Falcon orders up, but deliveries slide

Falcon 6X

Dassault delivered a total of 41 Falcon business jets in 2018, eight fewer than the 49 it delivered in 2017.

The Falcon delivery total is up one aircraft more than the 40 aircraft delivery guidance that the company gave as part of its 2017 financial results.

But whilst deliveries slid, order intake increased to 42 aircraft from the 38 aircraft ordered in 2017.

The order figures are net of cancelations, with the company saying that all Falcon 5X orders have now been cancelled.

It did not say how many Falcon 5X orders were cancelled, but it follows on from the 12 aircraft cancelled in 2016 and the four cancellations in 2017.

Dassault cancelled the Falcon 5X project in December 2017 following repeated issues with Safran’s Silvercrest engines that were due to power it.

Having already spent an estimated $1.3 billion on development of the Falcon 5X, Dassault announced in February 2018 that it was working on a Falcon 6X that incorporated much of the design work already completed for the Falcon 5X project.

The Falcon 6X takes the basic fuselage of the 5X and stretches it by 20-inches. The new Falcon 6X will be powered by twin Pratt and Whitney PW800 series engines. Certification is due in 2022.

Dassault had said earlier in 2018 that it was expecting some of the remaining Falcon 5X customers to switch order and delivery positions to the Falcon 6X.

Including last year’s net order intake and deliveries, the Falcon order backlog – all aircraft that the company has on order and still has to deliver – now stands at 53 aircraft, up one aircraft from the 52 aircraft backlog that it had at the end of 2017.

Although Dassault does not break down its delivery figures by individual aircraft type, data in the AMSTAT database shows a big jump in Falcon 8X deliveries over previous years.

Highlights of the year included two Falcon 7X and one Falcon 8X deliveries to the government of Egypt. The two Falcon 7Xs were delivered on the same day in December, joining the Falcon 8X that had already been delivered in August.

Earlier in the year a Falcon 8X was delivered to the Monaco Royal Family. The royals are loyal Falcon customers, having previously owned a Falcon 2000, Falcon 900EX and a Falcon 7X.

The French manufacturer will release its full financial results for 2018 and its Falcon delivery guidance for 2019 on February 28.