Dassault Falcon Service (DFS) opens new maintenance facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac

Dassault Falcon Service (DFS) opens new maintenance facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac

Saint-Cloud, France, 14-Nov-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — Dassault Falcon Service (DFS), a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, today inaugurated its new maintenance facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac intended to meet the increase in repair and overhaul services for the Falcon 7X and other new Falcon models.

Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO, and Jean Kayanakis, DFS General Manager, oversaw the ceremony attended by a host of local, regional and national dignitaries, including Alain Juppé, President of the Bordeaux Metropolitan Area, Alain Rousset, President of the Regional Council, Alain Anziani, the Senator-Mayor of Mérignac and Marie Recalde, Member of Parliament and member of the Defense Committee. The event was also attended by representatives of government agencies and of the Aquitaine regional economy.

Located at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, adjacent to the Dassault Aviation assembly plant, the new complex will add 49,000 sq. meters of additional Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) space, including a 7,200 sq. meter hangar, and will be capable of accommodating up to six Falcon 7X, 8X or 5X aircraft at a time. It will complement DFS’s existing installations which have been located at Le Bourget airport near Paris since 1967.

“This additional capacity will permit DFS to keep up with the steady growth in the Falcon fleet, which currently numbers 2,100 aircraft worldwide and is expected to expand significantly with the arrival of the Falcon 8X, which started deliveries last month.” said Eric Trappier.

Jean Kayanakis added: “We are extremely proud of this new MRO complex and the speed with which it was built. Building permission was granted in July 2015, followed by groundbreaking in October and delivery of the building in September 2016. The first Falcon arrived on site on October 17 and was returned to its owner on October 28.”

The immediate priority of the new facility will be to handle the expected C Checks ramp-up for the Falcon 7X. The 7X fleet leaders are now approaching their first heavy maintenance check, scheduled once an aircraft reaches eight years of service. More than 250 aircraft are now in operation.

The facility is also designed to handle a range of other scheduled maintenance activities besides C Checks, including structural repair, cabin refurbishment and modifications, avionics upgrades, carpentry and paintwork.

DFS Mérignac is able to draw on engineering resources and specialists from the nearby Dassault Aviation assembly plant and other companies in the surrounding area. The new facility is also expected to boost employment in the region.

The Dassault Falcon Service network
The new Mérignac MRO facility is the latest in a series of outlays made by DFS to ensure it remains close to its steadily expanding customer base and is equipped to provide the highest possible level of product support. Other recent moves include the expansion and modernization of DFS’s large Le Bourget MRO complex, the establishment of satellite service centers and Go Teams at London/Luton, UK, Nice, France and Moscow/Vnukovo, Russia.

The Dassault Aviation worldwide network
The worldwide Falcon support network is one of the largest and best equipped in business aviation. It includes company owned MRO complexes in Little Rock, Arkansas, Reno, Nevada, Wilmington, Delaware and Sorocaba, Brazil, in addition to those in Mérignac and Le Bourget; 45 regional authorized service centers; 16 spare parts depots; and the FalconResponse portfolio of Aircraft on Ground Services, the first service of its kind to offer an alternative lift capability.

About Dassault Falcon Service
Dassault Falcon Service has, since 1967, built experience in the area of business aviation. Due to its integrated structure, Dassault Falcon Service offers an extensive suite of maintenance, management and technical services for Falcon business jets. Located at Paris-Le Bourget airport, DFS is a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation and a member of the Dassault Aircraft Services network. The company also supplies a special Ramp Service with a team unique in Europe, ready to support you at Paris-Le Bourget airport or anywhere your aircraft requires. Its activities include FBO services as well as aircraft management and executive flights. In 2015, with 600 employees, Dassault Falcon Service reported revenues of €176 million.

Note for the Editors

Dassault Falcon is the recognized global brand for Dassault business jets which are designed, manufactured and supported by Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corp.

About Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation is a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 90 countries across five continents. It produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcons. The company employs a workforce of over 11,000 and has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities around the globe. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,400 Falcon jets have been delivered. Dassault offers a range of six business jets from the twin-engine 3,350 nm large-cabin Falcon 2000S to its new flagship, the tri-engine 6,450 nm ultra-long range Falcon 8X.

About Dassault Falcon Jet
Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, France.  Dassault Falcon Jet markets and supports the Falcon family of business jets throughout North America and South America.

FRANCE: Vadim Feldzer +33 1 47 11 44 13 or Marie-Alexandrine Fouillard +33 1 47 11 64 23

Dassault Aviation 78, Quai Marcel Dassault 92552 Saint-Cloud Cedex 300 – FRANCE

U.S.: Andrew Ponzoni +1 201 541 4588 or Grant Kielczewski +1 201 541 4679

Dassault Falcon Jet Teterboro Airport, Box 2000 South Hackensack, NJ 07606

SOURCE: DASSAULT AVIATION