WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA) on Friday said it certified General

Dynamics Corp's ( GD ) Gulfstream flagship G700 business

aircraft, driving fresh competition in the top end of the market

for luxury jets.

Gulfstream had previously expected to obtain certification

of the large-cabin jet, which competes with Canadian private

planemaker Bombardier's Global 7500, in late 2023 and

had planned to deliver 19 of the aircraft.

The process for certifying new aircraft in the United States

has come under greater scrutiny following the fatal crashes of

two flights involving the Boeing 737 MAX in October 2018

and March 2019. Industry officials expect that to persist after

a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 mid-flight

in January.

Gulfstream President Mark Burns in 2019 said he believed the

FAA would seek more information during the G700 certification,

following the crashes, but did not expect any unreasonable

requests.

Gulfstream said the G700 will have takeoff and landing

distances shorter than originally anticipated.

"We have successfully completed the most rigorous

certification program in company history with the G700," Burns

said.

In September, the company announced performance

improvements, saying the G700 range increased to 7,750 nautical

miles (14,353 kilometers) at Mach 0.85, as has its maximum

operating speed to become the fastest Gulfstream jet.

Business jet makers expect sustained customer appetite for

private planes after a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, but

slowing 2024 global growth and the increasing availability of

pre-owned planes could weigh on demand.

Boeing ( BA ) has been awaiting certification of its smaller 737

MAX 7 and larger MAX 10 for years, and now faces new hurdles

after it withdrew in January a request for a key safety

exemption that could have allowed the FAA to speed approval for

the MAX 7.