. However the firm’s candour about China serves as a reminder that no sector is entirely insulated from global risk.

In the coming years the aerospace industry will watch closely how Gulfstream executes its plan from certification of the G300 to sales conversion, global distribution and after-sales support. The firm’s ability to deliver on its promise will send a signal not just about its own future but about the private-jet market’s resilience. For now the headline is clear: strong U.S. demand gives Gulfstream optimism, but the firm remains grounded in the reality that expansion depends on a global equilibrium.