Dassault pitches latest private jet against Canadian, U.S. rivals

The DLR research aircraft Dassault Falcon 20-5E is pulled out off its hangar at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, southern Germany, on Monday, April 19, 2010. (AP Photo/dapd/Christof Stache)

France’s Dassault on Tuesday unveiled its latest private jet, the Falcon 10X, pitched to rival the flagship planes from Gulfstream and Bombardier.

The aircraft -- which still has to undergo flight tests and will not be available for two years, according to Dassault CEO Eric Trappier -- will be for deep pockets only, with a price tag upwards of US$80 million.

But those who do settle into its luxury cabin will be able to fly nonstop from Paris to Beijing, or New York to Shanghai, thanks to its 14,000-kilometre (8,700-mile) range, putting it nearly on par with the biggest commercial airliners.

Dassault, which also makes the Rafale fighter jet, hopes its advanced flight-control system and smaller size needing shorter runways than rivals will be advantages when compared to the top-line planes offered by U.S. manufacturer Gulfstream and Canada’s Bombardier.

“Often it’s the pilots who influence the boss on a plane’s purchase. In the business aviation market, there are a lot of ex-air force pilots,” Didier Brechemier, an aerospace expert at the management consultancy Roland Berger, told AFP.

The Falcon X10 will go up against the Gulfstream G700 and the Bombardier Global 7500, which have similar ranges and speeds.

The Dassault jet was presented in a hangar near the Dassault factory in Merignac, southwest France, in a nightclub ambience with music and lights.

Once brought to market, it will supersede Dassault’s current flagship private jet, the Falcon 8X, which has a range of 12,000 kilometres.

The United States is by far the top market for private jets, with big corporations and several celebrities -- including Taylor Swift and Kylie Jenner -- opting for them.

Last year, Gulfsteam and Bombardier each delivered more than 150 jets each, compared with 37 for Dassault.

The business jet market is estimated to be worth US$26.6 billion this year, up from US$25.7 billion last year, and is projected to reach US$31.6 billion in 2031, according to the Indian market research company Mordor Intelligence.