Dassault Counts on Production 'Flexibility'
in Inaugurating New Facilities
Aviation Week & Space Technology
10/06/2003, page 68
Pierre Sparaco
Bordeaux, France
Dassault is opening new facilities and relying onproduction 'flexibility'
to ride out the downturn
French Confidence
Economic uncertainties continue to seriously pummel the business
jet market while, in the absence of reliable long-term forecasts,
the duration of the downturn remains "opaque," according
to Dassault Aviation executives.
The combined production of Falcon twin/trijets is being reduced
further to 3.5 aircraft per month, down from four a month earlier
this year and as many as seven aircraft a month in 2002.
"We had the flexibility to implement such an output adjustment
without endangering the company's good financial health or cutting
jobs and we simply did it," Chairman/CEO Charles Edelstenne
told Aviation Week & Space Technology. Stabilized military revenues
linked to deliveries of Rafale and Mirage 2000-9 fighters are contributing
to the company's sustained profitability.
NO MORE THAN 20 Falcons have been sold since Jan. 1, a net backlog
gain that takes into account four cancellations, a mere fraction
of last year's healthy sales, Edelstenne acknowledged. Similarly,
this year's deliveries are scheduled to decrease to about 40 aircraft,
down from 70-plus before the economic downturn hit the industry.
"The course of events will largely depend on the last four
months of the year, although Dassault maintains a robust 130 business
aircraft firm backlog," Edelstenne pointed out.
Although market recovery predictions could prove unreliable, Jean-Francois
Georges, Dassault's senior vice president-civil aircraft, said that
the ongoing economic stagnation could possibly begin to ease by
mid-2005.
Credit: DASSAULT MERIGNAC
Dassault recently completed
new facilities at Bordeaux-Merignac that will house the 7X's
final assembly line in 2006.
"We have identified some positive signals, including better
consumer numbers and increasing activity in the used aircraft market,"
Georges said. About 1,200 preowned business aircraft are currently
available, down from 2,000, including around 150 Falcons, he added.
Franco-American political tensions that emerged in the aftermath
of the Iraq war are not being ignored by Dassault's top executives.
"Such difficulties emerged while the U.S. [business jet] market
was being hit by the economic downturn. We received complaints;
they didn't lead to order cancellations but, let's face it, this
[disagreement] didn't help us," Edelstenne said.
The momentarily unfavorable business environment is not affecting
the preparation of the French manufacturer's new product range.
The 7X trijet's development is on track while financing needed to
prepare the all-new aircraft's production is being completed. Last
month, Dassault inaugurated a 230-meter-long (755-ft.) building
here, named after famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, set to provide
more industrial capacity and accommodate the 7X's final assembly
line.
"The new assembly hall's name recalls Lindbergh's key role
in the Falcon series' successful saga and acknowledges that two-thirds
of our sales are made in the U.S.," Edelstenne said. In 1963,
Lindbergh, then a Pan American World Airways consultant, recommended
the conclusion of a major Mystere XX order to establish the airline's
proposed business aviation unit, a decision that gave the French
business jet a good start. At Pan Am's request, the aircraft was
renamed Falcon in the export market.
THE 8-12-SEAT 7X'S maiden flight is scheduled for 2005 and first
delivery for the end of 2006 (AW&ST June 16, p. 118). It is
characterized by fly-by-wire flight controls, a "next-generation"
cockpit, a supercritical wing and Mach 0.9 maximum operating speed.
The 7X, which will be powered by three 6,100-lb.-thrust Pratt &
Whitney Canada PW307A turbofans, will have a 5,700-naut.-mi. maximum
range.
Dassault inked 30 firm orders since the 7X program was given the
go-ahead in September 2001, and, with no delivery slots available
until 2008, few additional sales are expected in the short term.
Software difficulties affecting Honeywell's avionics suite, although
impacting the EASy flight deck, are not anticipated to impinge on
the trijet's schedule noticeably, program managers said.
