Dassault Falcon has delivered the first of four Falcon 7X tri-jets to Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), the business aviation unit of Saudi Arabian Airlines, marking the first Falcon 7X delivery in the kingdom.

Two more aircraft are scheduled for delivery to SPA later this year and the final aircraft will come in 2011. The order was originally announced at the Dubai Air Show in 2007.

SPA will use the Falcon 7X for VIP charter flights within the Middle East and around the world.

With a range of 5,950 nm, the aircraft can connect major cities, such as New York to Riyadh, Dubai to Tokyo, or Rio De Janeiro to Jeddah.

“The Falcon 7X is a unique plane that can fly nonstop for over 11 hours and does not require a long runway which saves valuable time by being able to land at lower traffic airports,” said Wajdi Abdullah Al-Idrissi, vice president Royal & VIP Affairs & head of SPA.

“The Falcon 7X has been well received by customers in the Middle East for its advanced technology, its efficiency as well as its comfort,” added John Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon.

Dassault has approximately 50 Falcons based in the region and expects this number to increase by almost 50 per cent over the next three years. The rapid growth of the Falcon fleet in the area prompted Dassault to establish a new Falcon Spares Distribution Center in Dubai in 2008 in order to expedite and simplify the delivery process of Falcon spares. A sales office for the region was also opened in Dubai in the same year.

Dassault also plans to establish an additional Falcon authorised service centre in the region with Saudi Arabian Airlines in Jeddah.-TradeArabia News Service