Seeing a jump in pre-owned Falcon transactions, Dassault Aircraft Services (DAS) has created a new organization—Falcon Pre-Purchase Services—that packages an array of its services to help customers transition into the Falcon family.

The intent of the organization is to provide potential customers of pre-owned Falcons an experience on par with that for customers of new aircraft, said Michelle Averso, director of the organization. These services range from detailed aircraft evaluations to a complete walkthrough of requisite updates to meet upcoming NextGen requirements such as ADS-B OUT and Fans-1/A to coordination of any other updates or modifications that the customer may seek.

Evaluations include the physical evaluation records research, systems operational checks and other comprehensive evaluations that will draw on Dassault’s engineering, production and aftermarket support experience. The modifications and other upgrades could vary from paint or interior refreshes to installation of new avionics or cabin management systems.

DAS, the Falcon Jet support network, also will coordinate on propriety modifications and “engineered solutions” that are designed to keep the existing in-service fleet at the level of new production aircraft.

DAS is cross training a dedicated staff on these services to bring expertise to the buyer. The advantage of going through DAS, said general manager Gary Schiff, is the dedicated specialists have access to all the original drawings, engineering and STCs that will lower the cost and time of any requisite and many desired updates. And, he added, that with Dassault as the parent company, they have the ability to “smooth the process” of imports and bringing foreign-registered aircraft up to U.S. standards.

The changes are preparing DAS for an anticipated increase in pre-owned activity, said Mark Ozenick, president of DAS. Dassault officials recently noted they have seen more activity in the first half of this year than they did all of last year. As the number of Falcon transactions increase, so too has the need for these kinds of services, Averso said, noting that at one point the company had three evaluations ongoing simultaneously at its Little Rock center. “There’s been a lot of activity since the beginning of the year,” she said.

While the used market has heated up in recent months, the overall demand for such services has evolved since the market downturn. Working with brokers, DAS has seen its share of pre-purchase Falcon services grow from 10 percent in 2011 to 75 percent.

Ozenick said the goal is to capture 100 percent of that business, noting that the services build brand loyalty, trust and, importantly, relationships for future work. “It’s a great introduction to the Falcon brand.”