Dassault Falcon announced today that National Air Services (NAS) of Saudi Arabia has entered into a pre-purchase agreement for 20 Falcon 2000LXs. This agreement, related to the purchase of four firm orders plus an option for 16 more will be finalized this summer. With a total value of more than half a billion dollars, this will mark one of the largest purchase of business jets in this region. Deliveries should start in the third quarter of 2008 and then take place over the next six years.
"We are very proud to have been chosen by NAS, the leading provider of aviation services in the Middle East, and are confident that this addition to their current fleet will help them meet the growing demand for private aviation in the region", declared John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. "Only one month after the official launch of the Falcon 2000LX program, NAS's intention to purchase 20 aircraft shows the great potential of this new airplane in the large cabin business jets' segment."
The new Falcon 2000LX, announced at the European Business Aviation Association in Geneva last May is based on the popular Falcon 2000EX and will deliver an unbeatable combination of performance, comfort and value. It will feature a range of 4,000 nautical miles at Mach .80 and a "best-in-class" speed to 41,000 feet in just 18 minutes. The 2000LX will also come standard with the award-winning EASy flight deck which has won high marks of praise for its integrated features and intuitive displays.
"The Falcon 2000LX is ideally suited to the Middle East market", declared Taher Agueel, Chief Executive Officer of NAS, "the range increase of this new Falcon 2000 version will give our customers more capability and more efficiency on their typical trips". The new 2000LX offers the same spacious, quiet interior as the 2000EX EASy but with a list of more extensive city pairs. The Falcon 2000LX will be able to connect Dubai, Jeddah or Riyadh to London and will also be capable to combine multiple-city trips in the region on the same day. It will be powered by the same highly reliable Pratt & &Whitney Canada PW308C engines as the 2000EX and the 2000EX EASy.
The leading provider of aviation services in the Middle East, National Air Services (NAS) operates four distinct strategic business units, offering its customers non-traditional, total solutions to meet their various aviation needs. The company is the Middle East representative of NetJets, offering fractional ownership and leasing options, and has for the past six years, been providing this service along with full portfolio of aircraft management services solutions.
To complete its package of products, NAS also offers two commercial services, Al Khayala airlines a scheduled all business class service between the Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah as well as regional flights to Dubai. and the recently launched nas air, Saudi Arabia first domestic budget carrier operating between Saudi Arabian cities.
The only licensed private aircraft operator in Saudi Arabia, NAS has its operational headquarters in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, and satellite offices in Cairo and Jeddah.
Dassault Falcon is responsible for selling and supporting Falcon business jets throughout the world. It is part of Dassault Aviation, a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 70 countries across 5 continents. Dassault Aviation produces the renowned Mirage and Rafale fighter jets as well as a complete line of Falcon business jets. The company has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities on both continents. It employs a total workforce of over 12,000. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,000 Falcon jets have been sold to more than 65 countries worldwide.
The family of Falcon jets currently in production includes the tri-jets—the Falcon, 900DX, 900EX, and the new 7X—as well as the twin-engine Falcon 2000DX and 2000EX.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
