Aircraft

Dassault Falcon 900: Specs, Range, and What It Costs

Dassault Falcon 900 specs, range, and pricing across three variants

The Dassault Falcon 900 is a three-engine heavy jet that gives up a little cabin width to reach runways most heavy jets can’t. We always start with the mission, and a Falcon 900 only earns its keep on the specific missions a twin-engine heavy cannot fly.

Dassault Aviation has kept a trijet in continuous production since 1986, longer than any other business jet manufacturer. The reason is simple: the mission still exists. Short or steep runways, long overwater legs, and remote airstrips with no nearby diversion airport.

What the Dassault Falcon 900 Is

The Falcon 900 name covers a whole family of aircraft. The variant matters more here than on most jets. The original Falcon 900 entered service in 1986, followed by the 900B in 1991, the 900C in 2000, and the long-range 900EX in 1996. Dassault built more than 500 aircraft across those early variants before ending their production runs between 1999 and 2010.

The current model is the Falcon 900LX, launched at the EBACE show in 2008 and certified in 2010. Dassault still lists it for sale new, alongside the 6X, 8X, and 10X, at a factory price of roughly $44 million. Every other 900-series variant, meaning the 900, 900B, 900C, 900EX, and 900DX, is used-market only. If someone quotes you a “Falcon 900” today, ask which variant, because the answer changes the range, the cabin electronics, and the price by tens of millions of dollars.

Three Engines Solve Problems a Twin Cannot

Three engines on the Falcon 900 solve two problems a twin-engine heavy jet cannot, and both are still real in 2026. Dassault designed the aircraft before ETOPS extended-range rules existed for twin-engine business jets. A trijet could fly long overwater and polar routes directly. Twins of that era had to stay within a shorter diversion distance from a usable airport. Twin-engine ETOPS approvals have closed most of that gap since, but the second advantage has not gone away.

Losing one engine on a trijet costs a third of total thrust. A twin loses half. That gap lets the Falcon 900 hold a steeper climb gradient after an engine quits, and that gradient is the certification hurdle keeping other heavy jets out of short or obstacle-limited airports. London City Airport is the clearest example. Its runway measures only 1,508 meters. Pilots fly the approach at 5.5 degrees, against a normal 3-degree glideslope, because tall buildings surround the field. The Falcon 900 family holds FAA and EASA approval for that steep approach. Most heavy-jet twins do not carry it. The same margin gets a 900 into mountain airports and short island strips that turn away similarly sized aircraft.

Falcon 900 Range and Speed

Dassault rates the current 900LX at 4,750 nautical miles at Mach 0.75, with six passengers, two crew, and NBAA IFR reserves. Top speed is Mach 0.87. Service ceiling runs to 51,000 feet. That range beats the 900EX it replaced by roughly 7 percent. The 900EX flew about 4,500 nm.

The earlier 900B falls short of both, in the 4,000 to 4,100 nm band depending on payload. A New York to Paris crossing is within reach on a 900B, but not much beyond it. The 900LX adds enough range to reach most of Western Europe from New York with reserves to spare. Even so, it stops well short of the 6,000-plus nm ultra-long-range tier a Gulfstream G550 or a Bombardier Global 6000 covers. Three Honeywell TFE731-60 turbofans power every current-production 900LX, each rated at 5,000 pounds of thrust, and get it to FL390 in about 20 minutes.

Cabin Size, Seating, and Layout

The Falcon 900LX cabin measures 6 feet 2 inches high, 7 feet 8 inches wide, and 33 feet 2 inches long. Twenty-four windows light the interior. Dassault configures a typical build for 12 passengers across three zones, and some operators tighten the divan section to fit 14.

That cabin runs narrower than a G550’s 7 feet 4 inches, but only by a few inches, so the stand-up feel is close. Length is where the Falcon 900 gives ground. Its 33-foot-2-inch cabin comes in roughly 10 feet shorter than a G550’s, which costs one usable zone on a long trip. A full galley and an enclosed lavatory are standard on most builds, and the baggage compartment stays accessible in flight.

What a Dassault Falcon 900 Costs to Buy

A new Falcon 900LX lists at approximately $44 million as of the most recent factory pricing, making it one of the least expensive new heavy jets Dassault sells. Every earlier variant is a pre-owned purchase only, and the spread between them is wide.

Corporate Jet Investor has tracked 900LX asking prices between $18.5 million for an early 2010 airframe and roughly $45 million for a 2024 build. Those figures come from Aircraft Bluebook data. Older 900B airframes, some now more than 30 years old, trade far lower: current listings cluster around $4.2 million to $6.6 million. The 900EX sits in between, with asking prices spanning roughly $4 million to $23 million depending on age, engine-program enrollment, and avionics.

Engine program enrollment moves a 900-series valuation by millions on its own. An airframe on a Honeywell hourly maintenance program transfers that coverage to the buyer. One that is not carries a future overhaul bill the buyer inherits the moment the sale closes. Budget a pre-buy inspection with a shop that knows the trijet fuel and engine-synchronization systems before you sign anything.

A full overhaul on the Falcon 900 family’s Honeywell TFE731 engines gives a sense of that inherited bill. AvBuyer reported Engine Assurance Program coordinator Sean Lynch putting a basic overhaul on the TFE731-5BR, the variant fitted to the earlier 900B, at $550,000 to $800,000 per engine, rising to $650,000 to $900,000 once removal, a loaner engine, and reinstallation are added in. The current 900LX runs the related TFE731-60, which AvBuyer did not price separately, but the same overhaul mechanics apply across the family. That figure is per engine, and any Falcon 900 carries three. An operator who lets all three come due together faces a bill in the low seven figures rather than a mid six-figure one, which is exactly the future cost an unenrolled airframe passes to its next owner. Staggered overhaul timing, which most operators plan around, spreads that cost across different years instead of billing it all at once.

What One Trip Costs

Broker rate cards for the Falcon 900 run $7,000 to $9,500 an hour depending on variant. That number understates the real trip cost by a meaningful margin. Here is a Teterboro to Aspen round trip with two nights on the ground, built from the parts, at a mid-range $8,200 per hour:

That works out to about $10,720 per block hour against an $8,200 quoted rate, roughly 31 percent higher than the sticker. The 7.5 percent federal excise tax and the $5.30 per-passenger segment fee are the IRS 2026 domestic charter figures, confirmed by the National Air Transportation Association. Aspen’s mountain-airport handling surcharge is the line that catches most first-time charterers off guard. It is exactly the kind of destination the Falcon 900’s short-field certification exists for. See our private jet charter cost guide for how these line items behave on a longer or international leg.

Falcon 900LX vs Gulfstream G550 vs Bombardier Global 6000

Choose the Falcon 900LX for a difficult airport: a short runway, a steep approach, or a strip like London City. Mountain resorts and island strips fall in the same category, and the other two aircraft cannot fly any of them. Choose the G550 or Global 6000 instead when the mission is a genuine 6,000-plus nm crossing and every airport on the route takes a standard approach.

When the Falcon 900 Is the Wrong Aircraft

Most heavy-jet trips do not need a trijet’s short-field capability, and paying for it when you do not use it is the most common Falcon 900 mistake. Skip it on any of these:

1. The mission is pure range. Past about 5,500 nm one-way, a G550 or Global 6000 gets there with fuel to spare and the Falcon 900LX does not.
2. Every airport on the route is a standard-length runway. The trijet’s advantage disappears the moment neither end needs a steep or short approach.
3. Maintenance cost is the deciding factor. Three engines mean three sets of scheduled inspections. That shows up in the operating budget every year, even outside of overhaul years. Our private jet operating cost guide breaks that annual figure down by line item.
4. The trip is under two hours. Fixed costs (positioning, handling, crew) dominate a short leg regardless of aircraft. A heavy jet’s hourly rate buys very little extra on a hop a super-midsize would fly for less.

A super-midsize jet such as a Challenger 350 covers the second and fourth cases for roughly half the hourly rate. What would change this verdict: an airport addition to your regular route map that needs steep-approach or short-field certification. That single fact moves a Falcon 900 back into consideration even for an operator who otherwise has no use for a trijet.

How to Fly a Falcon 900 Without Buying One

Three access routes exist. The right one depends on how often the mission actually needs this aircraft rather than a cheaper heavy. On-demand charter through a broker prices a specific trip with no commitment. Our guide to chartering a private jet covers how that booking process runs end to end. It is the only sensible option if a steep-approach mission comes up once or twice a year. Jet cards lock in a fixed hourly rate with guaranteed availability. The heavy-jet tiers at NetJets and Flexjet both include Falcon 900-class aircraft. Fractional shares make sense once you are flying more than roughly 100 hours a year in this class, and want predictable scheduling rather than a broker’s spot availability.

Start with our jet card comparison if your annual hours sit in the 25-to-100 range, and read the fractional ownership guide above that threshold. Below 25 hours a year, on-demand charter keeps the flexibility a card or a share would trade away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Falcon 900 have three engines?

Dassault designed the Falcon 900 before twin-engine business jets had ETOPS approval for extended overwater and remote routes, so three engines let it fly those missions directly. The advantage that outlasted that original reason is engine-out climb performance. Losing one of three engines costs a third of total thrust, against half on a twin. That margin lets the Falcon 900 hold the steep climb gradient that short and obstacle-limited airports require.

What is the Falcon 900's safety record?

The Falcon 900's public accident record includes one well-documented event across a fleet of more than 500 aircraft built since 1986. In 2021, a Falcon 900EX overran the runway at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego after an aborted takeoff. The [NTSB's final report](https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/102629/pdf) found no mechanical fault, and all five occupants walked away uninjured. That single incident does not point to a type-wide mechanical or engine problem with the trijet itself. Business jet types this size generally do not have a separately tracked, type-wide safety statistic the way scheduled airliners do, and the Falcon 900 is no exception.

Is the Dassault Falcon 900 still in production?

The current Falcon 900LX is, and Dassault Aviation lists it for sale new alongside the 6X, 8X, and 10X. Every earlier variant, meaning the original 900, the 900B, 900C, 900EX, and 900DX, ended production between 1999 and 2010 and is available only on the used market.

How much does a Dassault Falcon 900 cost?

A new Falcon 900LX lists at approximately $44 million. Pre-owned 900LX asking prices range from about $18.5 million for a 2010 airframe to roughly $45 million for a 2024 build. Those figures come from Aircraft Bluebook data cited by Corporate Jet Investor. Older 900B aircraft trade far lower, typically $4.2 million to $6.6 million.

What is the range of a Dassault Falcon 900?

The current Falcon 900LX flies 4,750 nautical miles at Mach 0.75 with NBAA IFR reservesA standard fuel-reserve assumption used when manufacturers publish range figures. It means the quoted range already sets aside fuel for a diversion, so it is not pure maximum distance., about 7 percent farther than the 900EX it replaced. Earlier variants fly less: the 900B is rated around 4,000 to 4,100 nautical miles depending on payload.

How many passengers does a Falcon 900 seat?

Dassault's typical configuration seats 12 passengers across three cabin zones, and some operators fit 14 by adjusting the divan section. That is fewer than the larger-cabin G650 or Global 6000, which both configure for more, but the Falcon 900's cabin height and width are close to both.

What airports can a Falcon 900 fly into that other heavy jets cannot?

The Falcon 900 can fly into airports that require a steep approach or a short landing distance. London City Airport is the clearest case, flown at a 5.5-degree glideslope against a normal 3 degrees because tall buildings surround the field. The Falcon 900 family holds FAA and EASA approval for that approach, a certification most twin-engine heavy jets of similar size do not carry. The same climb margin opens some mountain and island airports elsewhere.

The Dassault Falcon 900 earns its keep on a mission a twin-engine heavy jet cannot fly: a short or steep runway a G550 or Global 6000 cannot use. Price your specific route against a Falcon 900LX charter quote and a G550 or Global 6000 quote before you commit. If none of your regular airports need a steep or short approach, spend the money on range instead. Researching this because of a specific owner rather than a purchase? Our celebrity private jets guide covers who flies what.

We update this guide as aircraft, program, and route pricing changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll check it.