Daher-Socata delivered 40 of its TBM 850 high-speed single-engined turboprops in 2013 – a 5% increase over the previous year's total.
The slight hike in shipments also boosted the TBM 850's share of the commercial single-engined turboprop market from 18% to 20% over the same period, says the Tarbes, France-based airframer.
"This marks the fourth-best year for the company’s TBM aircraft family since 1990," Daher-Socata says. "The results also highlight the continued value of a very fast turboprop aircraft in the demanding light-turbine business jet market."
US-based customers took 70% of TBM 850 deliveries in 2013, while Europe and Latin America accounted for 10% and 7.5% of the total shipments, respectively. During the period, the airframer also delivered its first aircraft to a Saudi Arabian customer.
Nicolas Chabbert, senior vice-president of Daher-Socata's aircraft business unit, attributes the TBM 850's continued success to the 2012 introduction of the quick-change TBM 850 Elite variant, the development of the company's international dealer network and a "constant commitment to customer satisfaction".
In addition, Chabbert says a 2013 European regulatory change – allowing commercial operators to fly passengers in instrument meteorological conditions with turbine-singles – opened up new markets for the TBM.
More than 660 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-powered TBM-series aircraft have been delivered since the first model – the TBM700 – entered service around 25 years ago. The TBM 850 – introduced in 2005 and equipped with a revamped cabin and Garmin G1000 glass cockpit – accounts for 338 of that total.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
