Flight Friday: Single Engine Turboprops In Business Aviation

Remaining with the theme of the upcoming EBACE event, this week’s Flight Friday looks at the recovery and growth of the single engine turboprop market within business aviation.

When we dig into the most successful business aviation segment recovery story, a vast majority of the in-service fleet is comprised of three “production groups.” The Pilatus PC-12, Daher TBM 700 and higher, and the Piper M500 and above (“M Series”—formally the Malibu Meridian) series of aircraft.

With these new, more capable single engine turboprops coming to market—which save on both purchase and operating costs; which are comparable to the small jets in terms of speed over shorter distances; and, increasingly important, the greener benefits that a single engine turboprop offers compared to either a multi-engine turboprop or a small jet—the sector is beginning to flourish.

The PC-12 has the largest installed in-service fleet, and with triple digit delivery numbers in 2023, it continues to grow. In April 2024, flight hours of the PC-12 fleet were 50% higher than in April 2019. Granted that the fleet is 400 aircraft more than in 2019, however, a fleet growth of 27% is lower than the flight hours growth of 50%, so these PC-12s are being used more.

The TBM, likewise has seen a fleet growth of almost 250 aircraft from April 2019 to April 2024, which is a 28% growth in fleet. However, the collective TBM hours have grown 22% higher than April 2019. So, the TBM is perhaps being used a little less, but the two growth numbers are very similar.

The Piper ‘M Series’ (500-700) has the lowest installed base in-service fleet of the three. However, like the TBM, the fleet has grown by almost 250 aircraft, which is a 36% increase in fleet, which almost directly correlates with a 35% increase in total flight hours.

With the anticipated certification of the Textron Denali in 2025, and with continuous evolutions of the PC-12, TBM, and the Piper “M Series,” the future for this part of the business aviation segment looks quite healthy.

This data was put together using Aviation Week’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization tool.