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- Business Insider toured a Dassault Falcon 8X at the Air Charter Expo.
- The huge private jet costs about $60 million to buy new, or $14,000 an hour to charter.
- This one had a spacious galley for catering, and a room where two couches can make a huge bed.
The Dassault Falcon 8X is one of the swankiest private jets on the market.
It costs about $60 million to buy one from the production line, but this can vary based on specifications. For those not looking to own one outright, it costs $14,000 an hour to charter.
Owners of an 8X include the reigning Formula 1 champion, Max Verstappen. Taylor Swift is also a Dassault fan, owning the smaller Falcon 7X.
Business Insider got to step aboard an 8X at last week’s Air Charter Expo. It took place at London Biggin Hill, an airport known for handling private jets in the British capital’s southern suburbs.
The luxurious private jet can seat up to 16 passengers, and can fly far enough to go from New York to Tokyo.
Its highlights included a huge galley with all the equipment needed to produce an in-flight meal, and a spacious back room with two couches that can transform into an enormous bed.
Meanwhile, Dassault is still developing its successor, the Falcon 10X, which is even larger.
Until then, here’s what it’s like on board the French planemaker’s largest private jet.
Dassault’s Falcon 8X was the biggest plane on display at the Air Charter Expo.
At ACE, everyone could line up to see inside all the planes — and the queue was longest for the 8X.
It’s a rare three-engined jet, which helps it fly up to 7,400 miles.
From London, that’s enough to fly as far as Singapore, South Africa, or Bolivia.
Dassault Aviation is the only company that still makes trijets. They fell out of favour when engine technology developed to make twin-engines more efficient.
But the planemaker says the 8X is up to 15% more fuel efficient than ultra-long-range competitors, thanks to its Pratt & Whitney engines.
Upon boarding, the galley is at the front of the plane.
It’s replete with equipment, like an oven, a microwave, and a coffee machine.
The galley was huge for a plane, with a sink and lots of drawers underneath.
Other configurations could have a smaller galley, with plenty of room for customizing the nearly 43-foot-long cabin.
Opposite that was a large seat, usually used by a flight attendant.
This can also turn into a bed for the crew to rest on long flights.
The main cabin area featured four of these cream seats.
They can also lie completely flat and swivel around.
Past that were another four seats. In total, there is space for 14 passengers.
These chairs can also fold out to create a double bed. There is space for a total of six beds on board.
In other configurations, the 8X can carry up to 16 passengers.
Dassault says the 8X has the quietest cabin of any business jet thanks to its soundproofing tech.
Another key aspect of passenger comfort is the cabin pressure. While cruising at 41,000 feet, the cabin is pressurized to 3,900 feet.
That’s even lower than the most advanced airliners, and helps diminish the fatigue and jet lag often associated with long flights.
Underneath the window, there was a control panel and cup holders.
Like many accents on board, such as the lights and seatbelts, these appeared to be made of rose gold.
The windows may not be as large as a Gulfstream’s, but there are lots of them.
Perhaps the most famous private jet manufacturer, Gulfstream, is known for its circular, panoramic windows. But the G650, favoured by Elon Musk and Bill Gates, has just 16 windows compared to the 8X’s 28 — even though the latter is 20 feet shorter.
Another room at the back had sofas and a TV which showed the plane’s location.
The couch has room for three people, with rose gold seatbelts.
There’s another couch opposite, and the pair can fold out to make a huge bed.
There is also space for storage underneath the sofas.
Finally, there is a fairly spacious bathroom at the rear.
Customers can add a shower here, too, but there wasn’t one on this particular jet. There’s another door here for direct access to cargo.
Overall, the 8X has 140 cubic feet of baggage volume.
On my way out, I peeked inside the flight deck too.
Like other business jet manufacturers, Dassault prides itself on technological innovations. For example, the 8X has the “FalconEye” vision system, which has a multi-sensor camera that helps pilots land in poor visibility.
Read the full article here
