Dassault is close to reaching agreement with Russia’s Avia Group to establish an authorized service center for its Falcon business jet series at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The facility is set to open in 2013 and will be located near Avia’s new terminal building, which was inaugurated earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the French airframer also is preparing to relocate its existing Dassault Falcon Service satellite service center at the Russian capital’s Vnukovo Airport to a new location next to the Vnukovo-3 Business Aviation Center. This will bring the operation, which opened seven years ago, closer to other licensed maintenance providers able to work on Falcons.

Dassault has boosted its presence at this year’s Jet Expo show in Moscow and will be displaying a Falcon 7X and a 2000LX. According to the company, around half of all new Falcon orders from Russian clients are for the long-range 7X, which can fly nonstop from Moscow to New York, Singapore or Johannesburg. It can also get into operationally challenging airports such as London City and La Mole-St Tropez (serving the French Riviera, which is extremely popular with wealthy Russian travelers). Along with the Falcon 900, the 7X accounts for around two-thirds of all Falcon sales into Russia.

“Russia is once again one of the most active business jet markets, and we are looking to leverage our long experience in the country to better serve customers’ needs there,” said Gilles Gautier, head of Dassault Falcon sales for the Eastern Hemisphere. Existing customers in the country include energy giant Gazprom.