Having a 200-unit backlog seems like a nice problem to have, especially if you consider what having 300 million dollars in deposits interest-free for all these years does for your cash-flow... however:
- As the customers wait for their 650, the competition doesn't sleep, and targets those same customers with offers that will sound better ("Get your Global 8000/Falcon 7EX 2 years earlier, and for 10 million less!").
- Having catered to a few of those customers, one feature they generally share is that they are happy to sue often and sue hard for whatever slight or perceived slight done to them. In this light, the Gulfstream policy to forbid their customers from selling their option on is going to come under attack by people who are not afraid to pay the best lawyers. From experience, the contracts issued by Gulfstream/Bombardier/Dassault to their customers are NOT bullet-proof: my present company has already trashed Dassault twice in a US court over a contract dispute..
- Gulfstream would much rather have a smaller backlog, and keep their customers happy and entertained. In that light, continued upgrading of the 550 model, as well as a sneek-peak to the next 650-upgrade would probably go a long way..
..2 cents thrown in, exits stage right...