Germany's Badenwings is to be the first European corporate customer for Daher-Socata's TBM 900 turboprop. The operator is a subsidiary of Jochen Schmidt Holding AG, and is based at Baden-Baden airport. This first TBM 900 deal in Europe was overseen by Rheinland Air Service, Socata's TBM distributor for Germany and Austria.

“We selected the TBM 900 for its flexibility to carry small freight as well as passengers on private internal flights of our holding company,” explains Nielsen Bott, Badenwings ceo. “As a second step we plan to apply for an AOC to offer commercial service to external passengers, as soon as the European authority will allow single-engine turbine commercial operations in instrument meteorological conditions.”

Bott is enthusiastic about the TBM 900's operational capability: “It is fast, comfortable and offers an excellent range, as well as the capability to land on short runways,” he says. “Being in the quiet category enables us to operate from airports without paying high landing fees, and during nighttime hours at airports with curfews, such as Stuttgart.”