The Commonwealth of Australia has taken delivery of the first of three very long range Falcon 7X trijets it has acquired for government VIP service.
The other two aircraft, to be operated by the Royal Australian Air Force, will be handed over in the following months.
The VIP units are being delivered with the latest connectivity solutions, intended to provide seamless access to high speed broadband data anywhere in the world.
The Falcon 7X offers a combination of range, and operational flexibility that no other large cabin business jet can match. The 5,950 nm 7X can fly from Canberra to any point in Asia nonstop or link Canberra to Washington or London in one hop. It can land on short and challenging runways and operate across a wide range of environmental conditions, including extremely hot and humid and dry desert climates. And the aircraft’s three-engine design provides additional safety margin and frees operators of twin engine operating constraints when flying intercontinental transoceanic routes.
These characteristics explain the immense popularity the 7X has enjoyed since its service introduction more than a decade ago. More than 280 of the big trijets have been delivered to date around the world.
“We are extremely honoured that Australia has once again chosen to renew its confidence in our Falcon product line,” said Eric Trappier, Chairman & CEO of Dassault Aviation. “The RAAF already has decades of successful experience operating Dassault aircraft, from the Mirage III fighter to the Falcon 20 and Falcon 900 business jets.”
Australia has been a key market for the Falcon for almost half century. The company’s first business jet, the Falcon 20, entered commercial service ‘Down Under’ in 1967, two years after its entry into service. The Falcon 20 entered the inventory of the RAAF the same year (under the name Mystère 20) and served in the RAAF’s transport and utility wing for 22 years before being replaced by the Falcon 900. The five-aircraft Falcon 900 fleet remained in operation through the early 2000s.
More than 120 Falcon aircraft, including over 50 Falcon 7Xs, are currently flying with public and private operators in Australia and other Asia Pacific countries.
