An increased demand for business jets has given French manufacturer Dassault Aviation reason to be optimistic about the future, even if only for the short-term.
Speaking from the Singapore Airshow this week, Executive Vice President Civil Aircraft Carlos Brana told Australian Flying that uncertainty over the reliability of airline travel had driven demand higher than pre-pandemic levels.
"There is a growing demand for business jets right now based on the fact that people faced some difficulties traveling on airlines because of restrictions and the airlines are suffering under the COVID crisis," he said. "They've had to reduce their network and decrease the number of flights on the routes they retained. Commercial aviation is no longer as convenient as before.
"So people found a solution when they needed to travel by turning to business aviation. That has certainly created more enthusiasm for purchasing business jets.
"Last year we sold 51 aeroplanes world-wide. In 2020 we suffered very deeply from the crisis and we sold only 15. The increase from 15 to 51 is substantial. In 2019 we sold 40 aeroplanes, so if you take the 51 of 2021 and compare it to the 40 of 2019, that's a 20% increase."
Brana attributed the good 2021 figures not only to uncertainty over the future, but also the addition of two new models to the Dassault range: the long-range Falcon 10X and medium-range Falcon 6X. Brana believes the crisis in the airline industry could create new customers for business jets beyond the extent of the pandemic.
"We think there is a good sales momentum right now, which could be linked to the fact that in 2020 people refrained from placing orders because of the lack of certainty of how their business was going to grow and be handled. Now that there is more certainty, things are more in tune with ordering aeroplanes. How long it will stay that way we don't know yet.
"What we have seen is new customers entering business aviation. These newcomers are certainly having issues with commercial air transportation and have found their solution with business aviation. What we may expect is that this will create additional new business."
The need to continue to travel for business coupled with the uncertainty over the reliability of airline schedules has caused customers to turn to fractional ownership operators such as NetJets. The demand on these operators was so high during the pandemic that some of them had to stop selling shares because there was no capacity left. Businesses were again forced to look at buying their own jet to solve the issue of flight scheduling.
But that caused a knock-on effect in the pre-owned jet market, which experienced extremely high levels of activity because businesses could get aircraft faster than buying new.
"We at Dassault are quite optimistic [about new sales prospects] overall because the pre-owned market has completely dried-up," Brana said. "When that happens the only option customers have is to enter the new aircraft market, so this can bring more customers, which is what we are seeing at the moment, but we don't know how long that is going to last.
"I think people want to get their aeroplane immediately. For those that are facing problems traveling with the airlines, many have decided to invest in business aviation and want the aircraft ASAP. The good thing about the pre-owned market is that when you buy you can get it within a month or two.
"With a brand-new aircraft, depending on the stock that is available, you could wait six, ten, 12 months to get your aeroplane."
Dassault Aviation was the only jet manufacturer in their class to have a significant attendance at the Singapore Airshow; neither Gulfstream nor Bombardier were there. The company believes it is important to support the demand for business jets in the Asia Pacific region, which they say can be met with the Falcon 10X and the Falcon 6X, both of which are still under development.
"The 10X, with a phenomenal range of 7500 nm allows people to travel around the world," Brana points out. "You can get to North America, all of Asia and a good part of Europe. So the 10X meets the needs of most Australian business people.
"With the 6X you still have the ability to reach all of Asia, some parts of Africa and South America. The big difference with the 6X is the cabin size compared to its competitors. The cabin is the largest cross-section of any purpose-built business jet, which brings extra comfort. The 10X brings both the comfort and the range.
"The 6X is already doing the job, but in some situations you may have to make a stop-over."
Business jet manufacturers have been lamenting for years that the Australian market is essentially a pre-owned one, but Dassault believes that could change with the pressures of the pandemic and a sudden dearth of pre-owned aircraft to choose from.
According to Carlos Brana, the conditions are right for both Australian and New Zealand customers to adopt the 10X and 6X.
"I don't think we have big hurdles in front of us," he believes. "The most important thing is the technical work we need to perform in order to certify the aircraft, and once it's certified, I don't see why the aircraft won't be successful in the Australian or New Zealand markets.
"We have sold aeroplanes before in those markets and they were appreciated by the customers to the point that the RAAF ordered three 7Xs some years ago and they are satisfied with the purchase.
"We just need to promote the aircraft properly in Australia and New Zealand and I think the hurdles will be easy to jump."