Trappier 'Bullish' On The Long Term Prospects In The Region

On the eve of the Aero India air show, the Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation said that while overall business jet demand in that country remains soft, there is reason to be optimistic about the future.

"For the moment, overall business jet demand in India remains sluggish, compared to the size and wealth of the Indian economy," said Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier. "However, we are very confident that pressing issues such as the lack of infrastructure will be resolved in the medium term, and we are very bullish about the long term future of the market."

Dassault Aviation will present its Falcon fleet of large cabin, long range business jets at Aero India, India's largest air show for both military and civil aircraft.

The 10th edition of this prestigious event, which opens on February 18th, will take place at Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru.

Dassault Aviation will feature its Falcon 7X trijet, and the Falcon 2000LXS, a short-field derivative of the popular Falcon 2000, at the exhibition.

Dassault has 22 aircraft currently in service in India and several more on order. Most new orders are for longer range Falcon models like the Falcon 7X and the new flagship Falcon 8X that are capable of flying non-stop to London City Airport from anywhere in India.

The 8X made its first flight last week and is due to begin deliveries by mid-2016.

In anticipation of the expected market rebound, Dassault Aviation continues to reinforce its regional support presence. The company recently opened a new Bangalore office and will soon authorize Ligare Engineering, a division of Ligare Voyages, the largest Indian Falcon operator, to provide AOG Service Level Maintenance for the Falcon 7X at its Delhi service facility.

The deal with Ligare Engineering follows previous Authorized Service Center agreements with Taj Air/Metrojet, for the Falcon 2000 series, and Air Works India, for the Falcon 900EX/LX line. Both of these operations are located in Mumbai and supported by satellite facilities around the country.

The regional support network includes spares warehouses in Mumbai and Chennai and is backed up by offshore facilities in Dubai, Singapore and Paris. Pilot training is available at CAE in Dubai and technical training may soon be offered there as well. A customer service representative in the Dassault Aviation office in Mumbai serves as regional support coordinator.

(Images from file. Top: Falcon 7X. Bottom: Falcon 8X)

FMI: www.dassaultfalcon.com