SAINT-CLOUD, France, Oct. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dassault Falcon Service (DFS), a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation, has recently begun work on a new maintenance facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac, to expand its Falcon overhaul capability.
Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation Chairman/CEO and Jean Kayanakis, General Manager, Dassault Falcon Service, oversaw the groundbreaking ceremony held in the presence of a large number of elected officials, including Alain ROUSSET, President of the Regional Council, Alain JUPPE, President of the Bordeaux Métropole municipal authority, the Senator-Mayor of Mérignac, Alain ANZIANI, and Marie RECALDE, Member of Parliament and member of the Defense Committee. The event was also attended by representatives of government agencies and of the aeronautical industry in the Aquitaine region.
The new building will sit alongside the Dassault Aviation plant in Bordeaux-Mérignac. It will be built within the airport perimeter, on a site adjacent to the Sabena Technics facility, with which it has signed an industrial partnership. Covering some 7,200 m², the DFS infrastructures will enjoy runway access and will be able to accommodate up to six Falcon 7X, 8X and 5X aircraft. The new facility will complement DFS's existing MRO (Maintenance Repair & Overhaul) installations at Le Bourget Airport near Paris.
"The Mérignac MRO center will allow Dassault Falcon Service to keep up with the steady growth in the Falcon fleet, which already numbers more than 2,000 aircraft worldwide and will expand further with the arrival of the new Falcon 8X next year," said Eric Trappier.
"I must underline how efficiently the administrative phase of this project was conducted by the public authorities concerned, more specifically in the Town Hall and the office of the Prefect. The collaboration with our staff was perfect," added Jean Kayanakis.
The new facility should be operational in the third quarter of 2016, in time to handle the C Checks ramp-up for the Falcon 7X. Some 250 Falcon 7X's are now in operation and the fleet leaders are now approaching their first heavy maintenance deadlines, which are required eight years after delivery.
However, the facility will be designed to handle a full range of maintenance activities in addition to C Checks, including structural repair, cabin refurbishment and modifications, avionics upgrades, carpentry and paintwork.
The DFS Mérignac MRO center will be able to draw on engineering resources at the nearby Dassault Aviation site, and the large pool of skilled aviation workers and subcontractors in the Bordeaux area. DFS recently concluded an agreement with Aerocampus Aquitaine, a local aviation training center, to help recruit and train the 70 technicians and specialists who are ultimately expected to staff the facility.
Rapidly Expanding Dassault Falcon Service Network
The new MRO facility in Bordeaux-Mérignac is the latest in a series of outlays made by DFS to ensure the highest possible level of customer satisfaction. It follows on other recent moves, including the expansion and modernization of DFS's large Le Bourget MRO complex and the establishment of satellite service centers and Go Teams at London/Luton, UK, Nice, France and Moscow/Vnukovo, Russia.
About Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation is a leading aerospace company with a presence in over 90 countries across five continents. It produces the Rafale fighter jet as well as the complete line of Falcons. The company employs a workforce of over 11,500 and has assembly and production plants in both France and the United States and service facilities around the globe. Since the rollout of the first Falcon 20 in 1963, over 2,380 Falcon jets have been delivered. Dassault offers a range of six business jets from the twin-engine 3,350 nm large-cabin Falcon 2000S to its new flagship, the tri-engine 6,450 nm ultra-long range Falcon 8X. In 2014, the Dassault Aviation Group reported revenues of €3.68 billion.
About Dassault Falcon Service
Dassault Falcon Service has, since 1967, built experience in the area of business aviation. Due to its integrated structure, Dassault Falcon Service offers an extensive suite of maintenance, management and technical services for Falcon business jets. Located at Paris-Le Bourget airport, DFS is a subsidiary of Dassault Aviation and a member of the Dassault Aircraft Services network. The company also supplies a special Ramp Service with a team unique in Europe, ready to support you at Paris-Le Bourget airport or anywhere your aircraft requires. Its activities include FBO services as well as aircraft management and executive flights.
www.dassault-aviation.com
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Press Contacts:
Corporate communication
Stéphane Fort
Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 11 86 90
stephane.fort@dassault-aviation.com
Mathieu Durand
Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 11 85 88
mathieu.durand@dassault-aviation.com
Falcon communication
Vadim Feldzer
Tel.: +33 1 47 11 44 13
vadim.feldzer@dassault-aviation.com
Marie-Alexandrine Fouillard
Tel.: +33 1 47 11 64 23
marie-alexandrine.fouillard@dassault-aviation.com
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