Dassault Aviation plans to sell 35 Falcons this year

Dassault Falcon, part of French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, planned to sell 30-35 business aircraft across its Falcon family, including two in India, this year, said Thierry de Poncins, director (international sales), Falcon Business Jets.

Speaking to Business Standard on the sidelines of India Aviation 2014 on Thursday, Poncins said the company's new, large-cabin and long-haul (9,630 km) Falcon 5X business jet was expected to be certified by the end of 2016 or early-2017. "We are already seeing a good number of bookings for Falcon 5X worldwide, but not from India yet. However, India, where 22 Falcon business jets are in service, is a promising market for us. And, we expect warm reception for the 5X from this region, too," he said.

Dassault Falcon, which delivered its first Falcon in India 20 years ago, is positioning the Falcon 5X against its Falcon 7X, as well as Gulfstream's 650, in terms of performance and pricing. "While the 7X is priced at $52 million (about Rs 312 crore), the new Falcon 5X will be available for $45 million (about Rs 270 crore)," he said.

So far, the company had sold 220 7X aircraft globally and 30 more were scheduled to be delivered through the next two years, Poncins said.

On India's sluggish macroeconomic environment as well as issues such as customs duty on imports affecting the business aviation sector, Poncins expressed hope after the 2014 elections, the new government would look into these issues and bring about a flexible taxation regime. "While the US has about 6,000 business jets, India has only 200. Countries such as China and Russia have flexible tax systems. We believe India will follow that trend."