With a fleet of more than 1,900 Pilatus PC-12s delivered worldwide, this significant milestone is a testament to the aircraft’s robustness, versatility, and reliability.
Pilatus, a Swiss aircraft manufacturer has announced that the global fleet of its PC-12 single-engine turboprop has reached over ten million flight hours since the delivery of the first model. With a fleet of more than 1,900 PC-12s delivered worldwide, this significant milestone is a testament to the aircraft’s robustness, versatility, and reliability.
The PC-12 has been a market leader since its launch, appealing to a wide range of operations, including corporate flight departments, individual owner-operators, fractional and charter companies, air ambulance service providers, and special mission roles at local, state, and national levels. The aircraft’s large cabin, standard cargo door, docile handling characteristics, and low operating costs offer significant appeal to almost any type of operation.
“When the PC-12 was launched, this milestone seemed light-years away in the future,” said Ignaz Gretener, Vice President of Business Aviation division, Pilatus. “You must give credit to the engineers who designed this incredibly robust airframe, the production team that builds outstanding quality into each unit, the sales team that found so many markets eager to adopt this versatile aircraft, and the support team so dedicated to keeping them in the air. We are especially grateful to our ownership base for trusting in Pilatus and helping us continuously improve the PC-12 so that it leads the market in sales year after year.With each aircraft and every individual owner and operator of a Pilatus aircraft, our goal is to become incrementally better,” he further added.
Pilatus delivered 80 new PC-12s in 2022, and the company plans to increase production to meet demand in 2023. The current model, the PC-12 NGX, is the third major variant of the type and differs significantly from the original PC-12. Over the history of PC-12 deliveries, engine power and speed have increased, new executive cabin interiors have been introduced, gross weight and payload capacity were increased, and in 2019, the aircraft became the first business turboprop to incorporate Pratt & Whitney’s innovative Electronic Propeller and Engine Control System (EPECS) for its steadfastly reliable PT6 powerplant
Markus Bucher, Chief Executive Officer, Pilatus said, “The PC-12s past, present, and future success boils down to its appeal to a wide range of operations, its solid reliability, and its proven outstanding safety record. As an additional benefit, these attributes have resulted in PC-12 owners enjoying one of the highest levels of value retention among all business aircraft.”
Gretener added that the PC-12’s success lies in listening to customers and striving to provide them with features, capabilities, and technologies to support their critical missions. According to Pilatus CEO Markus Bucher, the PC-12’s past, present, and future success can be attributed to its appeal to a wide range of operations, solid reliability, and proven outstanding safety record. Bucher also noted that the aircraft’s attributes have resulted in PC-12 owners enjoying one of the highest levels of value retention among all business aircraft.
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With sustainability near the top of almost every business aircraft operator’s priority list, the fuel efficiency of the PC-12 offers significant reductions in carbon emissions compared to midsize and larger business jets not optimized for all missions. Pilatus officials note that the global network of Pilatus sales teams is receiving increased interest in the PC-12 from flight departments looking for ways to continue to support their operational requirements with much greater efficiency.
