Dassault Falcon Business Jet Sales Set to Grow in the Middle East as Demand for Private Aviation Resumes and the Regional Market Matures
By Dassault Falcon, PRNEWednesday, December 1, 2010
SAINT-CLOUD, France, December 2, 2010 - The Middle East market for business jets is beginning to show
signs of recovery as confidence starts to return. Dassault has a growing
fleet of Falcon business jets in the region, which it plans to grow by 30 per
cent over the next three years, thanks to a solid aircraft order book from
regional buyers.
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In addition to the rising demand for new aircraft, the level
of private aviation activity is picking up as indicated by the increasing
number of hours being flown by business jet operators in the region. With the
private aviation client base now evolving beyond the traditional, small group
of elite clients to include corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and other
business users, supported by solid aviation infrastructure, Dassault now
considers the regional market for private aviation as very 'mature'.
Dassault Falcon sold 14 aircraft in the Middle East in the
last two years and has a backlog of 15 additional aircraft to be delivered to
regional buyers by 2013. Dassault's current regional fleet size is about 60
business jets and this is expected to grow by one third over the next three
years. 40 per cent of the company's new business jet sales are coming from
the Falcon 7X and the company will deliver its tenth Falcon 7X to the Middle
East before the end of 2010. Dassault has also expanded its presence and
infrastructure with a new Regional Sales Office and recently appointed a new
Regional Sales Director, in Dubai, as well as a second Authorized Service
Center and a new Customer Service Manager, in Saudi Arabia.
"The Middle East business environment still remains
challenging but confidence levels appear to be rising," said John
Rosanvallon, president and CEO of Dassault Falcon. "Dassault has seen much
greater demand over the last two quarters of the current financial year, with
larger cabin jet sales and prices holding up better than smaller jets. The
indicators for recovery are starting to show but even if this is not a true
rebound, business has certainly resumed. Western economies are still
struggling to recover but other regions are active including India, South
America, Asia - and the Middle East, where we have an advantage because of
our military heritage and established reputation, through the Dassault Mirage
fighter jets that are operated in some GCC countries.
"Investment made in private aviation infrastructure in the
boom years is supporting the development of business aviation in the region,"
added Rosanvallon. "The service centers and FBOs (fixed base operators) are
recognised as being amongst the best in the world and are helping business
aviation to develop rapidly and attract a much broader clientele here," he
said. "This is the result of the substantial investments that have been made
over the last few years and which are now starting to pay off. Given this
situation, we are very optimistic about the future, which is one of the
reasons we are developing our own presence and adding new resources. CAE
SimuFlite, our training provider partner, will, for example, open a brand
new Falcon training center in Dubai in the second quarter of 2011."
Dassault Falcon will present its range of business jets at MEBA 2010,
December 7-9, in Dubai.
About Dassault Falcon
Dassault Falcon is responsible for selling and supporting
Falcon business jets throughout the world. It is part of Dassault Aviation, a
leading aerospace company with a presence in over 70 countries across five
continents. Dassault Aviation produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the
complete line of Falcon business jets. The company has assembly and
production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities
on multiple continents. It employs a total workforce of over 12,000. Since
the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, 2,000 Falcon jets have been
delivered to 67 countries worldwide. The family of Falcon jets currently in
production includes the tri-jets-the Falcon 900DX, 900LX, and the 7X-as well
as the twin-engine 2000LX.
Press Contacts Dassault Aviation (France) Vadim Feldzer Tel. +33-1-47-11-44-13 Marie-Alexandrine Munoz Tel. +33-1-47-11-64-23 Dassault Falcon (USA) Ralph Aceti Tel. +1-201-541-45-85 Andrew Ponzoni Tel. +1-201-541-45-88 Dassault Falcon Middle East Office Dubai Airport Free Zone - PO Box 293884 Dubai U.A.E. Tel. : +971-4-29-94-900 Fax : +971-4-299-49-02 Photos Hi Res Photos are available at: www.falconphotogallery.com USER ID: dassault - PASSWORD: falcon
Photo:
www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101202/424225-a
www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101202/424225-b
Press Contacts: Dassault Aviation (France), Vadim Feldzer Tel. +33-1-47-11-44-13, Marie-Alexandrine Munoz Tel. +33-1-47-11-64-23; Dassault Falcon (USA), Ralph Aceti Tel. +1-201-541-45-85 Andrew Ponzoni Tel. +1-201-541-45-88; Dassault Falcon Middle East Office, Dubai Airport Free Zone - PO Box 293884 Dubai U.A.E., Tel. : +971-4-29-94-900 Fax : +971-4-299-49-02
Tags: Dassault Falcon, December 2, France, Middle East, Saint-cloud