Sales are rebounding strongly for Dassault Aviation, with the French airframer notching up 67 firm Falcon orders in the first three quarters of 2014, more than in the whole of last year, says president Jon Rosanvallon.
The company recorded 29 sales in the third quarter alone. "We are seeing very positive signals," he said at NBAA today. "It is too early to forecast the fourth quarter, but we have a good momentum."
Although the company does not break down its order numbers by model, its performance has been boosted by the fact that it has two types under development, the Falcon 5X, launched at NBAA last year, and the 8X, unveiled at EBACE in Geneva in May. Rosanvallon says production backlogs run until the end of 2017 for the 8X and to 2018 for the 5X. Both aircraft are due to fly for the first time next year.
Rosanvallon also says returning confidence in the USA and northern Europe are prompting buying decisions. "For a long time in the US, we have been seeing corporations not quite ready to pull the trigger. That is changing," he says. The UK, Scandinavia and Germany are also buoyant markets, he adds.
However, he sounded caution over the so-called BRIC markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which have represented half of Dassault's sales in recent years, where a combination of political issues and slowing economic growth are slowing demand.
Dassault also announced at the show that it is revamping its customer aftersales offer with two company-owned Falcon 900s dedicated to providing AoG (aircraft on ground) support. The aircraft - based at Teterboro in New Jersey and Le Bourget near Paris - will be used to ferry parts and technicians to stranded aircraft, but will also be available as an alternative transport for passengers.
The trijets will be operated by Part 135 charter providers: Dassault's own DFS subsidiary at Le Bourget and a yet-to-be-announced company at Teterboro.
Dassault claims this service is a first among its peers.
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Source: Flight Daily News
