Cyprus’s CSM Aviation is currently in the process of rebranding its Astra SPX to a G100. Chief pilot Thomas Barth explained how this would help the company: “The Astra SPX came on to our fleet in October 1998 and we now want it to be registered as a G100 so that we can use routes via Saudi Arabia and surrounding Arabian countries.

“The problem is that the Astra was made in Israel, whereas the Gulfstreams are US-manufactured aircraft and the Arabian countries would rather not have an Israeli-made aircraft fly through their airspace.”

Barth said that it’s actually irrelevant if the aircraft is registered in Israel or if the crew is Israeli.

The sole problem appears to be if the aircraft is manufactured in Israel. “There is no difference between the two aircraft, but we have to now convince Gulfstream to allow us to rename it.

“So far we haven’t been success-ful and it’s proving very difficult, mainly due to insurance complications. Gulfstream says it only wants to be responsible for aircraft that it has built itself from serial number 137, when the SPXs were rebranded to the G100. Therefore Gulfstream are rather hesitant to push this through.”

CSM is a privately-owned company, which operates the SPX solely for its owner.

Barth revealed that the company’s plans to expand may be the bargaining tool needed: “We are good customers of Gulfstream and we’re thinking of buying a G200 in the next couple of years.

“So basically we are trying to rely on a little bit of back scratching. When they can do something for us, we will do something for them.”