Pilatus plans growth in Asia

Pilatus is planning more intensive demonstrations in Asia of the strengths of its new version of the PC-24 Super Versatile Jet, which was launched at the end of 2023. According to a statement from the company, the aircraft manufacturer based in the Swiss canton of Nidwalden has an Asia strategy envisaging further development of local support. Pilatus currently has two service centers in Asia for its predecessor model, the PC-12. Now, one of these, the Asian Aerospace Corporation Center in Manila, is to be expanded to also provide comprehensive services for the PC-24.

During this year’s Asia tour, Pilatus returned to the Singapore Airshow after a longer absence in order to present the PC-24. Stephan Forte, Sales Manager Business Aviation, commented: “There’s great potential in the Asian region – it’s a market we need to develop.” Before the Singapore Airshow, Pilatus had organized a pre-event with the service center of the WingsOverAsia Group in its hangar at Seletar Airport in Singapore. There, according to Forte, some people in the audience "were not fully aware that our aircrafts are capable of operating on short and unpaved runways. That unique feature is in high demand in Southeast Asia, with so many islands.”

In order to demonstrate this and other properties of the PC-24 to a future owner of this jet, two Pilatus pilots flew to the small, private island of Pamalican, which lies north of the island of Palawan in the Philippines. As Forte put it, with the landing on the narrow runway with strong crosswinds and unusual turbulence, the two pilots were able to demonstrate “how the Super Versatile Jet is actually built for this type of unusual runway.” He added that there has been a lot of positive feedback from existing clients and new interested parties since the Asia tour and that the company can now concentrate on promoting the jet’s profile across the Southeast Asian region. ce/mm