Thomas L. Cooper, the founder, was a former Boeing 727 captain for Eastern Air Lines during the pilots' strike in 1989.

Gulfstream's parent company, G-Air Holdings, acquired Paradise Island Airlines in August 1998 and continued to operate its de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7s.

This was also the case with captains early on with candidates paying $15,000 up front starting in 1992 with Avtar International doing the recruiting and advertising.

Avtar International was started by Vic Johnson of New Jersey and Bill Veiga, a former Cessna test pilot.

While applicants have paid to be Captains and First Officers on all aircraft types operated by Gulfstream, the vast majority flew the airline's 19 passenger Beechcraft 1900.

In July 1997, the airline's entire fleet of Shorts 360-300s were repossessed by the leasing company due, in part, to maintenance irregularities that included the welding of hydraulic lines.

In March 2006, Thomas L. Cooper sold his stake in the company to Gulfstream International Group, Inc., a newly formed corporation.

[citation needed] In 2009, U.S. Congress investigators and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) accused Gulfstream of falsifying flight time records, making crews fly longer hours than allowed by law, and providing below standard aircraft maintenance.

Delays that increased block times not only reduced the crewmember's utility to Gulfstream but also limited his pay.

[8][5] In May 2009, the federal government issued a fine of $1.3 million against Gulfstream International Airlines after the Federal Aviation Administration found that it had falsified flight time records, allowing crews to fly longer hours than allowed by law, and providing below standard aircraft maintenance.