Turkey’s top conglomerate Koç Group buys Dassault Falcon 8X Jet

ISTANBUL

Turkish conglomerate Koç Group has bought a Falcon 8X business jet manufactured by the French Dassault Aviation, becoming one of the first buyers of the business jet featuring a longer range and improved wing design.

The 14-seat business jet will be delivered to the holding in Little Rock, Arkansas in late October.

With a standard price of $58 million, the trijet Falcon 8X has a length of 24.4 meters and 26.9 meters of wingspan.

It has a range of 11,945 kilometers, which means that it can directly fly non-stop from Istanbul to several destinations in the far west of the U.S. 

The jet can take off from a 1,792 meter runway with 33,113 kilograms of take-off weight and climb up to 51,000 feet. That means there is a low risk of turbulence and no commercial airplanes cruising at that altitude.

Its cabin is 3.5 feet longer than the 7X and up to 35 percent more fuel-efficient than its competitors due to improved wing design.

The business jet can also stop within a 680-meter distance after its landing.

Meanwhile, the Koç Group will also hand the Falcon 900LX on its fleet to the company.

The holding currently has one Falcon 7X, one Falcon 900LX, two AugustaWestland 139 helicopters and one amphibian Cessna Grand Caravan.

The business jet was first announced at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in May 2014 and the prototype first flew from Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport on Feb. 6, 2015.