Dassault Falcon brings 5X business jets to Beijing

French jet maker Dassault Falcon introduced its 5X business jets in Beijing on Tuesday, aiming to further boost its presence in China.

“The first 5X flight is expected to be completed in 2015, while delivery is hoped for in 2017,” said Jean Rosanvallon, the company’s president and chief executive officer.

Rosanvallon said that based on the 7X, currently the most popular business jet in China, the Falcon 5X will continue to boost the company’s performance in China in the long-range sector.

The firm has delivered 200 Falcon 7X jets globally, with 30 going to Chinese customers, and 20 more to be delivered by 2015.

“China accounts for 15 percent of our global market. However, we didn’t sell our first new Falcon to China until 2006. The market is growing very fast,” Rosanvallon said.

Jean-Michel Jacob, the company’s senior vice-president of international sales, said, “We are going to keep focusing on sales of 7X jets and promoting the new 5X in the Chinese market because Chinese consumers are more interested in longer-range aircraft at the moment.”

Dassault set up a subsidiary company in Beijing in 2012.