In a ceremony held today at Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd in Broomfield, Colorado, USA the first production PC-24 twin jet was handed over to U.S. customer PlaneSense. The aircraft is the first of six PC-24s which PlaneSense has on order with Pilatus.
Since 1996, PlaneSense has successfully specialized in offering fractional ownership transportation service with the single engine turboprop PC-12. PlaneSense, currently operating 36 PC-12s, will continue to acquire and operate the popular single, and will use the PC-24 to expand their product offering to new and existing customers.
George Antoniadis, PlaneSense founder, President and CEO, stated at the ceremony:
“We are honoured to be the launch customer for the PC-24, and are excited to add this versatile and unique jet to the PlaneSense fleet. We have greatly admired the quality and state of the art design of Pilatus aircraft, and are proud to have partnered with Pilatus for the last 22 years. This is an exciting day for us, as well as for our clients who are eager to start flying in this fantastic aircraft.”
On hand for the delivery was Pilatus CEO Markus Bucher, who personally handed over the keys to the first PC-24, serial number 101. He said:
“We’ve been eagerly working toward this moment since the conception of this innovative new jet a decade ago. On behalf of the 2,000 Pilatus employees who successfully designed, built, and certified the best business aircraft in our 80-year company history, we are proud to have our long-time customer and partner PlaneSense take delivery of the very first PC-24.”
In addition to the larger cabin and faster speed, PlaneSense will take advantage of the PC-24’s unique cargo door, short field performance, and ability to land on grass runways to access locations which traditional business jets are unable to use.