Hamburg-based charter operator Platoon Aviation is to take delivery of its seventh and eighth Pilatus PC-24s.

“Platoon started with two PC-24s in 2021, taking delivery before the summer season,” says founder and director of client relations and marketing Alasdair Smith. “Fast forward to 2024, and it now has eight PC-24 aircraft that serve the European charter market. The decision to go ahead with the PC-24 stems from the company’s investor experience with Pilatus, its heritage as a top OEM on the market and as an opportunity to begin a new company with a newly established product.”

Platoon has acquired two PC-24s each year since 2021 and four more are due to arrive by 2026, two in 2025 and two more in 2026, bringing the eventual total up to 12 of the type. The aircraft operate on a floating fleet model, with no fixed home base across Europe. This enables Platoon to cover more of the European market and offer competitive pricing, mainly due to shorter positioning flights. Platoon serves the B2B market, meaning it works with the broker community exclusively.

“The aircraft are all identical internally with eight individual seats and the same styling,” Smith continues. “Having a mono-fleet offers total peace of mind for clients when they book, and it benefits the commercial team who can combine well suited flights together more easily.”

With its flat floor, large cabin and windows and spacious cargo hold, the PC-24 has comfortably found its niche against other aircraft in its category. The aircraft’s runway performance is also impressive; arrival into short airfields such as Oxford and Florence, even in the wet, prove no major challenge.

“This enables Platoon to offer an aircraft with maximum versatility that can cater to a wider variety of clients and embed itself as a popular operator on the charter market,” Smith adds. “We will be focusing on the European charter market in the years to come, particularly on leisure travel. The major hotspots will be across the Mediterranean, with most of the traffic originating out of the UK, Netherlands and Germany.”

In the years ahead, Platoon is looking to expand its fleet with larger aircraft capable of performing longer flights with more passenger capacity, to serve another tranche of the charter market.