Today’s handover of the 2,000th PC-12 by Pilatus to PlaneSense®, its longstanding US customer, was marked by a large ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Stans, Switzerland and attended by over 2,000 employees. The anniversary aircraft went to PlaneSense®by way of symbolic thanks for its many years of loyalty. It is another milestone in the Swiss aircraft manufacturer’s history.
Since 1995, PlaneSense®has specialized in “fractional aircraft ownership”. The company currently operates 43 PC-12s and eleven PC-24s. Both PlaneSense®and its customers have expressed total confidence in Pilatus.
Longstanding partnership
George Antoniadis, Founder, President and CEO of PlaneSense®, comments: “We are honoured to receive the 2,000th PC-12. We took delivery of our first PC-12, the 20th built, in 1995. This unique aircraft constitutes the backbone of our operation and has been an important part of the success of the PlaneSense®program. Over the years, the mutual respect of our companies has supported a productive dialogue contributing to the improvement of the PC-12 and the PlaneSense®program. Our clients have enjoyed the aircraft’s versatility, reliability, comfort, and efficiency for 28 years. Our partnership with Pilatus has been incredibly valuable and we look forward to expanding it further in the years to come.”
Markus Bucher, CEO of Pilatus, said at the handover: “Year after year, our PC -12 is, and will remain, the world’s best -selling single-engine turboprop aircraft in its class with pressurised cabin. We have continually developed our bestseller over the years and the current PC-12 is state of the art. Today, I’m very proud that I and my team are able to hand over the 2000th PC-12 to our exceptionally loyal and faithful customer PlaneSense®. I’m grateful that we can count this very professional company among our customers. PlaneSense® is an important part of the PC-12’s history, demonstrating day in, day out, that our proven, reliable and safe aircraft is ideally suited to the most demanding of missions. Quite simply, it’s the best aircraft in its class!”
The Leader made in Switzerland
Statistically, there are over 70 PC-12s in the air at any given time. In 2022 alone, Pilatus produced 80 PC-12s in the heart of Switzerland for delivery all over the world. The global fleet has already clocked up over ten million hours in the air. The PC-12 is used for business travel, transport operations, medevac and emergency missions and search and rescue flights. It has been continuously developed from the outset, and the most recent PC-12 NGX launched in 2019 is state of the art. The aircraft is also equipped with the most reliable turboprop engine ever: the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6. Statistics show that this engine makes the PC-12 one of the safest single-engine aircraft.
The aircraft is also part of the sustainability drive to achieve the lowest possible fuel consumption. The engine is certified to run on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) – all aspects which speak for efficient, reliable operations.
The Pilatus Family
The big party organized by Pilatus was also a way of saying thank you to the employees who work diligently day after day for Pilatus, the PC-12 and the company’s customers. Getting together for live music and good food are very much in the “Pilatus Family” spirit to which the company adheres.
