Story ID: 
Dassault Drops Falcon DX Models
By: Thierry Dubois
Caption: Speaking at Dassault’s annual press conference today, CEO Charles Edelstenne revealed that the company has ceased production of two slow-selling business j
Word Count: 192
Speaking at Dassault’s annual press conference today, CEO Charles Edelstenne revealed that the company has ceased production of two slow-selling business jet models–the Falcon 2000DX and 900DX. Another company official explained to AIN that their production rate–only a handful per year–was not justified from a business perspective. Therefore, remaining in production are the Falcon 2000LX, the Falcon 900LX and the Falcon 7X. Meanwhile, development of its new super-midsize jet–dubbed the SMS for the time being–is in full swing, as the “plateau” concurrent engineering program now regroups 300 design engineers at company headquarters near Paris. Edelstenne kept mum about the selected suppliers, although Canada-based Héroux-Devtek made it official late last year that it will provide the landing gear. The new aircraft’s entry into service is slated for 2016. On the commercial front, the order backlog for Falcon business jets stood at 145 as of the end of last year. Although fewer cancellations were recorded, last year’s sales efforts ended with a net negative tally of nine orders. About 70 Falcons will be delivered this year, down from a record 95 last year. Edelstenne appeared cautiously optimistic about 2011 sales prospects.