Aircraft
Dassault boosts production to reduce order backlogs
Aircraft sales numbers often catch the big headlines, but it is the delivery figures that matter most to aircraft manufacturers.

Aircraft sales numbers often catch the big headlines, but it is the delivery figures that matter most to aircraft manufacturers. The unpredictable nature of economic cycles, customers’ needs and desires and a company’s many suppliers often cause a disconnect between reported sales and the number of airplanes that actually end up in customers’ hands.

So a couple of statements by Charles Edelstenne, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, at the Dassault Falcon press conference on Monday should come as no surprise. Early in his talk Edelstenne pointed out that Dassault Falcon had logged a record number of sales last year. “We finished 2006 with a total of 158, including the 24 Falcon 7Xs for NetJets,” he said. “That was way beyond our expectations, and raised our order book to more than 300 aircraft and $12 billion.”