Press Release

Issued by Dassault Aviation.

November 11, 2017

Dassault Aviation will highlight its new ultra-long range Falcon 8X business jet at this year's edition of the Dubai Air Show, which opens on November 12 at Dubai World Central. The exhibit will also feature a new modernized version of the super versatile Falcon 900LX long range trijet introduced in late 2016.

The 6,450 nm/11,945 km Falcon 8X has generated considerable excitement in the Middle East since the first aircraft was delivered to a Gulf customer several months ago. The 8X is now in service in all major markets, including the U.S., Europe, Russia, China and India, in addition to the Middle East.

“We expect the Gulf region to play a big role in the success of our new flagship, which offers the best combination of range, cabin comfort and operating efficiency of any business jet on the market,” said Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “We also anticipate heavy demand here for our upgraded Falcon 900LX model, with a re-designed cabin, contemporary styling, optimized sound proofing, and the latest cabin systems that make it the best buy in its category for years to come.”

The Middle East has traditionally been a key market for Falcon aircraft, whose efficiency and robustness are particularly appreciated by local operators. The Gulf fleet has nearly doubled in five years, to more than 70 aircraft, and continues to grow despite the softness of the current market.

Falcon 8X Setting New Benchmark in Ultra Long Range Segment

The Falcon 8X can fly non-stop from New York to Dubai, Dubai to Adelaide, or Chicago to Jeddah yet land at restricted airports like Gstaad and Lugano, Switzerland, that are typically inaccessible to other large business jets. A few key performance parameters, such as take-off distance and cabin noise, even surpassed design objectives for the big new trijet, which was derived from the Falcon 7X, regarded as the quietest executive jet on the market. The 8X is even quieter than the 7X, an important consideration for the 14 hour-plus flights for which the 8X was designed.

The aircraft's spacious cabin, the longest of any Falcon, can accommodate a wide variety of configurations. One is a layout featuring a bathroom with a real shower while another offers a VIP forward lounge that can be easily converted into a certified crew rest for very long flights which is proving especially popular.

Thanks to significant feedback from the 7X fleet and a month-long world demonstration tour last year, the 8X comes to market with fully mature systems and an exceptional level of reliability. Operational capability has been further reinforced with recent approvals to fly in severe crosswind conditions and to operate at London City Airport.

The 8X is certified to carry Dassault's revolutionary FalconEye Combined Vision System, the first head up display (HUD) system in business aviation to combine synthetic and enhanced vision capabilities in a single view. Almost all Falcon 8X customers have signed up to use the new FalconEye HUD.

Falcon 8X operators can also opt for Falcon Sphere II electronic flight bag solutions, which bring the industry closer than ever to the truly paperless cockpit, and a JetWave Ka-band Satcom system, which enables passengers to browse the internet, stream videos or videoconference anywhere in the world, over land or over water, as if they were in their office or at home.

The FalconEye and Ka-band broadband options are also available on the modernized version of the 4,750 nm/8,800 km Falcon 900LX.

Reinforced After Market Support

Dassault Aviation operates an authorized service centre, spares distribution center and regional sales office in Dubai, UAE, and a technical office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

These regional facilities are backed up by a growing global support network. In October, Dassault Aviation broke ground on a new 200,000 sq. ft. spares facility close to Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris 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 facility is due to enter service in late 2018.

Gulf operators can also call on Falcon Response, Dassault's comprehensive and unique AOG support service offering. Designed to whisk spare parts, tools and Go Team specialists 24/7 around the globe in the event of an aircraft on ground situation, Falcon Response also offers customers in the region a special Falcon 900 support aircraft dedicated to providing round the clock AOG support to operators in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Stranded customers can even use the Falcon 900 for alternative lift in an industry first.