Aircraft Will Be Flown For Charter Service In The Middle East

 Dassault Falcon delivered the first of four Falcon 7X tri-jets to Saudia Private Aviation (SPA), the business aviation unit of Saudi Arabian Airlines, this week. The delivery marks the first Falcon 7X delivery in Saudi Arabia. Two more aircraft are scheduled for delivery to SPA later this year and the final aircraft will come in 2011.  The order was originally announced at the Dubai Air Show in 2007.

SPA will use the Falcon 7X for VIP charter flights within the Middle East and around the world. With a range of 5,950 nm, the aircraft can connect major cities, such as New York to Riyadh, Dubai to Tokyo, or Rio De Janeiro to Jeddah.

“The Falcon 7X was carefully chosen out of many options due to its excellent technical specifications and performance,” said Wajdi Abdullah Al-Idrissi, the Vice President Royal & VIP Affairs & Head of SPA. “It is a unique plane that can fly nonstop for over 11 hours and does not require a long runway which saves valuable time by being able to land at lower traffic airports.” he continued.

Excellency Khalid Almolhim, Director General Saudi Arabian Airlines, John Rosanvallon, Dassault Falcon

“The Falcon 7X has been well received by customers in the Middle East for its advanced technology, its efficiency as well as its comfort,” said John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “It is capable of meeting the most demanding requirements of passengers, especially on very long non-stop flights.” Dassault has approximately 50 Falcons based in the region and expects this number to increase by almost 50% over the next three years. The growth of the Falcon fleet in the area prompted Dassault to establish a new Falcon Spares Distribution Center in Dubai in 2008 in order to expedite and simplify the delivery process of Falcon spares. The regional inventory is now worth more than US $1.5 million. A sales office for the region was also opened in Dubai in the same year.

Excellency Khalid Almolhim

Dassault also plans to establish an additional Falcon Authorized Service Center in the region with Saudi Arabian Airlines in Jeddah. "Saudi Arabian Airlines is renowned for providing a high quality of service. Their technical experience in aviation maintenance will support not only the expanding Falcon fleet based in the Middle East but also Falcon operators that fly regularly between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe,” said Rosanvallon.

FMI: www.dassaultfalcon.com