Five Percent Increase In TBM Aircraft Delivered From 2012

Forty new TBM 850s were delivered in 2013, providing a five percent increase from 2012 and representing a 20 percent market share for aircraft in its category – up from 18 percent in 2012, according to a news release from Daher-Socata. This marks the fourth best year for the company’s TBM aircraft family since 1990 the company said, and it highlights the continued value of a very fast turboprop aircraft in the demanding light turbine business jet market.

The 2013 deliveries bring total TBM-series aircraft received by customers to 662 units, of which 338 are the TBM 850 version – the latest member of Daher-Socata’s very fast turboprop aircraft product line. Stéphane Mayer, President and CEO of Daher-Socata – the aerospace
and defense activity of the DAHER Group – noted the TBM 850’s continued importance for the company’s overall operations. “Aircraft manufacturing activity, with its successful TBM family, is a highly strategic business for Daher-Socata and for DAHER,” he explained. “It demonstrates our capacity to handle the full range of responsibilities of a complex aircraft program. This is unique in the market, and highly appreciated by our customers in the field of aerostructures and services.”

Mayer said he recognizes – and shares – the passion and dedication of the international TBM owners and operators community, as demonstrated by the strong growth in attendance at last year’s TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA) convention. Nicolas Chabbert, Senior Vice-President of the Daher-Socata Airplane Business Unit, noted the TBM’s continuous sales success demonstrates the very fast turboprop’s efficiency and performance in meeting customers’ demands, today and in the future.

“The increased flexibility offered by the TBM 850 Elite version, introduced in 2012, along with the development of our international network and a constant commitment of Daher-Socata and its partners to customer satisfaction also were strong contributors to the 2013 success.” Chabbert added that last year’s European regulatory change allows commercial operators to fly passengers in instrument meteorological conditions with single-engine aircraft, opening new perspectives for the TBM family and acknowledging the safety of turboprops.

While the majority of TBM 850s purchased in 2013 were sold on the U.S. market (72 percent), strong levels of activity also were logged in other regions. Europe accounted for 10 percent of the deliveries, with France taking the lead in this region for the first time since the TBM 700’s introduction. Latin America represented 7.5 percent of TBM 850 deliveries, with these aircraft handed over in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. In addition to a TBM 850 provided for Australia, the aircraft’s global scope expanded in 2013 as Saudi Arabia became the first Middle East country to welcome a TBM.

(Image provided by Daher-Socata)

FMI: www.tbm850.com