Almost 30 years after it first entered service, the Dassault Falcon 900 series remains in a class by itself; from its three-engine layout to its advanced computer design to its construction using lightweight alloys and composites, it is truly peerless.

Over the years via multiple variants, Dassault has made many improvements to the aircraft’s range, avionics, and engine power, but the guts of the airplane and its value proposition remain largely unchanged: the trijet design lets you go where twinjets cannot and the lightweight construction means you often burn less fuel while doing so.

With the 900, you travel in comfort and you travel in style. Ample natural lighting enters the cabin through 24 windows and the fuselage is pressurized to maintain a sea-level cabin through 25,000 feet, beating back jet lag. A typical cabin layout features passenger seating for 11 to 14. The standup 74-inch-tall, flat-floor cabin yields 1,264 cubic feet of space and is 92 inches wide from the centerline. The optional forward crew lavatory cuts down on galley space but is a must-have for longer missions. The galley offers hot and cold running water, a convection/microwave oven, an ice drawer, and stowage and can be outfitted with all manner of custom coffee/espresso makers.

Typical cabin layouts include a forward club-four grouping followed by four smaller seats arrayed around a hi-lo conference table opposite a credenza. Behind that is room for more single seats or a pair of three-place divans. Behind this space you’ll find the generously sized aft lavatory with another small wardrobe closet and in-flight, walk-through access to the heated 127-cubic-foot baggage compartment, which can double as a dressing room. The external baggage door incorporates a step for easy loading.

Thanks to the improved Dash 60 engines, moreover, the DX is demonstrably more fuel-efficient than the 900C and has lower operating costs. It also has a quieter cabin and outperforms the 900C in almost every parameter: time to climb to 39,000 feet is 18 minutes in the DX versus 23 in the C, for example, and balanced field length is 4,890 feet in the DX versus 4,935 in the C. Besides the new engines and avionics, the DX features a variety of system upgrades, including a new cabin-pressurization system, brake-by-wire, and new fuel-metering and oxygen systems.

The 900DX is a great airplane. If you need a large-cabin jet with real transatlantic range, and with the ability to get in and out of tight spots, put this one at the top of your list of candidates.