(Le Bourget, France, le 20 juin 2007) - Dassault Falcon annonce aujourd'hui que la compagnie National Air Services (NAS) d'Arabie Saoudite a signé une intention de commande de 20 Falcon 2000LX. Cet accord, portant sur l'achat ferme de 4 Falcon 2000 LX plus une option sur 16 autres, sera finalise cet été. Cette commande de jets d'affaires d'un montant total de plus de 500 millions de dollars est la plus importante jamais réalisée dans cette région. Les premières livraisons devraient commencer au troisième trimestre 2008 pour s'étendre sur ces six prochaines années.
"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, President 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.
About National Air Services(NAS): 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.
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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.
-End - Dassault contacts:
U.S.: Ralph Aceti +1-201-541-4585 Andrew Ponzoni +1-201-541-4588
Dassault Falcon Teterboro Airport, Box 2000 – South Hackensack, NJ 07606
FRANCE: Vadim Feldzer +33 1 47 11 44 13
Dassault Aviation 78 Quai Marcel Dassault – 92552 Saint-Cloud Cedex 300 - France
NAS contact:
Alawi Al Jifri Cell: +966 505 598 903
e-mail: [email protected]