Tarbes, France. 24 February 2021. Daher’s Aircraft Division today announced its 2020 business activity, with the deliveries of 53 aircraft from the Kodiak and TBM single-engine turboprop product lines, as well as orders for another 50 of these aircraft to be delivered in 2021.
Last year’s deliveries were led by the TBM 940 and TBM 910, with 42 provided primarily to pilot-owners. The majority of TBMs were for North American customers (34 airplanes), followed by Europe (with two in Germany, two in the U.K., and two in France), along with one aircraft in Brazil and the first TBM to be based in the United Arab Emirates at Dubai.
The other 11 deliveries in 2020 were Kodiak 100 Series II airplanes – nine of which were in the Americas, along with two provided in Europe for Germany. Customers were primarily fleet operators, such as Costa Rican charter carrier Green Airways; Meta Special Aerospace, an ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) mission provider based in Oklahoma; Bridger Aerospace, which performs firefighting and aerial survey duties from its Montana headquarters.
In addition, there were 20 sales of the pre-owned Kodiak 100 aircraft remaining in the inventory of the sales network after the company acquisition by Daher.
The Kodiak 100 Series II is an unpressurized 10-seat airplane capable of operating on uneven and ultra-short runways, as well as on water in the amphibious version. Daher acquired the Kodiak aircraft’s production in 2019, joining the company’s very fast pressurized TBM family, produced today in the TBM 910 and TBM 940 versions.
“The teams at Daher’s Aircraft Division are to be congratulated on their tremendous job in producing and delivering the Kodiak and TBM aircraft despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s significant impact last year,” commented Didier Kayat, CEO of the Daher parent company. “In addition to maintaining a solid volume of deliveries, the orders already registered for 2021 provide a positive outlook for the coming year.”
Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Aircraft Division, thanked the Kodiak and TBM customers for their confidence in an exceptionally challenging environment.
“The Kodiak sales activity that followed Daher’s acquisition of this multi-mission aircraft is a good indicator of the renewed market confidence in the airplane – particularly with the enhanced support provided by our worldwide services network,” said Chabbert. “For the TBM, these aircraft continue to benefit from our strategy of product enhancements, including last year’s introduction of the HomeSafe™ emergency autoland system on TBM 940s. Additionally, the ongoing development of our Me & My TBM application for all TBM versions assists pilots in fine-tuning their skills while also reinforcing relationships among the TBM aviator community.”
