Dassault Aviation is showcasing its new flagship business jet, the ultra-long-range Falcon 8X, at Abu Dhabi Air Expo 2018, one of the Middle East’s leading business aviation shows.

 

It is the first appearance of the 6,450 nm/11,945 km trijet at this three-day event, which opened today at the Al Bateen Executive Airport, Abu Dhabi.

 

The first Falcon 8X was handed over in late 2016 and several 8Xs are already flying in the Gulf region. The aircraft is now in operation in all major markets, including the US, Europe, India, Brazil and China, as well as the Middle East.

 

“The Gulf is a key market for business aviation and operators place a high premium on the performance, robustness and advanced technology of Falcon jets, inherited from Dassault fighter aircraft programs,” said Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO Eric Trappier. “That’s why customers in the region are reacting so enthusiastically to the 8X. It offers the best combination of range, cabin comfort and operating efficiency of any business jet on the market.” 

 

The Falcon fleet in the Middle East has nearly doubled to almost 80 aircraft in the past decade, including nearly a dozen very long range Falcon 7Xs. A quarter of the regional fleet is made up of Falcon 2000 twin-engine business jets.

 

Falcon 8X’s Smooth Entry 

The Falcon 8X has benefited from a remarkably smooth market introduction, thanks largely to the high level of maturity of its onboard systems. The operational capability has been further reinforced with recent approvals to fly in the most demanding crosswind conditions and to operate at London City Airport, one of the world’s most restrictive airports, the company says.

 

The big trijet 8X can fly non-stop from New York to Abu Dhabi or Abu Dhabi to Adelaide, yet is still capable of landing at restricted airports like Gstaad and Lugano, Switzerland, that are typically inaccessible to large business jets.

 

The Falcon 8X features the quietest and most comfortable cabin in business aviation and can accommodate a wide variety of configurations, including a large entryway that can easily be converted into a certified crew rest area for very long flights. It offers an industry-leading digital flight control suite and is available with a wide range of state of the art options, including Dassault’s revolutionary FalconEye Combined Visual System. 

The first head up display in the industry to integrate synthetic and enhanced vision capabilities, FalconEye ensures superior situational awareness in all conditions of operation, day and night, and will ultimately make it possible to reduce minima in low visibility landing conditions, providing a substantial operational benefit as well.

Falcon 8X operators can also opt for JetWave Ka-band connectivity, which enables passengers to browse the internet, stream videos or video conference anywhere in the world.

 

Reinforced Product Support

Dassault continues to reinforce its product support network in the Gulf and around the world to meet the requirements of its expanding regional Falcon fleet.

 

The company operates an Authorised Service Center, spares distribution centre and regional sales office in Dubai, UAE and an Authorised Service Center and technical office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Dubai warehouse stocks more than $2 million worth of inventory, primarily for the Falcon 7X, the Falcon 8X and the Falcon 2000 series. 

 

These regional facilities are backed up by a growing global support network. In October 2017, Dassault Aviation broke ground on a vast new spares facility near Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport that will further improve the speed and reliability of spare parts shipments to Falcon customers in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Far East. Featuring the latest advances in logistics and warehousing techniques and a totally new spares management system, the $50 million, 18,000 sq m (194,000 sq ft) facility is due to enter service in late 2018.

 

Customers in the region can also rely on Falcon Response, Dassault’s comprehensive AOG (Aircraft On Ground) support service, designed to speed spare parts, repair tools and GoTeam specialists around the globe 24/7 in the event of an aircraft on the ground situation. Two dedicated Falcon 900 aircraft, one based at Teterboro airport in New Jersey, US and another at Le Bourget outside of Paris, are on call around the clock to expedite spares and technicians for Falcon customers and, if necessary, carry them on to their intended destination – an industry first.  - TradeArabia News Service