I recently had the privilege of being a guest of Dassault Aviation at the Farnborough Airshow this July 2018. They had brought their latest 8X as well as the venerable 900LX to display and I was treated to a tour of both by their VP of Sales, Alain Lemee.
Dassault has had some of the most loyal clientele in the business – very few owners of Falcons switch into another brand once they own a Falcon. To retain their client base, they have been consistently increasing the number of models produced, offering incrementally more space and more range. In the early 2000s, Falcon produced just three aircraft: the 50EX, the 2000 and the 900EX. Now that product range has significantly grown and they have added the 2000S, 2000LXS, 900LX, 7X and 8X, with the 6X under development. Their goal is to bring clients in at the super mid-size range and keep them in a Falcon product as their desire for more range, more speed and more cabin continues.
The 900LX is the most recent version of the 900 series aircraft, produced and improved since the Falcon 900B was introduced in the early 1980s. The latest version has been through a recent cabin re-design, incorporating much of the design improvements that were introduced in the 7X series. Combined with improved avionics matching the 7X, the 900LX offers a lot of versatility for its clients. The Falcon specialty has always been low fuel burn and excellent short field performance, and the buyer of a 900LX gets both of these in quantity. The competition in the space is fierce – the Global 5000, Challenger 650, the G450, and now the G500, are all extremely capable aircraft that compete with the 900LX, all with varying price points and direct operating costs.
Falcon 900LX Interior
The 8X is a newer entrant. As of this writing in July 2018, some 39 aircraft have been delivered since the first delivery in December 2016. The 8X offers another 500 miles of range and a little over a meter longer cabin. One of the main features of this extra cabin space is the ability to incorporate a full crew rest area while still providing the same passenger cabin zone as the Falcon 7X. For flights over 12 hours the crew rest becomes important and a legal necessity for charter operations. Versatility is key in the ultra-long range segment and having the crew rest area gives much more capability to long range flyers.
Falcon has put a lot of effort into keeping the design of the 8X modern. One of the newer features are windows in the Galley – allowing natural light to come into what is a traditionally dark area of the aircraft. Small details are key to the interior styling of the 8X, such as hand baggage space in the cabin between the divan and the bulkheads, addressing a frequent complaint from passengers that hand luggage either took up a seat or was placed in inconvenient places in the cabin. Overall, the finish of the 8X is exactly what a buyer of an ultra-long range aircraft would expect in such an expensive asset.
Falcon 8X Interior
The 8X has been outselling the 7X given the increased cabin and range, but both models are still in production and offer different price points. The 7X was Dassault’s fastest selling model in its history, and no doubt the 8X will continue its popularity. That being said, the ultra-long range segment is more competitive than ever, with the 8X competing head to head with other very successful models such as the Gulfstream G600, G650/650ER and Bombardier Global 6500 and 7500.
For the ultra-long Aircraft buyer, so many options has meant that all manufacturers have significantly improved their products to compete with one another. While the ultra-long range segment has always been the pinnacle of luxury travel, the standard has been raised. For owners and buyers alike, it has made a good thing even better.
– By Oliver Stone, Managing Director
