Dassault CEO Sees Market Going Back To Normal…Slowly

Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation’s chairman and CEO, said late in April that he found the business jet market “a little bit slow.” He would like to see a more active market, especially in the U.S. “But step-by-step we are back on the right track, in terms of orders,” he added. AIN understands that Falcon salespeople have found the first four months of 2014 tougher than expected.

Nevertheless, Dassault has recently celebrated the final assembly of the 250th Falcon 7X, seven years after the first delivery. The 7X is the fastest selling Falcon ever, according to its manufacturer. Usually quiet when it comes to naming customers, Dassault officials seem proud to mention Elon Musk, the famous entrepreneur who heads Tesla Motors and SpaceX, as a Falcon 7X owner.

Separately, China is keeping very active, as it is now the second market for the type. Most customers there are entrepreneurs. “In the People’s Republic of China, state-run companies are [now] prohibited from owning or even chartering a business jet,” another Dassault official explained.

Dassault delivered a total of 77 Falcons last year and expects to deliver around 70 this year.