By Rebecca Rayko
AWN Editor

NEW ORLEANS - Sales for Dassault Aviation's business jet division are showing no signs of slowing down, said Falcon Jet president John Rosanvallon at NBAA 2000.

If the orders pace continues, sales this year are expected to be even stronger than the three previous years, which were all record years for sales, Rosanvallon said.

Falcon Jet has recorded 62 sales for 2000, as of the beginning of NBAA show, and Rosanvallon expects this number to reach 80 by the year's end.

"Given this pace, we will top 300 new Falcons sold in the four-year period of 1997-2000, representing about $8 billion in revenue," he said. This represents the strongest period of sustained sales in the company's history.

And this isn't "just a case of the rising tide lifting all boats," Rosanvallon says. "Falcons are clearly outselling both Gulfstreams and Challengers today."

Over the last four years, Falcon Jet has attained a 45% marketshare in the top end of the market, he says. This category includes all large business jets, including the Gulfstream V and Global Express, but excludes airliner derivatives.

The top selling Falcon today remains the 2000, driven by sales to fractional ownership pioneer NetJets. These fractional sales now total 66, while overall more than 120 Falcon 2000s are in service. The Falcon 2000 accounts for about 40% of Falcon Jet sales year-to-date.

Coming in a close second is the Falcon 900 series (including both the 900EX and 900C) whose sales are coming in at almost the same rate as the Falcon 2000 (even taking into account the Falcon 2000's fractional sales).

Geographically speaking, North America remains the major market for roughly 60% of new Falcon sales over the last four years, but international sales in 2000 have been "extremely robust, particularly in Europe," says Rosanvallon.

"We have made in-roads in Poland, Russia, Bulgaria, Turkey - areas where business aviation traditionally hasn't been strong," he said.