The Switzerland-made Pilatus PC-12 has been revealed as last year’s most frequently flown business aircraft in the US. Specifically, 316,328 take offs by the ‘World’s Greatest Single’ were recorded between August 2023 and July 2024, representing 8.8 per cent of all departures. Once again, this single-engine turboprop impresses with its versatility, safety, reliability and efficiency.

In business aviation, the US is the world’s dominant market. AvBuyer provides an overview of the most frequently flown business aircraft based on information from data specialist WingX Advance.

Statistically, a good 70 of the world’s global fleet of over 2,000 PC-12s are in the air at any given time. In 2023 alone, Pilatus produced 101 PC-12s for delivery all over the world, including 48 for customers in the US. The international PC-12 fleet has now completed well over 10 million hours in the air and is used for a wide range of missions such as business travel, cargo transport, air ambulance and emergency services.

Launched in 2019, the latest version, the PC-12 NGX, is fitted with the safest turboprop engine available, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6. Statistics show that this engine makes the PC-12 one of the safest single-engine aircraft around.

The PC-12 embodies Pilatus’s efforts in the area of sustainability and is capable of reaching destinations with comparatively low fuel consumption. The engine is certified for sustainable aviation fuel, another benefit which contributes to safe, efficient flight.