Dassault Aviation has made key appointments intended to reinforce its pre-owned Falcon offering and help customers successfully navigate the purchase of a second hand aircraft.

Yvon Desvignes has been named director of pre-owned sales for Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Rim. He moves up from deputy director and replaces Dominique Cruchon, who has retired. Nicolas Martin takes over as deputy director for the vast network, which covers all markets except the Americas.

“Nicolas and Yvon's detailed knowledge of our aircraft and the requirements of our customers will enable them to provide invaluable advice to operators contemplating a second hand Falcon purchase,” says Carlos Brana, executive vice president civil aircraft. ”In many cases selling a pre-owned aircraft means introducing the Falcon brand to an entirely new customer. Dassault maintains a large inventory of late model Falcons, including the 2000LXS, 900EX, 7X and 8X. The company helps clients find the right pre-owned aircraft to fit their budget and when necessary meet an urgent operating requirement, often in advance of a new Falcon purchase. Falcons are known for retaining maximum value throughout their operating life.”

Desvignes has worked with Dassault for 35 years, both in customer service and other capacities. He began his career as a technical expert at Dassault's Paris-Le Bourget support centre and later transitioned to customer service management roles, including as customer support manager for northern Europe.

Martin has been with Dassault for 15 years, beginning as a trainee in the propulsion department. He was an aerodynamics and wind tunnel test engineer for several years before moving over to customer support, serving operators in Switzerland, France, the UK and Finland.

Both Desvignes and Martin are private pilots, which allows them to view each transaction through the eyes of crew, maintenance professional and end-user alike.

“You couldn't ask for better preparation for pre-owned sales than working directly with clients to facilitate servicing of aircraft in the field,” notes Desvignes. “Nicolas and I bring detailed technical know-how that helps us guide customers to just the right aircraft fitted with just the right equipment for their needs. We understand how and why these aircraft were designed and how they are used by customers. And we are intensely passionate about familiarising operators with what the Falcon world has to offer and continuously welcoming new owners into the Falcon family.”

Meanwhile Dassault Falcon Jet (DFJ) has appointed Beatrice E Ashe regional sales director for new and pre-owned Falcon business jets covering the US states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico. She reports to Paul Floreck, senior vice president, U.S. and Canadian sales.

Ashe joined DFJ as sales manager in 2022 supporting sales directors in the western US and Canada. She came to DFJ from Jet Aviation where she served as sales director of MRO for northern Europe and sales director of aircraft management for the company's western U.S. territory. Ashe started her aviation career with Jet Support Services, Inc. in 2012 as part of its sales and marketing support team, subsequently taking on the role of client services manager.

Elsewhere, Dassault Aviation's 2025 Falcon Regional Maintenance & Operations seminar series will kick off on 2 April in Paris, France. Additional events will take place in Phoenix, Arizona; Nashville, Tennessee; and São Paulo, Brazil.

The Paris and US M&Os will feature a two-day format designed to provide more in-depth information to operators and will offer multiple opportunities for networking and information sharing, including at an offsite evening outing. The São Paulo show will consist of one full day, as in past years.

“Customer feedback shows that operators are enthusiastic about the longer two-day format and greatly value the additional content and face-to-face interactions they afford,” says Jean Kayanakis, senior vice president, worldwide customer service and service centre network. “And we at Dassault likewise value that. The seminars are critical to helping us understand what we are doing well and what we can do better to further optimise the Falcon customer experience.”

Finally, Dassault Aviation's flight deck of the future, NeXus, has won the coveted Good Design Award from a jury assembled by two organisations: the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design; and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. The NeXus flight deck won in the Transportation category.

The Falcon 10X is an all-new business jet design with planned entry in service in 2027. Its NeXus flight deck is the next step in avionics and flight control systems, introducing breakthrough safety technology drawn from Dassault's latest fighter designs.

NeXus is a visual and tactile environment conducive to safe and precise flying. Functionally, it reduces pilot workload by, among other things, simplifying many button-pushing and data entry tasks and automating others. Pilots therefore focus on the ‘big picture’ of flight management.

“The whole idea behind NeXus is to create a flight deck environment that keeps pilots sharp in all flight conditions. In the process it makes the Falcon 10X a joy to fly and sets a new safety standard for civil aviation,” comments Dassault's Carlos Brana, EVP of civil aircraft.

The NeXus system's new Smart Throttle (the first in civil aviation) is probably the best example of a design simplification that reduces workload and enhances safety. The Smart Throttle concept of one lever controlling both engines comes directly from the twin-engine Rafale fighter. As in the fighter, the NeXus Smart Throttle automates many engine management tasks, allowing pilots to stay focused on higher level flight activities.

The Smart Throttle automatically manages power for reduced-thrust takeoffs, following noise abatement procedures and ensuring proper climb gradients. It automatically manages an engine-out situation and is integrated with the aircraft's fly-by-wire system, enabling new safety capabilities for the industry.

Most significant is an Automatic Recovery Mode (for use in in a wake turbulence encounter, for example) when autopilot and Smart Throttle work in concert to return the aircraft to a safe attitude at a safe airspeed.

Another way NeXus helps pilot is dual head-up display system that can be used as primary means of pilot operation, another first in civil aviation. When using the HUD, pilots see not only their flight guidance cues, but also the outside environment. This is true on clear sunny days and in pitch black conditions, thanks to Dassault's unique FalconEye sensor package and global terrain database.