Former chairman and CEO of the Nestle Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe has received the keys to his PC-24 from Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk during a handover ceremony in Stans, Switzerland. Owner/pilot Brabeck has more than 3,000 flight hours to his name and will be one of the first to fly the type, which he ordered in 2013. It will be registered to his current company Brabair and will be available to charter as part of newly-formed membership airline Flying Club 24, in addition to personal flying.

"It's been worth the wait, as the aircraft looks fantastic," he comments. "I've been totally convinced by the PC-24 project since the earliest days. It's a logical continuation of the Pilatus product family. The cockpit environment is exceptional and the quality of the workmanship is exactly as one would expect from a Swiss product. I'm really looking forward to taking the pilot's seat and getting familiar with the unique capabilities of the jet."

The PC-24 will be based in Sion. It is able to carry seven passengers plus the pilot and features a large cargo door as standard. It also has favourable short field performance and can access difficult to reach airports.

Schwenk is delighted with the sale: "It is pleasing that well-known personalities are happy to place their trust in our aircraft. Peter has flown our single engine PC-12NG for a long time and will now operate a PC-24 in parallel. The fact that he opted for a brand new, very recently certified PC-24 speaks for itself.

"I'm confident that he will be as happy with the PC-24 as we are and look forward to receiving his feedback."