More Than 650 Of The Aircraft Produced By The Company

Daher-Socata's  worldwide TBM 700 and TBM 850 fleet has surpassed the milestone of 1 million flight hours, the company said in a news release Thursday. With more than 620 TBM very fast turboprop business aircraft produced to date, the overall fleet usage now averages in excess of 120,000 flight hours annually.

“Surpassing this milestone confirms the TBM 850 as the keystone of Daher-Socata’s strategy,” said Stephane Mayer, Chairman and CEO of Daher-Socata, the aerospace and defense activity of the DAHER Group. “This highlights the synergy between manufacturing and services that offers our customers high dispatch reliability, while also underscoring our excellent partnership with Pratt & Whitney Canada – which manufactures the TBM’s PT6A engine. With the first million flight hours now a reality, I look forward to the next million-hour achievement.”

Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice President of the Daher-Socata Airplane Division, added that the 1 million flight hour achievement demonstrates that a manufacturer’s aircraft product line has come of age. “The extensive experience accumulated during 20 years of operations has proven the TBM’s airframe design and validated its reliability,” he said. “Reaching this flight-hour achievement also highlights the efficiency of our service network, which can maintain TBM aircraft from the busiest airports in the U.S. to the Australian Outback.”

Chabbert said the TBM in-service experience provided the confidence for Daher-Socata to offer extended warranties and its Exclusive Maintenance Program – which lowers scheduled maintenance costs for five years or 1,000 hours. “The tremendous track record accumulated by TBM Daher-Socata 2013 - 2 - customers and operators helped us improve the product, and we offer one of the most reliable airplanes in its category today,” he added. To mark the 1 million flight hour milestone, Pratt & Whitney Canada presented Daher-Socata CEO Stéphane Mayer with a commemorative plaque.

(Images provided by Daher-Socata)

FMI: www.daher.com, www.tbm850.com