Gulfstream Aerospace will be focusing on the construction and opening of a new service center at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in Texas, as well as preparing its maintenance teams for the entry into service of the G700, customer support president Derek Zimmerman said on a webinar this morning. “I think the big one for us is just getting ready for the transition into Alliance Airport,” he said.

Groundbreaking on the $42 million, 163,000-sq-ft facility was originally expected to begin in the third quarter, with an opening in 2021. Now, Zimmerman believes it will be the first quarter of 2021 before construction begins, followed by an early to mid-2022 opening. The transition will involve preparing about 135 maintenance staff to move from its Dallas Love Field site to Alliance. Gulfstream plans to add another 50 jobs at Alliance while keeping between 30 and 35 employees at Love Field.

Also, the customer support organization “will be working in the background” to prepare for handing over G700s to customers in 2022. “There’s a lot of preparation and embedded teams that are behind the scenes right now getting ready for a new aircraft deployment so we’re ready to hit the ground running when customers start taking deliveries of G700s,” Zimmerman said.