There is no doubt that China is one of the most promising markets in global business aviation today and represents a significant proportion of the future of the industry. The market has evolved considerably over the past few years and the Chinese authorities have taken a very proactive role in developing infrastructure and opening airspace throughout the country, as private aviation customers become more appreciative of the practicality and importance of these aviation business tools.

The first new Falcon was delivered in China in 2006 and in 2011, China became Dassault Falcon’s largest market for new aircraft orders, which was a unique accomplishment in such a short span of time. The appeal of Falcon aircraft is the unique combination of performance and efficiency. This is achieved through advanced design and technology, reducing weight and delivering a 20-40 per cent better fuel burn and lower emissions than other airplanes in their class.

This rapid success in China has been very encouraging and given us the confidence to continue to invest and consolidate our position in China in new aircraft sales, and customer service, based on the continued dynamism of the market.

Despite a slowdown in the economy, all the signs remain positive. Our flagship business jet – the long-range Falcon 7X, the most technologically advanced business jet - has been enthusiastically received in China, which is now the second largest market in the world for the tri-jet after the United States. We delivered about 10 Falcon 7Xs in China last year (2013) and we have a healthy order book and a backlog of nearly 30 for Chinese owners, who appreciate the aircraft’s 5,950 nm (11,019 km) range, enabling it to connect Beijing or Shanghai to all of Europe or the western United States and access challenging airports such as London City Airport – the only business jet in its category capable of doing so.

All of this success has been made possible because the Chinese market remains dynamic and continues to flourish. One of the foundations of this marketplace is the strong working relationship forged between the business aviation industry and Chinese authorities that will continue to assure the growth of the industry in the years to come. The commitment to business aviation in China is illustrated by the ambitious programmes in place to improve infrastructure throughout the country.

In response to these encouraging market signals and developments, we have taken significant steps to consolidate our presence in the country providing the appropriate support for the growing Falcon fleet and the increasing number of Falcon customers and operators.

In 2012, Dassault Falcon Jet established a new ‘whollyowned foreign entity’ to represent the Falcon brand in the Chinese market – Dassault Falcon Business Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., based in Beijing. As part of the subsidiary, we established a regional Customer Service headquarters in Beijing, which started operations in 2013 and has continuously expanded. Another recently established affiliate, Dassault Aircraft Services (Shanghai), a partnership between Dassault Falcon Jet and Shanghai Hawker Pacific – continues investing in new service offerings for Falcon customers. This partnership is unique in that it allows highly experienced Falcon maintenance engineers to work directly with local employees that need to gain the proper experience to work on Falcons. We have also added a new spare parts partnership and capacity for the local market that will dramatically decrease the time it takes to delivery critical spares.

This type of direct investment is key to doing business in China and in making sure Falcon customers have access to the best possible resources. China, as some others dynamic regions in the world such as South America, South East Asia, India, has a real need for expanding business aviation, and we remain bullish about future market prospects.