Aviation Week Show News - November 12, 2007 - (Page 15)

BUSINESS AVIATION D U B A I 2 0 07 Falcon Sees ‘True Corporate Market’ Here Dassault Falcon is ready to capitalize on a market it sees as ripe for its high-end but smaller-than-airliner business jets. The Middle East, once dominated by heavy iron head-of-state sales, is now emerging as “a true corporate market,” says Falcon Jet president and CEO John Rosanvallon. He sees increasing global sales as a definite trend, with the Middle East playing a significant part. NonU.S. sales accounted for about half of Falcon’s business in 2005, 60% in 2006. “For the first half of ’07, by the same highly reliable Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308C engines as the 2000EX and the 2000EX EASy. It “is ideally suited to the Middle East market,” Agueel said. Separately, the Falcon 2000year). Orders include a commitment by NetJets Europe for 33 aircraft with deliveries starting in the second quarter of 2008. Dassault Falcon expects to deliver from 12 to 15 7X jets this year, and Aviation Dubai will be a terrific benefit to both our growing number of Falcon operators in the Middle East and to Falcon operators that fly regularly between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe,” Falcon Jet’s John Rosanvallon. it’s exactly 70%,” Rosanvallon says. Dassault Falcon this year added the 4,000-nmi 2000LX twinjet to its line-up, a wing-strengthened derivative of the 2000EX with Aviation Partners winglets, priced at $29.5 million. The airframer immediately trumpeted an order, worth upwards of half a billion dollars if all options are exercised, for as many as 20 of its 2000LX jets by Saudi Arabia’s National Air Service. “The range increase of this new Falcon 2000 version will give our customers more capability and more efficiency on their typical trips,” NAS president Taher Agueel said. The 2000LX will be able to connect Dubai, Jeddah or Riyadh to London and will also be capable of multiple-city trips in the region on the same day, says the manufacturer. The 2000LX will be powered 15 November 12, 2007 replacing, $27.3 million, 3,250-nmi 2000DX with standard EASy cockpit made its first flight on July 6. Falcon commenced deliveries of its new flagship, the Falcon 7X, at the Paris air show. Dassault scion and chairman Serge Dassault has since taken delivery of his. If you commit today to the $41 million trijet, you’d take delivery in 2013. Dassault Falcon claimed more than 165 firm orders before the first 7X delivery was made this past June and has since reported orders at 173 (as of mid- bring the rate to 40 per year for 2008 and 2009. Overall Falcon deliveries are expected to rise from 61 in 2006 to approximately 120 in 2009. Falcon has turned its design attention to a new, super-midsize jet (for which it’s formed a propulsion partnership with Rolls-Royce), and is looking at Honeywell synthetic vision as a cockpit offering. It’s also aggressively expanding its completions and service capabilities at Little Rock in the U.S. Jet Aviation Dubai became an authorized service center for Dassault Falcon in late 2006. “Jet Falcon unveiled the winglets-distinctive 2000LX at EBACE this year. said Dassault Falcon customer service vp Jacques Chauvet. “Jet Aviation is one of the leading business aviation service organizations in the world and is capable of offering first class solutions to our customers.” Jet Aviation Dubai boasts “a multinational team of professionals that includes aircraft maintenance and avionics specialists.” Its facility offers scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, AOG assistance and aircraft repair for the Falcon 900 and Falcon 2000 family of aircraft. Its 4,200 sq m (45,000 sq ft) hangar can also accommodate the Falcon 7X. “The word ‘globalization’ is used a lot but it’s really becoming very true in business aviation,” says Falcon Jet chief Rosanvallon. “It’s a different customer base and I think a better customer base.” Western Europe is fast catching up to the U.S. as the world’s biggest business jet market. Brazil and Russia are likewise coming on strong. “We are also working very hard in India,” Rosanvallon told Show News. “It’s a positive trend,” he says of aviation globalization. “We have a much broader base to sell airplanes.” —Rich Piellisch www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

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Aviation Week Show News - November 12, 2007

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