G.A.D Flights (GFT) plans to stick to the Citation III (C650) as its core type, even though the fact that its Honeywell Aerospace TFE731 engines are no longer in production is challenging, chief executive Yoav Seymour told ch-aviation in an exclusive interview. The Israeli operator aims to grow the type's fleet to lower the utilisation of each airframe and thus extend the engines' life span.

"In the long-term, we would like to buy a few C650s and then rotate the aircraft. This means we could operate them for longer until the necessary maintenance - namely, engine overhauls - comes up. We are still sticking to the type, we like its performance, we know it well," he said.

Although its first aircraft was a Citation V (C560), G.A.D Flights acquired its first C650 in 2021. It added a second unit of the type at the end of May 2024.

The newly added unit, 4X-CZB (msn 650-0183), has relatively low engine hours, despite being of 1990 vintage. Nonetheless, Seymour conceded that the current two C650s will reach their engine hours limits in two or three years. The operator's current plan is to acquire more C650s as the current ones are phased out. The preowned market for the type is quite deep, especially in the United States and so even though the C650 has been out of production since 2000, the parts supply is still sufficient to continue operations going forward and Textron Aviation still supports the type. G.A.D Flights thought about buying a C650 for part-out, but as the components would have to be recertified before being installed on an active aircraft, this idea was quickly dropped.

Despite operating predominantly on short regional routes, G.A.D Flights has no interest in adding very light or light jets to its fleet.

Focus on the regional market

Seymour said the C650 is the perfect size and range for the operator's main business, concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Europe, and Türkiye. Operations to Western Europe, which would exceed the limits of the type's range without a fuel stop for flights departing from Israel, are not frequent for G.A.D Flights. Following the Abraham Accords, Israeli-flagged carriers can now operate in Bahrain, the UAE, and Morocco. The agreement also eventually paved the way for Saudi Arabia to allow Israeli overflights, although not landings. Seymour said the benefit has been limited, as most G.A.D Flights are still to Europe, although Dubai is also in high demand.

G.A.D Flights focuses on serving Tel Aviv Ben Gurion and Eilat Ramon in Israel and does not operate from the smaller Haifa airport.

Security and demand considerations related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza led to many commercial operators suspending flights to Tel Aviv, which had positive effects on G.A.D Flights.

"We didn't lose any business. If anything, it's become a bit easier for us because Tel Aviv, which is a slot-restricted airport, is less busy," Seymour said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent closure of both countries also affected G.A.D Flights. The loss of the Ukrainian market was a particular hit for the operator; Ukraine had strong demand both for air ambulance and charter flights, driven by the Jewish diaspora.

"It wasn't a big market, but it existed. On average, we had at least a couple of flights into Ukraine every month," Seymour said.

Aeropolitics of operating in Israel

G.A.D Flights launched in late 2020 and was certified in Israel in just ten months. But while the local Civil Aviation Authority was affected by staff cuts, Seymour nonetheless praised its efficiency underlining that G.A.D Flights was diligent in following the regulations and certification processes, which allowed it to obtain its AOC relatively quickly.

"As an Israeli company, we have a lot of leeway [in terms of operations in Israel]. We have fewer restrictions regarding when we can operate and which airports we can operate to in Israel. That's the benefit of being an Israel-registered company," he explained.

Operations to Europe are not a problem with EU Third Country Operator (TCO) status, although with some countries, bureaucracy has become a bit more strenuous. For example, G.A.D Flights has an annual permit to fly to Greece but needs to apply for individual permits for each flight into Germany.

Aircraft management opportunities

G.A.D Flights owns the three aircraft it operates for charters and air ambulance operations, and also added two Gulfstream G200s to its AOC this year.

"They are privately owned, but the owners want them to operate commercially, so they added them to our AOC," he explained.

The company has no near- or medium-term plans to enter the aircraft management segment. Seymour assessed that the Israeli business jet market is very small, as the majority of aircraft owned by Israelis, but operated privately, are placed on foreign registers. This is at least partially due to very high taxes on privately owned aircraft in Israel, from which commercial operators, like G.A.D Flights, are exempt.